I have made a nifty little (well, actually it’s not so little, it has about 21 books on it) reading list for 2010. I have some normal somewhat light reading books like Cesar’s Way on the list as well as some hefty theological books on their like The Drama of Scripture.
I am hoping to do a review of each one as I go through them with the hopes that that will keep me more accountable with actually reading the books. Please do not consider any of these reviews anywhere close to being a legitimate or official review. I guess it is more of my opinion.
So, I have several puppy books on the list and if you have been to our place recently you will notice the rather large stack of puppy books in our living room. We hope these will help us in raising Penny because well, she is a handful.
Cesar Millan is the author of Cesar’s Way and the guy that is on National Geographic’s (or”Nat Geo” as they call it now…i’ll stick with calling it National Geographic thank you) Dog Whisperer show.
Cesar starts the book off by sharing his story on how he came to be where he is. I enjoyed reading his story and through his eyes, seeing the major differences in how Americans raise their dogs verses everywhere else. Cesar lightly makes the point that the way Americans raise their dogs creates a lot of the problems that dogs have. We pamper our dogs and don’t treat them as dogs sometimes. Ouch.
I loved the book but I did feel as if it was directed towards families with older dogs or dogs with major issues-anxiety, aggression, etc. I wouldn’t recommend it for someone like me who is kinda clueless as to how to raise a puppy. Cesar really doesn’t address puppy issues at all in this book.
In particular, I thought his section on the formula for a balanced and healthy dog was and is going to be verrry helpful. “The formula is simple: in order to have a balanced dog, you must provide three things: exercise, discipline, affection…in that order!” It seems like such a simple concept and even in our little knowledge of having a puppy, we knew that we wanted exercise to be a major part of Penny’s day but I had no idea how much she really needs it. “Walking with your dog is a primal activity. It is hardwired into her brain to migrate with her pack. Dogs don’t simply enjoy walks because they get to pee and poop and get some fresh air-although shockingly, this seems to be the perception of many owners. To some dog owners, “walking the dog” means letting her out in the yard to do her business, then letting her back in the house. This is torture for a dog. Every cell in your dog’s body is crying out for a walk.” Another ouch. We don’t really have a backyard so that wasn’t even a possibility but this section definitely encouraged me to make sure that Penny gets walking time with me in during the day-even now while she is still super young. I love the formula of exercise, discipline and affection. This chapter in the book goes into great depth behind the reasons for that formula in the order that it is in.
Cesar knows what he is doing when it comes to dogs. I want to be a pack leader!! I learned a lot from this book but again wouldn’t necessarily recommend it in the beginning of life with your puppy. Speaking of puppies, have you seen just how cute and BIG mine is getting? The first picture is me and the Pennster at Christmas and the next one is Penny on campus at SEBTS. Told you she was big.
