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A Dog Year Twelve Months Four Dogs and Me Jon Katz 9780812966909 Books

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A Dog Year Twelve Months Four Dogs and Me Jon Katz 9780812966909 Books

I've never had a Border Collie, but I've heard stories and heard that they are very energetic and high maintenance. I really enjoyed this book for the most part.

But. I love dogs. I am a dog lover. I want all the dogs. I would love to foster dogs, but my resident dog lived in a backyard for six years and was completely unsocialized when I adopted him, and since I do have to work outside the home full time, I don't feel I'm in a position to be a good foster home. While the author loves his dogs, I didn't get the sense that he is a dog lover. For one, his labs came from a breeder. I will never buy a dog from a breeder. I wish breeders no longer existed. There are so many millions of dogs in shelters, living on the streets, or being euthanized because nobody wants them, that it seems unethical to me for dogs to purposely be bred. And yes, I realize that there are so many children in foster care that need to adopted that maybe I shouldn't have bred my own. But dogs are my passion so I don't care how unreasonable it is, that's how I feel.

Then there was this passage: "For the noblest of reasons, it had also become popular – and immensely rewarding – to go to the local pound and bring home stray and abandoned animals. Many were lovely, companionable dogs, but some were mixed breeds unsuitable for suburban families, tense and unpredictable around other animals, kids, even their owners. This can also be true of purebred dogs, some of whom suffer from overbreeding and don't live up to their TV commercial images."

I don't know why that paragraph rubs me the wrong way. It's an innocuous three sentences. There's truth in them. Maybe it's the phrase “become popular”, as if he's dismissing adopting shelter dogs as being beneath him, or being a fad. And of course, as I got further into the book, his descriptions of Devon certainly prove “This can also be true of purebred dogs”.

When one of the author's labs begins ailing and is euthanized, I cried. It's a hard decision, and it's one I've had to make myself, more than once. It's been two years since I lost my dog Max to cancer, but sometimes the grief is still fresh, as if it just happened last month.

But other than the occasional wince or incredulous “did this guy know nothing about dogs” reaction to some of the things he did (throwing a choke chain on the ground next to the dog to get his attention or correct his behavior? Seriously?), I loved the stories about Devon himself, about his personality. I could read about that kind of stuff all day long.


Tags : A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me [Jon Katz] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>“Change loves me, defines and stalks me like a laser-guided smart bomb. It comes at me in all forms,Jon Katz,A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me,Random House Trade Paperbacks,0812966902,Dogs - Behavior - New Jersey,Dogs - New Jersey,Dogs;Behavior;New Jersey;Anecdotes.,Dogs;New Jersey;Anecdotes.,Human-animal relationships - New Jersey,Human-animal relationships;New Jersey;Anecdotes.,Katz, Jon,Anecdotes,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Personal Memoirs,Behavior,Dogs,Dogs - General,Dogs as pets,GENERAL,General Adult,Human-animal relationships,New Jersey,Non-Fiction,PETS Dogs General,Pets,SELF-HELP Personal Growth Happiness,dog;animal;dogs;memoir;animals;pets;non-fiction;autobiography;border collies;new jersey;biography;behavior;biographies;biography autobiography;nonfiction books;true story;inspirational;true stories;bios;non fiction;biographical;narrative nonfiction;motivational;motivational books;memories;advice;auto biography biography;autobiography biography;non fiction books;nonfiction;inspirational books;biography and memoirs;true life;personal life;personal story;personal stories;memoirs biographies,dogs; memoir; animals; pets; non-fiction; autobiography; border collies; new jersey; biography; behavior; biographies; biography autobiography; nonfiction books; true story; inspirational; true stories; bios; non fiction; biographical; narrative nonfiction; motivational; motivational books; memories; advice; auto biography biography; autobiography biography; non fiction books; nonfiction; inspirational books; biography and memoirs; true life; personal life; personal story; personal stories; memoirs biographies; dog; animal

A Dog Year Twelve Months Four Dogs and Me Jon Katz 9780812966909 Books Reviews

I rarely write book reviews but felt compelled to do so with this book. From the beginning, I could not connect with this author. He describes an idyllic and mellow life with his two labs - writing, walking, treats and regular forays to his cabin in the woods - and yet I could not feel that he had any personal insight into these two middle-aged dogs. At one point, he describes a hike with Julius in the Provincetown dunes where the dog ended up with cracked and bleeding paws, probably, the "sneering" vet told him, he was allergic to the beach sand. When the vet "smirkingly" suggested booties, Mr. Katz felt that both his and his dog's dignity would be injured. This is just one example where the needs and ego of Mr. Katz outweigh the real needs and desires of his dogs.

And then he gets a call from a Border Collie breeder with a two-year-old emotionally damaged BC who needs to be rehomed. The breeder had read one of his books and knew that Mr. Katz was the perfect person for this dog. She actually pesters him until he agrees to take the dog. Then the terrorized dog is put on a plane as opposed to being quietly driven to it's new home. When it arrives at the airport it is spinning crazily in it's crate and yet Mr Katz opens the crate door and surprise, the dog escapes. Then ensues a chase of seemingly immense, and to the dog, terrorizing proportion. It is eventually captured and taken to Mr. Katz home where it begins it's training with Mr Katz yelling commands that the dog is incapable of following, and then having "throwing" chains and pooper scoopers thrown at it along with corporal punishment. Mr Katz finds that the best way to exercise this needy dog is put a fence between it and the road and encourage the dog to chase large vehicles. With the arrival of the new dog, the lab's needs are put on the back burner. This is where I actually became emotionally involved in the book. I felt a great sense of sorrow for all three dogs. The emotional upheaval of the lab's lives meant that their golden years were sadly disrupted and little did I know as I was reading that they would shortly be "put down". As I read, my continual thoughts for the Border Collie was that if ever a dog needed a person familiar with operant conditioning (clicker training), it was this misunderstood dog. Next the younger lab is diagnosed with hip dysplasia and a heart condition. Mr Katz takes the dog to the cabin where they spend a day happily playing ball and then Stanley is euthanized. Mr. Katz writes that "Several friends and neighbors pleaded with me to collect more opinions, consider surgery, try holistic healing, get on the Web, or explore radical new diets. One even suggested adoption I could seek a quieter home, where Stanley could live peacefully and perhaps longer." Mr. Katz states that he would rather have "died himself than give him away, break our extraordinary bond". I couldn't help but wondering how euthanasia fit into that scenario.

And when one thought things couldn't get any worse, the breeder calls again and once more, pesters Mr. Katz until he agrees to bring another Border Collie into this dysfunctional home and once more the dogs lives are in upheaval. And now it's Julius turn to become ill. He is diagnosed with colon cancer and quickly dispatched. I found it interesting when Mr. Katz finds that he has collapsing bones in his ankles and has to wear two braces, it is Julius that he credits with saving his life twice when he fell and could have frozen to death. Of his own injuries Mr. Katz writes, "It hurts. But I keep walking and hiking, and when I fall, I hear Julius's mournful cry." I wonder that Mr. Katz doesn't dispatch himself quickly as he did his dogs.

Mr Katz also speaks cavalierly about animal caretakers who he feels go too far in trying to give their animals the best and longest lives possible. I couldn't help but feel as I read that he was trying to justify his own rash actions. It would appear that when Mr. Katz tires of a dog, he is quick to euthanize. And sadly, I see that in a free sample of Mr Katz next book, I read that the Border Collie, after five years with Mr. Katz, is euthanized for biting three people. Why would Mr. Katz allow a dog who has bitten once an opportunity to bite two more people. This is a management problem and not an excuse to euthanize.

I will never buy one of Mr. Katz books again. Please don't support this author or he will get yet another dog to use as a subject for his next book.
I've never had a Border Collie, but I've heard stories and heard that they are very energetic and high maintenance. I really enjoyed this book for the most part.

But. I love dogs. I am a dog lover. I want all the dogs. I would love to foster dogs, but my resident dog lived in a backyard for six years and was completely unsocialized when I adopted him, and since I do have to work outside the home full time, I don't feel I'm in a position to be a good foster home. While the author loves his dogs, I didn't get the sense that he is a dog lover. For one, his labs came from a breeder. I will never buy a dog from a breeder. I wish breeders no longer existed. There are so many millions of dogs in shelters, living on the streets, or being euthanized because nobody wants them, that it seems unethical to me for dogs to purposely be bred. And yes, I realize that there are so many children in foster care that need to adopted that maybe I shouldn't have bred my own. But dogs are my passion so I don't care how unreasonable it is, that's how I feel.

Then there was this passage "For the noblest of reasons, it had also become popular – and immensely rewarding – to go to the local pound and bring home stray and abandoned animals. Many were lovely, companionable dogs, but some were mixed breeds unsuitable for suburban families, tense and unpredictable around other animals, kids, even their owners. This can also be true of purebred dogs, some of whom suffer from overbreeding and don't live up to their TV commercial images."

I don't know why that paragraph rubs me the wrong way. It's an innocuous three sentences. There's truth in them. Maybe it's the phrase “become popular”, as if he's dismissing adopting shelter dogs as being beneath him, or being a fad. And of course, as I got further into the book, his descriptions of Devon certainly prove “This can also be true of purebred dogs”.

When one of the author's labs begins ailing and is euthanized, I cried. It's a hard decision, and it's one I've had to make myself, more than once. It's been two years since I lost my dog Max to cancer, but sometimes the grief is still fresh, as if it just happened last month.

But other than the occasional wince or incredulous “did this guy know nothing about dogs” reaction to some of the things he did (throwing a choke chain on the ground next to the dog to get his attention or correct his behavior? Seriously?), I loved the stories about Devon himself, about his personality. I could read about that kind of stuff all day long.