I would write and complain to the publisher for publishing books that are dangerous to dogs and promoting misconceptions about rescuing, border collies, etc. The publisher will care that their brand is being tarnished by publishing this crap.

I'm glad it wasn't just me, I tried reading "Dog Days" and couldn't get further than the first few chapters. Between the "self-awareness" babble and the just-plain-ol' SPO (stupid pet owner) issues that man was having with his dogs I had to put it down. I don't understand what others see in these, I actually thought the writing was very poorly done to boot.

I think if people want to read about a bond with a difficult dog they should read "Marley and Me" which, though full of some owner-dumb events, is still a wonderful example of the dog-human bond. At least the owner tried his damndest, took Marley to classes and has the excuse that google wasn't readily available at the time.

There were parts of marley and me that had me crying with laughter.
The bit where the dog jumps out of the moving car and the guy grabs him by the tail and Marleys "great big flapping testicles" are pressed against the window.

on Marley and Me:

I didn't much like this book, the writer is too darn self-satisfied.

Didn't research his puppy selection;
Didn't bother to learn a darn think about appropriate training methods:

He didn't recognize that he should have done better...

Grogan making lots of money, writing a book clearly dumbed down for the masses...a people book, not so much a dog book... this was a book that was successful because it was comfortable for people to read, and didn't question the usual assumptions about how to live with an animal and what that relationship should entail...It was written by a magazine editor, who knows well what people like to read and what they will buy...

My first dog was a challenging cattle dog, and I would have written a more honest book based on what I learned through that experience (that wouldn't have sold). It would have had chapters on socialization, marker training, kids and dogs, and ruminations on what aspects of our relationship were best for both of us...the impact of my family on the dog living with us, how changes in lifestyle affected our relationship...his relations with other family members from his perspective, his interest in nature, and throw toys, and one on one time...

I would acknowledge that Grogan loved his dog and Marley had a better shake than most. AM

 Quote: andrew may

on Marley and Me:

I didn't much like this book, the writer is too darn self-satisfied.

Didn't research his puppy selection;
Didn't bother to learn a darn think about appropriate training methods:

He didn't recognize that he should have done better...

I strongly disagree with that statement. I admit, I read Marley and Me to see just how stupid the petownership in it was. He certainly made mistakes, but this was also in the late 80s and early 90s..."research" to a non-dog person entailed going to the library and reading books, which he had done after the initial mistake of picking the wrong breed (he did later explain this mistake in the book and that next time he would have gone for show-bred rather than field-bred). He also took the dog to obedience classes, *multiple times* as well as reading books on the subject, how else was the average owner supposed to learn about training before the advent of the internet?

In the last chapters there was a lot of reflection on mistakes they had made. He certainly learned about breed types, on OB, on how much exercise a dog needs...I thought he was well-aware he wasn't perfect but kept adjusting his life as he knew more to provide as much as he could for that dog.

I thought the chapters towards the end about Marley's end of life care, never mind how they they kept him despite his causing thousands of dollars of damage in their home multiple times and a number of other issues to boot...how is that not challenging the usual assumptions? My parents are the kind of people that would have had Marley PTS, and are (unfortunately) not in the minority of the type of people reading that book.

Though I suppose I'm now drifting off on another topic XD Did not mean to hijack! >.>

 Quote: Andrew May

... I would acknowledge that Grogan loved his dog and Marley had a better shake than most.

Yes, despite my issues with that book, which are similar to Andrew's, I don't put it anywhere near the category of the Katz books. Not even close. I almost hate to have any well-meaning book with some actual efforts to learn something, anything! be tainted by inclusion.

JMO.

Hello Michelle:

I probably didn't adequately consider the challenge of being a pet owner in the 80s and 90s in my critique...my own hypothetical book-of-first-difficult-dog would have been for the first decade of 2000...good point on the unavailability of the internet back then...thanks for your critique.

It has been some time since I read the book but my overwhelming impression was of his own acceptance of his high cost voyage of discovery with Marley as a being normal, acceptable way to bring a dog into a family...

I know he figured out he had selected the wrong type of pup, but he doesn't seem to grasp that is a really significant error that to me indicates a lack of appropriate concern, rather than a normal mistake...of course he reflects what most people think and all the time I see people selecting breeders without any type of due diligence.

Like I said, I acknowledge he loved his dog and did alright by marley...none of us are perfect...

Grogan is the guy who wrecked organic gardening by saving it, right? who made it saleable and fashionable, rather than hard core organic, dedicated to the serious gardener (who is becoming a rare species)...my mother cancelled her subscription...

My gut told me Grogan wrote the book as a feel good story to make money, not to get at any uncomfortable truths about how dogs and people come together...

heck, he got rich and no one died, jennifer aniston got a few $out of it too...

Has anyone read Bad Dog: A Love Story by Martin Kihn. This is a true story about the author who is trying to overcome addiction problems, train his dog and win back his wife.

I haven't gotten though the entire book yet but he makes enough snarky comments about AKC Obedience and the people that participate that I think the man is a misogynist.

I think he finally gets his Bernese Mountain Dog an AKC Canine Good Citizenship Certificate, not sure if he gets back his wife.