Your Dog is Watching You
Jim Heath
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 BookSurge.com
ISBN: 1921019204

A writer finds out about dog psychology the hard way.

Booklover Jim Heath's family had had dogs for as long as he could remember. He didn't give them a second thought, they were just there.

As an adult, Jim steeped himself in the Buddhist way of life, met Mary, who would become his wife, & they set out on their life together. Landing in the Antipodes, they got themselves a little male Jack Russell(because they're cute & intelligent) & named him Mono. You'll have to read the book to find out the reason behind that moniker. Jim doesn't tell us if they had Mono “fixed”. They also got themselves some sons over the years who, by Jim's omissions, were obviously not “fixed”, raised with much hassle, or trouble out on walks.

This was not so with Mono, who had been doted on, played with & patronized since he was a pup. Ergo, he grew to doghood with no effective training & few social dog manners or skills, who dragged his bemused humans into dog attack after dog attack as they walked the proscribed areas where they lived.

After one particularly hair-raising & blood-letting attack by a loose German Shepherd, Jim began in earnest to search for salvation. Everyone had ideas, mostly bad, & Jim spent a small fortune on pepper spray, fog horns & cattle prods, even hunting in a snake-infested woodshed for a spear - as in walk carefully & carry a big stick.

Letters to the editor in his local rag began another series of barking up the wrong trees until he came upon the name of Jacquie Humphrey - dog psychologist. She is also a human psychologist, an obvious connection which, at the time, Jim didn't make. After all, it's his dog who has problems, right? Still, on that first desperate phone call, Jacquie imparted some hurried advice - she was literally going out the door for a well-earned six week holiday = vacation. Using the tools she'd suggested about dog-on-dog body language & means of defusing or avoiding frontal aggression, Jim met with some surprising successes. Encounter after encounter, our Jim was becoming trained.

Jacquie also offered the names of authors who had written books about the long story of wolf & man, & the social life of dogs. Now our Jim's been a reader from early boyhood, so hunting up those books was a treat, & boy, did he learn stuff -- as in what all that peeing really is, how dogs read smells, canine hierarchies, doggie body language, & what their “getting to know you dances.” are all about, as well as training techniques for the home life of the pack -- as in who eats when, who's in charge & who enters the cave first.

Your Dog is Watching You is the true story of how this dog owner learnt how dogs really live. While it is a fascinating read, it has layout problems -- not one of BookSurge's better editions -- & is in need of editing. However, Jim Heath's sense of humor pulls you along -- you just have to know what's around the next page. & yes, finally he gives us the story of how Mono became Nil.

If, like me, you live with dogs, you'll thoroughly enjoy Jim Heath's tale of how he became the leader of his pack & his dog's best friend. If, unlike me, you're not living with a retired Alaskan dog trainer & sledder, you'll find much of what Jim discovered fresh territory with lots of “loverly” new smells & ideas. It is, however, a sign of the times, that dog owners have no sense of what makes a dog tick, nor what their work in life is. & yes, dogs can do a lot of thinking, need company & to feel useful.

Your Dog is Watching You covers a lot of ground in only a few pages - 129 to be precise - with chapters like: What you need to know about wolves; How cavemen turned wolves into dogs; The wolf in your dog; Turning wolf-dogs into human pets... slowly; The pack; Varieties of dog aggression, & Jacquie's dog FAQ, & more. & Jacquie Humphrey, if you're reading this -- write your own book -- I'll gladly work with you!

A good primer of what NOT to do to your pet as well as how to train yourself as its owner. It's for all dog-lovers, no matter where in the world you all go a-walking.

Authors recommended in Your Dog is Watching You:
John Fisher
Bruce Fogle
(01/01/06)

Rebecca