As vitally important as it is, isolation sucks.
On the one hand, you’ve so much time to spend with your dog, but with restrictions in full swing, getting outside for anything aside from the essential exercise isn’t an option.
Below are a few great books to read in your spare time.
They’re focused on helping to improve your understanding of the dog, and how they have become not just mans best friend, but an essential part of many peoples lives.
All of these are crammed full of practical, relatable material in their different ways, unfortunately they’re not full of cute puppies so you might need to look elsewhere for your fix of that!
1.
The Dog’s Mind - Understanding your Dog’s Behaviour by Bruce Fogle, D.V.M., M.R.C.V.S
What's it about? Whilst I’m not in anyway scientifically minded,this book breaks down not only the anatomy of the dog, the differences between dog and wolf etc, it also outlines the early learning stages of your dog without over complicating the topic, which I found useful when we first started training Pacha. It’s also really handy to be able to detect any potential behaviour problems early and learn how to correct them in its’ initial stages.
Pro: Factual information, easy to digest and relate to your own dog. This guy knows his stuff!
Con: Writing style is quite formal and takes a while to settle in with it.
2. The Animals Among Us - The Science of Anthrozoology by John Bradshaw
What’s it about? Whilst this book looks at pets, not dogs in particular, the majority of the discussions are about dogs. It really looks at why so many of us have an animal in our life when they can be so expensive and time-consuming. It talks about different cultures having different attitudes to dogs, from pushing them in prams in some countries, to eating them in others. Quite intense reading but a good one to get stuck in to in the library of isolation.
Pro: Helps you understand why people from all corners of the world have dogs in their lives…not all for the same reason!
Con: Definitely need to take your time reading this one.
3. Ceasar’s Way by Cesar Milan
What’s it about? Cesar has been praised and also criticised for his methods when it comes to correcting dogs’ behaviour, however this book looks more in to his life and the stories he has to tell of the troublesome dogs encountered when he moved to the US.
I think his core teachings of gaining your dog’s respect and ensuring you’re the alpha of the pack is applicable to all, and an eye opener to teaching dogs the way of the world.
Pro: Easy to read, light-hearted and has loads of stuff to be aware of with your own dog.
Con: If you don’t like Cesar… stands to chance you ain’t gonna like this book…but I would ask you to give it a go!
