The Puppy Diaries: Raising A Dog Named Scout (book review)
The Puppy Diaries: Raising A Dog Named Scout by Jill Abramson (Times Books, 2011)
This is a book for the novice and those who are on their zillionth dog. The book is part memoir/diary and part pet primer, with lots of information that the author gleaned while raising and training Scout. One of the interesting things I learned in this book is that British standard is a type of Golden Retriever, which is almost white. You'll also learn about choosing a dog; how and what to feed your dog; how to train your dog--there are at least two schools of thought, of course; exercise; pet care; and health insurance. The reader will learn, among other things, that there are a lot choices to be made!
Abramson begins with the loss of her beloved Buddy and the reluctance to try to replace him. [I'll digress here to say how much I empathized with her; I felt the same way when I had to put Xena to sleep. It also took me a while to even consider getting a new dog. Her name is Bkizzard, btw.] Her investigations into pet food and training, etc. are helpful to not only the novice, but those who aren't aware of some of the current choices--and trends. My favorite part of the book focused on training. I have not embraced clicker training, and my sister, who trained her latest dog with the positive training method, is still annoyed by the fact that her dog is not as well trained as our many previous dogs. He just wasn't taught the basics! Anyway, Abramson gives the reader a balanced look at the Cesar Milan/pack-leader approach and the postive reinforcement technique (clicker/lots of treats). I think the book is worth reading just for that! I highly recommend this book.
Footnote: For an excellent look at dog training in fiction, read Susan Conant's Gaits of Heaven (Berkley Prime Crime, 2006) Another good book I recommend is Trust the Dog by The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation with Gerri Hirshey (Viking, 2010). (Jill Abramson mentions Fidelco and fostering their puppies in The Puppy Diaries.)