Over the course of this summer, I am reading a number of books about getting and raising a dog in order to help myself understand what I'm getting in to (as I am seriously considering getting one at the end of this summer). These books are quick and easy reads -- I'll keep track of how many of them I do read and their titles, but otherwise I won't count them individually as part of this list.
1. Hi! It's Me, Your Dog! (5/9/2011-5/10/2011) -- A first-person account from a dog's point of view of what it's like to live with, be cared for by, and love a human. Full of great information and trivia, very straightforward, and also mildly hilarious :)
2. Happy Dog: How Busy People Care for Their Dogs (5/12/2011-5/14/2011) -- Full of advice for taking care of a dog when you have a busy life, but doesn't seem to care about how much money you have; almost all suggestions involve having over people take care of your dog for you, such as dog-sitters and groomers and the like. A great solution if you have the money but a) most people don't and b) then I kinda feel like it isn't really your dog if you aren't the one spending time with it. All other solutions involve setting your schedule up completely surrounding your dog, as though it's a child -- which isn't not. Verdict overall: good not great
3. Civilizing Your Puppy (5/15/2011-5/17/2011) -- This book was interesting and some of the chapters were really original and helpful, but others were not. The author raises Great Danes and is clearly biased toward big dogs; she called little dogs pests and other such things, and some of her tips will not be helpful for anyone getting a smaller dog. I also noticed that much of this book is a re-hashing of other dog training/tips books -- I don't think that's necessarily the author's fault as much as the dog-books-industry: a lot of dog books out there have the exact same info. Oh well! Still: not a bad book, especially if you want a bigger dog.
4. 51 Puppy Tricks (5/21/2011) -- This isn't a ton of reading in this book as it's essentially a list of dog tricks and how to teach them to your dog, but it may have been one of the most helpful books I've read about actually training your dog! The tricks are organized by style -- easy ones like "sit" and "stay" are together, housetraining ones (like teaching your dog to ring a bell when it needs to go out) are together, and so on. In the front of the book, every trick is broken down and listed according to what age of dog can best learn it, which will allow a new owner like me to be able to assess what my puppy can probably master (which is awesome!). And every trick is accompanied by pictures of each step so you can make sure you are teaching your own dog correctly. I loved this book -- if I end up getting a dog, I'll definitely buy it!
5. Getting Fit With Your Dog (5/21/2011) -- Pretty straightforward. This book contained a lot of basic information about how having a dog can help increase your health and how exercise keeps both you and your pet healthy. There was also a lot of summarized (at least for me, since I try to stay up-to-date on health risks and fitness) information about why being overweight, out of shape, etc is bad for you and why exercise is good for you. Not the best read, but all I wanted was a quick confirmation that getting a dog can help me be in better health and I got that.
6. The Dog Bible (5/23/2011 - 5/27/2011) -- This is by far the best of these books that I have read! I have had a lot of reservations and mixed feelings about getting a dog -- feeling "trapped" or like I have no personal freedom, guilt about potentially leaving a dog at home, annoyed with a puppy, etc -- and this book addressed every single problem I could think of in the emotional transition of getting a dog.
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