Reviewer Conny Withay:Operating her own business in office management since 1991, Conny is an avid reader and volunteers with the elderly playing her designed The Write Word Game. A cum laude graduate with a degree in art living in the Pacific Northwest, she is married with two sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren.
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Authors: Hy Conrad and Jeff Johnson
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN -13:
978-1-4022-6328-6
Follow Here To Purchase Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You to Know: Eleven Courageous Canines Tell All
Authors: Hy Conrad and
Jeff Johnson
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN -13:
978-1-4022-6328-6
Hy
Conrad and Jeff Johnson know dogs. Perhaps they know dogs too well as
their book, Things Your Dog Doesn't Want
You To Know, tells more than the story
of eleven dogs throughout a portion of their lives. The book
gives detailed experiences, nuances, and thoughts
(warranted or unwarranted) of well-known canine breeds to the tee
that you believe the dogs are actually writing the words.
The two hundred and thirty one page book has photos showing each of the eleven dogs, dedicated with their own personalized background. Each turn of a page shows one dog's perspective or essay on a topic. The reader jumps from one dog's experience to the next simply by turning the page. At times is hard to keep track of the individuality of a dog as one reads through the book, but the similar photo and background design keep the reader on track. Like a dog, the reader is quickly trained to know which dog has which personality or trait. The rounded cut-corners of the book are unique and give a more creative feeling. Two of the fonts used were harder to read but overall, the book can be read in a couple of hours.
With each of the dogs'
personality, the reader is bound to fall in love with a special
breed. Be it Axelrod, the golden Labrador who has trouble
understanding house rules and dinner menus, Tinkerbell, the obnoxious
Chihuahua princess who is self-absorbed like her owner or the
workaholic German Shepherd Sarge who is looking for the
perfect drill master, all eleven dogs get to tell their own
stories, their own experiences and their own opinions on life as a
canine. But most of all, each dog wants to not only understand his or
her master, but love that special human being.
Having a three year old Beagle named Daniel, I thoroughly enjoyed and related to so many parts of this book. When I recanted to my husband sections of the book, Daniel would give a look as if canine secrets were being given away. He seemed to resent stories about Orson the Bulldog having to go on a diet and was upset I was learning Sophie-the-Spaniel's ways to increase walking time. I literally laughed out loud several times and had to assuredly pet Daniel to convince him my love had not waned toward another.
This book was delightful
to read because it was so accurate to the many breeds described. It
would make a great gift for anyone considering a dog to help pick the
breed. Not all breeds are covered but enough are mentioned toadequate and true information. Although one part of the ending is
heart-breaking, any dog owner who can relate to the situation will be
comforted.
It was a funny, easy-to-read, laugh-out-loud book that dog owners will enjoy, yet dogs may have a cause of concern as now their secrets are out to us humans.