A review by emmajewish
You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness by Julie Klam
1.0
Alternate title:
Dogs are not People: Behavioral Consequences of Inconsistent Canine Leadership (feat. various random biological explanations)
Okay, so maybe the title needs work. I believe the title actually needs to be re-written completely, considering Klam did not show how dogs taught her the "secrets of happiness." How can readers even glimpse joy when you're constantly complaining and grumbling about life?
The book follows Klam and her growing family (both canine and human) throughout some amount of time. She volunteers at a breed rescue group for Boston Terriers, helping with transport, rescue, fostering, and adoption. Despite a charming background, the book contains some heartwarming moments shadowed by depressing events, so be prepared for the passing of some furry characters.
Besides the constant disparaging of hardworking veterinarians, to which I eventually challenged the author - an everyday dog owner with no medical experience - to go into practice herself if she felt so disturbed about misdiagnoses, Klam also overwhelms readers with criticism and exhibits a lifestyle of unhealthy dog ownership.
Throughout the book, Klam often chooses her dog(s) over her family in some way. She allows harmful behaviors to persist, raises dogs to be clingy, and doesn't discipline her dogs (or at least doesn't record corrections). Whether it be biting a toddler, demanding attention in the middle of the night, or fighting with dogs within the home, I was shocked at the stunningly overlooked problems that Klam records. A couple of times, an older, nursing mother dog fought with another dog within the house. Klam was aware of the first fight but did not confine the dogs to separate areas within the apartment afterwards. As a result, the mother constantly felt threatened by the territorial resident dog. This resulted in a bigger skirmish and an eye injury to the mother (followed, of course, by more vet critiques). I don't care about how cute the puppies were, Klam; you didn't keep them in a safe environment! That's what matters.
The dogs struggle with biting others, barking, fighting, walking on a leash, and even just going to the bathroom outside: serious behavioral problems that developed as a result of improper leadership on her part. This book definitely shows the importance of human actions and their effects on dogs. (Don't get me started on Moses.)
For some reason, the book also contains paragraphs of disease descriptions, which feels like a way to once again criticize veterinarians. Ultimately, I don't think Klam is in the position to critique other dog owners about how they should, or should not, raise their dogs (because that's kind of what this book was: her complaining about how people do not spoil their pets as much as she does). You Had Me at Woof's best quality was its abundance of irony.
Dogs are not People: Behavioral Consequences of Inconsistent Canine Leadership (feat. various random biological explanations)
Okay, so maybe the title needs work. I believe the title actually needs to be re-written completely, considering Klam did not show how dogs taught her the "secrets of happiness." How can readers even glimpse joy when you're constantly complaining and grumbling about life?
The book follows Klam and her growing family (both canine and human) throughout some amount of time. She volunteers at a breed rescue group for Boston Terriers, helping with transport, rescue, fostering, and adoption. Despite a charming background, the book contains some heartwarming moments shadowed by depressing events, so be prepared for the passing of some furry characters.
Besides the constant disparaging of hardworking veterinarians, to which I eventually challenged the author - an everyday dog owner with no medical experience - to go into practice herself if she felt so disturbed about misdiagnoses, Klam also overwhelms readers with criticism and exhibits a lifestyle of unhealthy dog ownership.
Throughout the book, Klam often chooses her dog(s) over her family in some way. She allows harmful behaviors to persist, raises dogs to be clingy, and doesn't discipline her dogs (or at least doesn't record corrections). Whether it be biting a toddler, demanding attention in the middle of the night, or fighting with dogs within the home, I was shocked at the stunningly overlooked problems that Klam records. A couple of times, an older, nursing mother dog fought with another dog within the house. Klam was aware of the first fight but did not confine the dogs to separate areas within the apartment afterwards. As a result, the mother constantly felt threatened by the territorial resident dog. This resulted in a bigger skirmish and an eye injury to the mother (followed, of course, by more vet critiques). I don't care about how cute the puppies were, Klam; you didn't keep them in a safe environment! That's what matters.
The dogs struggle with biting others, barking, fighting, walking on a leash, and even just going to the bathroom outside: serious behavioral problems that developed as a result of improper leadership on her part. This book definitely shows the importance of human actions and their effects on dogs. (Don't get me started on Moses.)
For some reason, the book also contains paragraphs of disease descriptions, which feels like a way to once again criticize veterinarians. Ultimately, I don't think Klam is in the position to critique other dog owners about how they should, or should not, raise their dogs (because that's kind of what this book was: her complaining about how people do not spoil their pets as much as she does). You Had Me at Woof's best quality was its abundance of irony.