Dogs are unique in the way that they participate in our domestic lives. Like children, they share our homes, meet our friends, come with us on holiday, travel with us in the car, play games with us etc, etc. But, also like children, the sometimes have an uncanny knack of embarrassing us in public and creating all sorts of mayhem in private. Whether it's thrusting its nose unerringly towards your maiden aunt's nether regions or using the Persian rug as an impromptu toilet, you know that when a dog steps off the straight and narrow, there will be some explaining or clearing up to do. However, for anyone who's experienced similar embarrassments or annoyances, help is now at hand! Amanda O'Neill analyses what lies behind a multitude of such anti-social behaviours and comes up with a host of sensible suggestions for remedies.