For the Love of a Dog

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What enlightenment! - Rated
I would not describe myself as a "doggy" person, although I do share life with two dogs, whom I adore, and was lent this book by someone whose dog I was minding whilst she was away. I found it absolutely fascinating. Being against vivisection, I was a little unsettled by reports of findings from experiments which did involve animals, but the author makes her own distaste for such practices quite clear, mentioning them only as evidence to support what she is saying.

There were some elements of dog behaviour mentioned which I felt did not have the same meaning in my own dogs as she suggested it did, and I was not convinced, for example, that all dogs I meet feel intimidated when I look them in the eye. But as someone who has recently been undertaking some petsitting, I feel the book has given me a lot more confidence in meeting unfamiiiar dogs and understanding their behaviour. Furthermore, it has actually given me some insight into human emotion and behaviour!

I think what appeals most to me in this book is that, although the writer is a animal behaviourist, she reveals that she is also a dog devotee, and becomes emotionally involved with her own dogs in much the same way as we non-professionals do. I found it heartwarming that even highly-educated and experienced dog "experts" suffer anguish at the illness and death of their own pets, and she acknowledges that grieving over the death of a dog is both healthy and normal.

I raved so much about the book that the person who lent it to me let me keep it and bought herself another copy. Although "scientific" in a way, it is very easy and enjoyable to read, and I will value it as a reference book in the future, and one I am likely to lend to other dog owners as I meet them through the petsitting.