Discover a deeper world behind our canine companions

Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs

Over the years, I have come across some ideas that have fundamentally changed my understanding about the canine creatures we love.

In today’s email, I want to share with you three of my all-time favorite books on dogs.

Each one of the following has taught me invaluable lessons about our furry friends.

If you choose to delve into a few of these, you might also find new knowledge that will alter your heart and mind.

I hope you take the plunge!

(PS: I am not an affiliate, I simply love these books and want to share them with you in case you might love them, too.)

Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs
by: Suzanne Clothier

In Bones Would Rain from the Sky, Suzanne Clothier takes a radical new direction in understanding our life with dogs...and our mutual love. Drawing on a lifetime of experience with dogs, this nationally renowned dog trainer brings us astonishing new lessons about our animals - and ourselves. Gently, with intelligence, humor, and unfailing patience, Suzanne Clothier guides us to truly comprehend another creature's mind and heart.

You will discover how our dogs see the world from their uniquely canine perspective, how we can meet their deep need for leadership without using force or coercion, and how the "laws" of canine culture often put our dogs at odds with us and our very human world. Clothier's unparalleled insights into aggression in dogs can help prevent a tragedy, including the unnecessary destruction of a pet.

As in no other "dog book" or training manual, in Bones Would Rain from the Sky an extraordinary woman shows us how to find a deep connection with another being and to receive an incomparable gift: a profound, lifelong relationship with the dog you love.

https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Would-Rain-from-Sky-audiobook/dp/B06WLJ2G8X

Pukka’s Promise: The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs

by: Ted Kerasote

When Ted Kerasote was ready for a new dog after losing his beloved Merle - who died too soon, as all our dogs do - he knew that he would want to give his puppy Pukka the longest life possible. But how to do that? So much has changed in the way we feed, vaccinate, train, and live with our dogs from even a decade ago. 

In an adventure that echoes The Omnivore’s Dilemma with a canine spin, Kerasote tackles all those subjects, questioning our conventional wisdom and emerging with vital new information that will surprise even the most knowledgeable dog lovers. Can a pure bred be as healthy as a mixed breed? How many vaccines are too many? Should we rethink spaying and neutering? Is raw food really healthier than kibble, and should your dog be chewing more bones?

Traveling the world and interviewing breeders, veterinarians, and leaders of the animal welfare movement, Kerasote pulls together the latest research to help us rethink the everyday choices we make for our companions.

And as he did in Merle’s Door, Kerasote interweaves fascinating science with the charming stories of raising Pukka among his dog friends in their small Wyoming village. 

Funny, revelatory, and full of the delights of falling in love with a dog, Pukka’s Promise will help redefine the potential of our animal partners.

https://www.amazon.com/Pukkas-Promise-Quest-Longer-Lived-Dogs/dp/0544102533

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know

by: Alexandra Horowitz

Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a picture of what it might be like to be a dog. What’s it like to be able to smell not just every bit of open food in the house but also to smell sadness in humans, or even the passage of time? How does a tiny dog manage to play successfully with a Great Dane? What is it like to hear the bodily vibrations of insects or the hum of a fluorescent light? Why must a person on a bicycle be chased? What’s it like to use your mouth as a hand? In short, what is it like for a dog to experience life from two feet off the ground, amidst the smells of the sidewalk, gazing at our ankles or knees?

Inside of a Dog explains these things and much more. The answers can be surprising—once we set aside our natural inclination to anthropomorphize dogs. Inside of a Dog also contains up-to-the-minute research—on dogs’ detection of disease, the secrets of their tails, and their skill at reading our attention—that Horowitz puts into useful context. Although not a formal training guide, Inside of a Dog has practical application for dog lovers interested in understanding why their dogs do what they do. With a light touch and the weight of science behind her, Alexandra Horowitz examines the animal we think we know best but may actually understand the least. This book is as close as you can get to knowing about dogs without being a dog yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Dog-What-Dogs-Smell/dp/1416583432

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs. 

Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs

The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs

What Dogs See, Smell, and Know

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