Birds on the Couch

Owners of America's 18.5 million talking birds will welcome the sane advice and snappy humor of longtime pet shop owner and "bird shrink" Ruth Hanessian.

Talking birds who swear like sailors, peck at the family dog, or bite the hand that (literally) feeds them are about to get a quick course in behavior modification. Ruth incorporates techniques from her bird psychology workshops to deal with ornithological personality disorders from obsession and depression to delusions about their position in the family pecking order.

With clever drawings, opening quotes from famous psychoanalysts, and witty chapter headings including "That Tyson Bird" (about the all-too-common problem of biting) and "The Woody and Tweety Complex" (on bird love, sex, and romance), Birds on the Couch is filled with simple, easy-to-follow advice from a woman who can not only talk to the animals, she can get them talking back to you -- without driving you crackers.