Book review

I've read two new books recently and thought I'd share - most of the books I pick to read are those recommended to me (I rarely just pick something off the shelf).


This was a recommendation from Landon's mom. It's technically a 'young adult' genre book - I've discovered that only real difference between adult genre and young adult is the main characters age. Some people think young adult books are only about proms, mall adventures, and boy craziness, but this (much like the Twilight series) is an example of a book that can be appealing to those of us out of our young adult years. Or think of The Giver - a book geared towards YA, but insightful and thought-provoking for almost any age. What I also like about YA books is the little (if any) swearing or illicit intimate descriptions.

Back to The Hunger Games!

I enjoyed this book and it was definitely one those can't-put-it-down-take-it-with-you-everywhere kind of books. Though it takes place in the future, it isn't a science fiction or techno type story - instead, it's a story of a teenage girl, Katniss, and her involvement in a yearly "game" devised by the government, though this is one game you don't want to be selected for. Another boy from her area, Peeta, is also involved in the games and it's great, fast-paced story about the challenges they face. I read my mother-in-law's copy or I would loan this book to you if I had it...so go check it out!

Now for the next book:

If you like dogs, already have a dog, or even thinking about someday getting a dog you MUST read this book. You may recognize Cesar from his show The Dog Whisperer (which channel we don't get!). This isn't a book about training tricks or how to better pamper your poodle: it can summed well in a sentence he writes towards the beginning of the book about what he does: "I rehabilitate dogs, but I train people."

My mom recommended this book - she loves Cesar and his show though she doesn't have a dog herself! We have a four-year-old Terrier mix named Honey. She's always been a pretty good dog - very good with Grant, doesn't chew things or make big messes. She's pretty low key most of the time and is a great dog to take on a walk. I have a few things about her I've wanted to change, but all in all, I can't complain about this dog too much. I've never read any doggie-help books before because I never felt the need. But I started reading 'Cesar's Way' and am almost done with it - - I've enjoyed it immensely! Though he doesn't offer training tricks, he does tell in great detail how to create the behaviors that many of us want in our dogs: calmness, obedience, and predictability.

Basically, this book is all about the things we do wrong when relating to our dogs. We treat them like little humans when dogs think and view their world completely differently from us. Even someone like me - who doesn't view her dog as her 'baby', doesn't at all humanize dogs, and sees a very distinct difference between animals and people - still learned a lot from this book (if you do tend to humanize your dog, boy are you in for a change to your thinking!)

Having lived outside of the U.S. for the first part of his life, Cesar describes these crazy notions we Americans tend to have about dogs and how they should be treated. Unlike many other countries, we tend to use human psychology on dogs - when dogs have "issues", it's because of the way we treat them - like people. They are dogs. They are wired differently. He (nor I) can't say that enough.

I'm tempted to just copy/paste the entire book right here - but I'll spare you, though those that don't have dogs probably stopped reading this a long time ago. Here are just a few tasty tidbits:

*in nature, all dog packs have one leader. To have an obedient dog means YOU must be the pack leader in your home. Dogs that behave in ways that we don't like (jumping on people, being out of control, etc) are exerting their leadership since you aren't showing any. You must always project calm-assertive energy (not aggressive...assertive) when correcting or associating with your dog.

*Dogs need: Exercise, discipline, and affection...in that order!! People are very good at giving tons and tons of affection to dogs, but that's not their primary need. Only giving affection - without exercise or boundaries - is denying a dog what it's hardwired to need to be a happy, balanced dog - and give the owner less hassles. (So many of these things can be applied to child raising as well! Kids need lots of love and affection - of course - but they also need boundaries and parenting. They need to have a purpose in the family and do better with structure and limits.) Dogs don't think like we do. They don't need constant reassurance of your love - they need constant reassurance of your leadership to be happy.

*From a dog's first moments and throughout it's life, it understands the world first through smell, then sight, then lastly, hearing - nose, eyes, then ears (touch also being another key component). Humans and our senses are pretty much the opposite. Which is why yelling at your dog or saying "Stop jumping on people, Buddy!" or "Get down please!" or lavishing them with baby talk right when you walk in the door does little to effectively communicate with them (in fact, doing the baby talk and projecting all that excited energy right when you walk in the door is what causes the imbalances in the first place). Correction is best done through visual means or by touch (not harmful touch, don't worry he explains what that means) while projecting your calm-assertive leadership - emphasis on calm...and assertive.

Boy, I've gone into more detail then I should have. There is just so much he teaches and it's an easy read. Seriously, anyone that owns a dog should be reading this book. We all know someone with an out-of-control, annoying dog that we dread having to associate with. It's not really the dog's fault - it's the owners. Find a way to slyly slip this book to your friend. (hey, even your friends with out-of-control children could benefit from this book, though not every lesson applies, most do!) I have this book so if you live nearby and would like to borrow it, let me know!

Happy reading!