kle105's review against another edition
2.0
At first I liked this book, as one of the quotes really struck a nerve. It was from a dog trainer: “if you want to have a better dog, you will just have to be a better goddamn human.”
I find that to be so true. Most behaviors we see in dogs we don’t like, in my opinion, are due to poor training from their humans. Some due to not knowing how to fix it, laziness, or assuming it can’t be fixed, or not wanting to pay the money for a trainer.
It seemed the author chose to self train and his first dog Homer had some issues with the other two dogs and instead of working with him, he gave him away. First annoyance for me.
There were many instances where he was judgmental towards other animal owners, including his sister and readers.
While expect starting a farm without proper knowledge, experience, or help would come with some learning curves I wouldn’t expect so at the harm to his animals. Instead he praises his over care of the animals while also killing a feral cat, and some of his ewes during the lambing season. It left me with a bitter pill to swallow.
I enjoyed reading about Rose and her training, and seeing her progressing but it seemed he only worked with her because it was the easiest path and Orson was forgotten except for companionship.
I find that to be so true. Most behaviors we see in dogs we don’t like, in my opinion, are due to poor training from their humans. Some due to not knowing how to fix it, laziness, or assuming it can’t be fixed, or not wanting to pay the money for a trainer.
It seemed the author chose to self train and his first dog Homer had some issues with the other two dogs and instead of working with him, he gave him away. First annoyance for me.
There were many instances where he was judgmental towards other animal owners, including his sister and readers.
While expect starting a farm without proper knowledge, experience, or help would come with some learning curves I wouldn’t expect so at the harm to his animals. Instead he praises his over care of the animals while also killing a feral cat, and some of his ewes during the lambing season. It left me with a bitter pill to swallow.
I enjoyed reading about Rose and her training, and seeing her progressing but it seemed he only worked with her because it was the easiest path and Orson was forgotten except for companionship.
sandyd's review
4.0
Quick reading, well-written memoir about a writer who moves to a farm in upstate NY, partially so he can have sheep for his Border collies. He has some interesting insights on "dog people" and why people turn to dogs for companionship, and what dogs can provide them with (and what they can't).
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