Some time ago, dogs
became as interwoven in the American culture as baseball, apple pie and the
Fourth of July. In fact, in most households, the dogs have even trumped
evolution itself and jumped straight to being four legged humans where they are
adorned with human names, designer outfits and fed diets that would confound
even the best nutritionist. In most cases, we've g Some time ago, dogs became
as interwoven in the American culture as baseball, apple pie and the Fourth of
July. In fact, in most households, the dogs have even trumped evolution itself
and jumped straight to being four legged humans where they are adorned with
human names, designer outfits and fed diets that would confound even the best
nutritionist. In most cases, we've granted them our human intelligence and our
sacred human emotions as well. They are no longer dogs to us, they're family!
Yet, for all that man has done to carve the wolf from the wild to create a
surrogate human, today's dog is still a wolf at heart and the accompanying
instincts borne from such ancestry defines how the dog approaches its
world.
The ontogeny of anthropomorphism, where we attach our human
traits to our pets, is the most damaging and paralytic problem associated with
dog ownership today. Believing in a fairy tale world where dogs possess the same
moral consciousness and sense of altruism as attributed to humans has led to a
drastic increase in leash laws, dogs being outlawed in a rising number of city
and national parks, some breeds being banned in several states, an alarming
escalation of aggression to humans, a rising cost in homeowner and business
insurance, and a record number of clinically maladaptive dogs.
This
book is not a training book. It does not cover obedience topics such as heel,
sit, down, stay, and come. Instead, it's about righting the ship of American dog
ownership by changing our perception of our dogs. It is about the author growing
up in the Alaskan wild under the tutelage and guardianship of a Special Forces
survival instructor who introduced him to the ways of wolves and the
similarities they shared with dogs. It is about the wisdom and splendor of
nature and the many life lessons she provides. Mostly, it about developing a
deep understanding of the authors of your dog's behavior; nature and the wolf.
In doing so, you will truly learn who and what your dog really is and the whys
and hows of its behavior. You will learn the tools that nature gave them to
survive and coexist in both the mountains and in our homes. You will learn how
activating and deactivating natural impulses and mechanisms in your dog will
lead to the harmonious existence and the control you always dreamed
of.
Most of all, you will come to embrace the wild in your dog and
the grace and the peace that is breathed into its acceptance. ...more
My review;
When I was growing up we never had a dog. We were only able to have a cat,. Well I married someone who had a dog all his life. He had poodles, German shepherds and a lot of mixtures in between. I wish I had been able to read a book like "Embracing the Wild in Your Dog", by author Bryan Bailey before I got my first dog. This is a wonderful book. The author is someone who really understands animals and their reasons for their behaviors. I give this book a 5/5. I recommend this book to anyone who loves dogs. I was given this book for a review and these are my opinions.
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