{"product_id":"katz-on-dogs-isbn-9780812974348","title":"Katz on Dogs","description":"In a nation where our love of dogs keeps growing and dog ownership has reached an all-time high, confusion about dogs and their behavioral problems is skyrocketing. Many dogs are out of control, untrained, chewing up furniture, taking medication for anxiety, and biting millions of people a year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow, in this groundbreaking new guide, Jon Katz, a leading authority on the human-canine bond, offers a powerful and practical philosophy for living with a dog, from the moment we decide to get one to the sad day when one dies. Conventional training methods often fail dog owners, but Katz argues that we know our dogs better than anyone else possibly could, and therefore we are well suited to train them. It is imperative, he says, that we think rationally and responsibly about how we choose, train, and live with the dogs we love, and the more we learn about ourselves, the better we can recognize their wonderful animal natures. Misinterpreting dogs is a profound obstacle to understanding them. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKatz believes that both people and dogs are unique–a chow differs from a Lab just as a city dweller differs from a farmer–and he describes how such individuality isn’t addressed by even the best and most popular training methods. Not every training theory is for everyone, notes Katz, but almost anyone can train a dog and live with him comfortably. Katz on Dogs is filled with no-nonsense advice and answers to such key questions as: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• What kind of dog should I have? Is there is a specific breed or kind of dog for my personality, family, or living situation?\u003cbr\u003e• What is the best way to train a dog?\u003cbr\u003e• Can I trust my vet?\u003cbr\u003e• How often (and for how long) can a dog be left alone?\u003cbr\u003e• Is it preferable to have only one dog, or are more better?\u003cbr\u003e• What are the secrets to successful housebreaking?\u003cbr\u003e• What are my dogs thinking, if anything?\u003cbr\u003e• How can I walk my dog instead of having her walk me? \u003cbr\u003e• Is it ever okay to give away a dog you love?\u003cbr\u003e• When is it time to put my dog down?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKatz draws from his own experience, his interactions with thousands of dog owners, vets, breeders, dog rescue workers, trainers, and behaviorists, and he has tested his approach with volunteer dog owners around the country. Their helpful and often inspiring stories illustrate how all of us can live well with our dogs. You can do it, Katz contends. You can live a loving and harmonious life with your dog. | \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003ePraise for The Dogs of Bedlam Farm\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An inspiring portrait of the human-animal bond, The Dogs of Bedlam Farm traverses an emotional terrain that ranges from embattled spirit to celebratory energy. And it made me a Katz fan for life.”\u003cbr\u003e–The Seattle Times \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You are a lucky reader if you pick up this rewarding memoir full of insight, humor, and hard-won wisdom.”\u003cbr\u003e–The Providence Journal \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A potent stew of triumphs and failures, all tied together by the constancy of complicated, joyful, lovable dogs.”\u003cbr\u003e–Publishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Funny, touching, and insightful . . . a perfect gift for the introspective dog owner.”\u003cbr\u003e–AKC Gazette | Jon Katz has written fourteen books–six novels and eight works of nonfiction–including A Dog Year, The New Work of Dogs, The Dogs of Bedlam Farm, and Katz on Dogs. A two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award, he has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, and the AKC Gazette. A member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, he writes a column about dogs for the online magazine Slate and is co-host of “Dog Talk,” a monthly show on Northeast Public Radio. Katz lives on Bedlam Farm in upstate New York and in northern New Jersey with his wife, Paula Span, who is a Washington Post contributing writer and a teacher at Columbia University, and their dogs. He can be e-mailed at jonkatz3@comcast.net or at jdkat3@aol.com. | It’s the question prospective dog owners should ask first, perhaps the most important in anyone’s life with a dog:\u003cbr\u003eWhy?\u003cbr\u003eThe most critical decisions about our lives with dogs are often made\u003cbr\u003ebefore we bring one home. Acquiring a dog in America is disturbingly\u003cbr\u003esimple. You can trawl online, find a breeder, or take one of the puppies\u003cbr\u003esome kid is offering outside the supermarket (I wouldn’t advise it). You\u003cbr\u003emight come across a stray while out walking or driving.\u003cbr\u003eSome people seek dogs for rock-hard practical reasons: security,\u003cbr\u003ehunting, therapy, search-and-rescue. But most of us, say psychologists\u003cbr\u003eand behaviorists, have more complicated emotional and psychological\u003cbr\u003emotives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWHY DO I WANT A \u003c\/b\u003e1 \u003cb\u003eDOG?\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThe more trouble humans have connecting with one another, the\u003cbr\u003emore they turn to dogs (and other pets) to fill some of the gaps. We seem\u003cbr\u003eto need to love and be loved in ways that are uncomplicated, pure, and\u003cbr\u003edependable.\u003cbr\u003eContemporary America is, in many ways, a fragmented, detached\u003cbr\u003esociety. Our extended families have moved away; we often don’t know\u003cbr\u003eour neighbors; many of us hole up at night, staring at one kind of screen\u003cbr\u003eor another. Divorce is commonplace. Work has become unstable, uncertain\u003cbr\u003efor many, often unpleasant. Many people seem to find it easier to\u003cbr\u003elive and interact with dogs than with one another, and so the bonds between\u003cbr\u003ehumans and dogs grow steadily stronger.\u003cbr\u003eYet this development in the relationship of these two species is onesided.\u003cbr\u003eMany dogs are well served by humans’ deepening attachment, but\u003cbr\u003ethe dogs can’t make similar choices. It’s human need that has spawned\u003cbr\u003ethe great canine love affair.\u003cbr\u003eHumans have decided to bring dogs into the center of their lives.\u003cbr\u003eFor all the fussing about animal rights, dogs have none. They don’t get\u003cbr\u003eto make consumer decisions. They’re dependent on us for everything\u003cbr\u003ethey need to survive. They can’t talk back; they have no say about their\u003cbr\u003eenvironments or futures.\u003cbr\u003eAlthough dogs have helped and worked with humans for thousands\u003cbr\u003eof years, it’s only in recent decades that they’ve come to be seen as\u003cbr\u003esomething other than (perhaps more than) animals. Pet-keeping was\u003cbr\u003epopular among the wealthy and powerful in medieval times, notes animal\u003cbr\u003eethicist James Serpell in the book \u003ci\u003eAnimals and Human Society:\u003cbr\u003eChanging Perspectives, \u003c\/i\u003ebut it didn’t acquire widespread respectability\u003cbr\u003euntil the late seventeenth century, a time of growing enthusiasm for science\u003cbr\u003eand natural history and increased concern for animals’ welfare.\u003cbr\u003eSince then, our attachment to dogs has intensified significantly. We\u003cbr\u003ehumans have never been closer to another species. We spend tens of billions\u003cbr\u003eof dollars on their care, feeding, and amusement; give them human\u003cbr\u003enames; talk to them as if they can understand us; believe we know what\u003cbr\u003ethey are telling us in return.\u003cbr\u003eThis emotionalism often entangles dogs in our needs and wants. It\u003cbr\u003eis commonplace now, though it would have been shocking even a gen-\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eeration ago, to hear people say—without apology or embarrassment—\u003cbr\u003ethat they love their dogs more than they love most people, that they see\u003cbr\u003etheir dogs as members of their family, that they confide their most intimate\u003cbr\u003eproblems and secrets to their dogs, who are more loyal and understanding\u003cbr\u003ethan parents, spouses, lovers, or friends. Spending a few days\u003cbr\u003ein a vet’s office as part of my research for a book, I was amazed to hear\u003cbr\u003eone woman after another urge, “Look, Doctor, I can live without my\u003cbr\u003ehusband, but you’ve got to save this dog!” Yet vets tell me they hear it\u003cbr\u003eall the time.\u003cbr\u003eAnd not just from women. Behavioral research shows that women\u003cbr\u003elove dogs in part because they seem emotionally supportive yet complex,\u003cbr\u003eable to understand their owners in a profound though wordless\u003cbr\u003eway. Meanwhile, men love dogs because they are perfect pals, happy to\u003cbr\u003ego places and do things, but unable to hold or demand conversations.\u003cbr\u003eLike it or not, our dogs’ upbringings reflect our own. We tend to\u003cbr\u003etreat our dogs the way we were treated, or the way we wish we ’d been.\u003cbr\u003eEither way, our own pasts profoundly shape our attitudes about dogs\u003cbr\u003eand the ways we train and communicate with them.\u003cbr\u003eThis is usually an unconscious process. Few owners bring much\u003cbr\u003eself-awareness to their canine relationships or reflect on their own families\u003cbr\u003ewhen they scream at their dogs to come, or coo at them as if they\u003cbr\u003eunderstood. One school nurse I know grabbed her dog by the ears\u003cbr\u003eevery night when she came home, yelling, “Do you love me? Am I your\u003cbr\u003esweet mommy?” She wondered why the dog tried to run off during\u003cbr\u003ewalks.\u003cbr\u003eSo the motives for getting a dog become important, if you are worried\u003cbr\u003eabout its welfare and want a good relationship. Is your answer to\u003cbr\u003ethe why-a-dog question that it’s easier to seek companionship from a\u003cbr\u003edependent animal than from a person? Do you want a dog because of\u003cbr\u003esubliminal messages from TV and movies? Are you more drawn to rescuing\u003cbr\u003ecreatures than to training and living with them?\u003cbr\u003eDo we discipline in ways we were disciplined, ask for the levels of\u003cbr\u003eobedience and perfection demanded of us, criticize them in the voices\u003cbr\u003eand words we heard? Are we reenacting old family dramas, trying to\u003cbr\u003eheal traumas? Can we honestly say that we or somebody else in our\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ehousehold is willing to take emotional responsibility for a dog, not only\u003cbr\u003eloving but training and caring for it?\u003cbr\u003eA woman named Susan told me she wanted a dog because she felt\u003cbr\u003eunsafe in a gritty, impoverished neighborhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey.\u003cbr\u003eSo she got an English mastiff so enormous that her landlord soon made\u003cbr\u003eher give him away, then a German shepherd named Thunder. The dog\u003cbr\u003edoes effectively protect the house, charging the front door when\u003cbr\u003estrangers come by. But since Susan, who works as a New Jersey Transit\u003cbr\u003econductor, concedes she is a poor trainer with little interest in working\u003cbr\u003ewith the dog, she has to lock Thunder in the basement when friends or\u003cbr\u003erelatives visit. She ’s come home to find countless pieces of shredded\u003cbr\u003email; the dog understandably sees envelopes coming through the door\u003cbr\u003eslot as a menace. She ’s also had to replace scratched doors and broken\u003cbr\u003ewindows.\u003cbr\u003eBy now, Thunder weighs ninety pounds and pulls Susan all over the\u003cbr\u003esidewalk when she takes him out. The neighbors and their children are\u003cbr\u003eterrified of him, though he’s never actually bitten or harmed anyone.\u003cbr\u003eThe dog doesn’t seem aggressive so much as conscientious; he is doing\u003cbr\u003ethe job he was hired to do, a victim of his own effectiveness. But Susan,\u003cbr\u003ewho says she loves Thunder, concedes that she never really wanted a\u003cbr\u003edog for its own sake. She probably should have taken a self-defense\u003cbr\u003ecourse or called a security-alarm company instead. “It would be cheaper\u003cbr\u003ein the long run, and easier.”\u003cbr\u003eUnderstanding the reasons we want a dog is central to choosing the\u003cbr\u003eright ones, training them properly, living with them happily. The more\u003cbr\u003ewe understand about ourselves, the better choices we are likely to make\u003cbr\u003efor both species.\u003cbr\u003eWhen you think about it, you probably know plenty of people who\u003cbr\u003ecomplain that their dogs are too active or too sedentary, too interested in\u003cbr\u003echasing squirrels or too distracted to come when called, too protective\u003cbr\u003eof the house or so nonthreatening they’d help carry out the valuables.\u003cbr\u003eThough the dog usually gets the blame, as often as not the owner made\u003cbr\u003ean unfortunate or ill-considered choice. Consequently, the dog is under\u003cbr\u003epressure to be something other than what it is, while the humans have\u003cbr\u003etheir hands full. With a little thought and research, the lives of dogs and\u003cbr\u003etheir people can be a lot easier and more satisfying. But that does require\u003cbr\u003esome understanding of one’s own psychology and emotions, some\u003cbr\u003ethought about where we are in our own lives and how our dogs fit in.\u003cbr\u003eJim, a hunter who lives near me in upstate New York, keeps three\u003cbr\u003ebeagles in a large kennel 360 days a year. They emerge for a few morning\u003cbr\u003ehours on the other five days to track game. They spend a lot of time\u003cbr\u003ewaiting, but when their time comes, they shoot out of the kennel and\u003cbr\u003einto the woods. “They are great dogs,” says Jim, who hasn’t even\u003cbr\u003enamed them.\u003cbr\u003eDoes he like having them? I asked him once. “When they do their\u003cbr\u003ejobs I do,” was his response. I feel reflexively sorry for the dogs when I\u003cbr\u003edrive by, especially when I consider my own dogs’ pampered lives, but\u003cbr\u003eJim’s dogs, while they’re loud, don’t seem to know they are deprived.\u003cbr\u003eNot all dogs could live that way. But Jim’s beagles demonstrate the\u003cbr\u003estartling adaptability of dogs. They’re there to hunt, period. Jim has a\u003cbr\u003ewife and four children to whom he’s devoted, and he’s busy with his construction\u003cbr\u003efirm; he doesn’t need dogs to be his hobby or his confidants.\u003cbr\u003eOnce a day, he heads out to the kennel with a bucket of meat and\u003cbr\u003eleftovers and tosses the contents into the kennel. At Christmas, he adds\u003cbr\u003ea bucket of biscuits. They get all their shots, and see a vet if they’re ailing.\u003cbr\u003eThe beagles have never been inside his home. He speaks of them\u003cbr\u003eproudly and fondly, but they’re tools, like a drill or a new rifle, not little\u003cbr\u003epeople, not even really pets in the contemporary sense.\u003cbr\u003eYet the dogs seem content and healthy. Jim knows precisely why he\u003cbr\u003ewants them. They understand the simple rules and, since dogs lack\u003cbr\u003ehuman awareness of the passage of time, don’t know how long they go\u003cbr\u003ebetween hunts. It may not be the way many of us would wish to have\u003cbr\u003edogs, but his clarity about the kinds of dogs he wants and why seems to\u003cbr\u003ework well for everyone involved.\u003cbr\u003eThen there’s Andrea, an artist who lives on a fifty-acre farm in Vermont.\u003cbr\u003eFor various complex reasons, she ’s given up on the idea of men,\u003cbr\u003emarriage, a family; instead, she sought out a collie rescue group. She,\u003cbr\u003etoo, understood exactly why she wanted a dog, and the bond she’s\u003cbr\u003eformed with hers appears to make them both happy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I have not been fortunate with relationships, at least not yet,” she\u003cbr\u003esays. “But Whisper and I adore each other. I have so much fun with her,\u003cbr\u003eand she gives me so much comfort and love. I hope she ’s a bridge to another\u003cbr\u003erelationship, but if she isn’t, I’ll be okay.”\u003cbr\u003eIt isn’t for me to say—and in truth I can’t really decide—whether\u003cbr\u003eAndrea made a wise or healthy choice. But she thought about her motives,\u003cbr\u003eabout how a dog would fit into her life, and she made a considered\u003cbr\u003edecision.\u003cbr\u003e“Because my kid’s been begging for one” is, on the other hand, usually\u003cbr\u003ea suspect reason to acquire a pet. It’s a common refrain, but dogs\u003cbr\u003ebought as Christmas surprises for demanding children often have a\u003cbr\u003erough time of it. Promises get made and forgotten; interest in the newcomer\u003cbr\u003epeaks, then wanes.\u003cbr\u003eNot always. A twelve-year-old neighbor of mine asked for a golden\u003cbr\u003eretriever last year for Christmas and his parents agreed, on the condition\u003cbr\u003ethat Jeremy take responsibility for it. Perhaps they had confidence that\u003cbr\u003ehe actually would because he’d already proved his commitment by\u003cbr\u003efeeding his fish and cleaning out hamster cages.\u003cbr\u003eIn any event, Jeremy does take care of Clancy. He walks him before\u003cbr\u003eand after school, feeds him, brushes him, takes him to training\u003cbr\u003eclasses every Saturday. Each day after school, Jeremy and Clancy\u003cbr\u003etrain together. The dog has learned to come when called, to sit, stay,\u003cbr\u003eand lie down on command. People in rural areas familiar with 4-H\u003cbr\u003eprograms know how healthy it can be for children to take responsibility\u003cbr\u003efor animals. People in child- and dog-crazed suburbs—where the\u003cbr\u003erule often seems to be, the smaller the yard, the bigger the dog—\u003cbr\u003eknow how unusual it is. For Jeremy, getting a dog does seem like a\u003cbr\u003epositive thing; he kept his word, or perhaps his parents took the unusual\u003cbr\u003estep of insisting that he keep it. Either way, I’ve encountered\u003cbr\u003efew kids like him. Parents, beware: somebody in a household has to\u003cbr\u003etake primary responsibility for a dog, and if the kids don’t, Mom or\u003cbr\u003eDad has to step in.\u003cbr\u003eParents often give their kids things they think are good for them—\u003cbr\u003ecell phones, computers, dogs—without much thought about how these\u003cbr\u003ethings will be used or treated after the purchase.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo why \u003ci\u003edo \u003c\/i\u003eyou want a dog?\u003cbr\u003eIf the answer, in part, stems from a complex emotional history (as is\u003cbr\u003ecertainly the case with me), make sure you understand and think\u003cbr\u003ethrough just what it is you are asking of a pet.\u003cbr\u003eDespite our habit of anthropomorphizing dogs, they don’t\u003cbr\u003eunderstand what we ’re thinking and can’t possibly grasp the nuances of\u003cbr\u003ethe emotional roles we sometimes ask them to fill. They can’t even behave\u003cbr\u003eamiably—by our definitions—if not properly chosen, exercised,\u003cbr\u003eand trained. Since our expectations are usually much too high, we become\u003cbr\u003eeasily disappointed or angry. There’s substantial evidence that\u003cbr\u003ewe’re \u003ci\u003ecreating \u003c\/i\u003eproblem dogs—biters, chewers, barkers, neurotics in\u003cbr\u003eneed of antidepressants. This happens partly because so many people\u003cbr\u003eget the wrong dogs at the wrong times for the wrong reasons.\u003cbr\u003eThere’s a moral component to taking on a dog. Though they aren’t\u003cbr\u003ecapable of higher-level thought processes, dogs certainly have emotions.\u003cbr\u003eThey experience pain and loss, fear and affection. This has given\u003cbr\u003ethem and other animals some moral standing among people of conscience.\u003cbr\u003eIt may not make them the equivalent of children, but it does obligate\u003cbr\u003eus to think about how we treat them. But every dog isn’t \u003ci\u003efor\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eeveryone. I don’t accept the growing, politically driven notion that\u003cbr\u003eevery dog is equally deserving of rescue, that all dogs are essentially\u003cbr\u003ealike in their adaptability to our tense, crowded, litigious human environment.\u003cbr\u003eI don’t find that to be true. Dogs are ferociously idiosyncratic, varying\u003cbr\u003ewildly depending on breed, genetics, litter experience, treatment,\u003cbr\u003eand environment. Some are genial and calm, bred for temperament, and\u003cbr\u003esome are violent, bred and trained to hunt or fight. Few of us have the\u003cbr\u003etraining skills or time to alter all of those behaviors. The wrong choice\u003cbr\u003eof dog can prove a nightmare for you, your family, and your community;\u003cbr\u003ethe right one, a joy.\u003cbr\u003eSome dogs need to work, some don’t; some will hide from thunder\u003cbr\u003ewhile others won’t even notice it; some hate people in hats and others\u003cbr\u003echase bikes. You can’t always know these oddities in advance; all the\u003cbr\u003emore reason to proceed with caution.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE BEDLAM FARM CHECKLIST FOR\u003cbr\u003ePROSPECTIVE DOG OWNERS\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eGet the dog you want. \u003c\/i\u003eThe abuse of animals in general, and\u003cbr\u003edogs in particular, has led lots of owners to the conviction\u003cbr\u003ethat the only moral option is to save a dog from a pound,\u003cbr\u003ewhere he faces euthanasia. It can be a wonderful experience\u003cbr\u003eto rescue a dog (my rescued border collie Orson is\u003cbr\u003elying beneath my desk), but, like dog ownership itself, it’s\u003cbr\u003enot for everybody. It can also be a wonderful experience to\u003cbr\u003efind a great dog from a good breeder. I have two of those,\u003cbr\u003eas well: one herds sheep and runs my farm, and the newest,\u003cbr\u003eClem, suffuses my home and life with sweet companionship.\u003cbr\u003eI smile almost every time I look at her.\u003cbr\u003eNobody can dictate what kind of dog you ought to get,\u003cbr\u003ecertainly not I. You’ve got to take care of it, so find one that\u003cbr\u003eyou’re likely to love.\u003cbr\u003eBut do your homework.\u003cbr\u003eEven with forethought, it remains something of a\u003cbr\u003ecrapshoot. Dogs bought in pet stores likely come from\u003cbr\u003epuppy mills—high-volume breeding operations where inbreeding\u003cbr\u003ecreates and perpetuates health and temperament\u003cbr\u003eproblems. According to studies cited by editor James Serpell\u003cbr\u003eand his colleague J. A. Jagoe in \u003ci\u003eThe Domestic Dog,\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003edogs obtained from pet stores are much more likely to exhibit\u003cbr\u003esocial fears and dominance-type aggression than\u003cbr\u003edogs from breeders or shelters.\u003cbr\u003eMany rescue and shelter dogs have behavioral problems,\u003cbr\u003ethrough no fault of their own. They’ve been abused,\u003cbr\u003etraumatized, or repeatedly re-homed, to the point that, according\u003cbr\u003eto the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary\u003cbr\u003eMedicine, they’re much more likely to have\u003cbr\u003eproblems like compulsive chewing, aggression, barking,\u003cbr\u003eovereating, and what humans call “separation anxiety,”\u003cbr\u003ethan purebreds from quality breeders.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eResponsible rescue groups and shelter workers not\u003cbr\u003eonly acknowledge this but make sure adopters understand\u003cbr\u003eit, so that the dogs don’t bounce back or, worse, suffer mistreatment\u003cbr\u003eor injure others. But I’ve encountered some rescue\u003cbr\u003eworkers—suffused with passion for and dedication to\u003cbr\u003eneedy dogs—who are too eager to move violent or troubled\u003cbr\u003edogs into mainstream homes.\u003cbr\u003eAnd even dogs from conscientious breeders are\u003cbr\u003eshaped by their mothers and siblings, so that some are\u003cbr\u003edamaged, fearful, and cowering, while others learn to feel\u003cbr\u003esafe and trusting. Plenty of unscrupulous or greedy breeders\u003cbr\u003emass-produce dogs for cosmetic or commercial reasons,\u003cbr\u003ewithout regard to health or temperament history.\u003cbr\u003eSince the dog universe is almost completely unmonitored\u003cbr\u003eand unregulated by overwhelmed, underfunded local governments,\u003cbr\u003epeople who want dogs are truly on their own.\u003cbr\u003eThat’s why it’s a good idea to ask breeders and rescue\u003cbr\u003egroups for references, so you can see how their other dogs\u003cbr\u003ehave worked out.\u003cbr\u003eIt’s dicey to make dog selection a moral or political\u003cbr\u003eact. Know that if you choose a rescue dog, he or she may\u003cbr\u003eneed particular patience and skill. Most dogs can be trained\u003cbr\u003eor retrained, even at older ages, but if you’re not willing or\u003cbr\u003eable to make the consistent commitment of time and work,\u003cbr\u003ea different sort of dog may suit you better. Getting a purebred\u003cbr\u003edog when there are so many needy dogs in shelters is\u003cbr\u003estill, to my mind, a perfectly valid option, and sometimes\u003cbr\u003ethe better one.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eImpulsiveness is your worst enemy when it comes to bringing a\u003cbr\u003edog into your home. \u003c\/i\u003eTake your time. Don’t decide on a dog\u003cbr\u003ebecause you saw one you liked on a TV show or walking\u003cbr\u003edown the street. Or to surprise your kids, or your emptynesting\u003cbr\u003eparents, or because you heard a breed is smart.\u003cbr\u003eBorder collies are smart, but they do unspeakably stupid\u003cbr\u003ethings, like trying to herd garbage trucks. A smart dog\u003cbr\u003eisn’t necessarily a great pet, anyway. I was neither amused\u003cbr\u003enor philosophical when Orson figured out how to open the\u003cbr\u003erefrigerator and remove an entire chicken.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eLower your expectations. \u003c\/i\u003eThe pups frolicking on lawns in\u003cbr\u003edog-food commercials are beautiful, but odds are you will\u003cbr\u003eacquire a real dog. Real puppies have accidents during\u003cbr\u003ehousebreaking training, mistake carpets for lawns, chew\u003cbr\u003ethings you treasure. Real dogs roll in deer scat and then\u003cbr\u003ehop onto the couch. They need shots and medications;\u003cbr\u003ethey get sick.\u003cbr\u003eReal dogs may never get much of a chance to bound\u003cbr\u003ealongside you through the park. Because so many dogs\u003cbr\u003eare so badly trained, they make non–dog lovers increasingly\u003cbr\u003euneasy. Cops all over the country write tickets for\u003cbr\u003epeople who walk dogs unleashed. Dog owners get sued\u003cbr\u003efor their pets’ bites, even for menacing behavior. Insurance\u003cbr\u003ecompanies increasingly check to see which breed of\u003cbr\u003edog you have, and cancel policies if they don’t approve.\u003cbr\u003eSome animal-rights groups believe dogs should be given\u003cbr\u003egreater legal status, almost equal with humans’. Some\u003cbr\u003edon’t believe humans should be allowed to “own” a dog at\u003cbr\u003eall. But the Rational Theory of Dog Training emphasizes\u003cbr\u003ethe responsibilities of ownership.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eAnd these responsibilities can seem unremitting. \u003c\/i\u003eDogs need to\u003cbr\u003ego out even when it’s pouring and freezing. They need attention,\u003cbr\u003eaffection, stimulation, and exercise, even when\u003cbr\u003eyou’re tired, busy, or not in the mood. Their needs don’t\u003cbr\u003eabate when you want a weekend off or if you stay late at\u003cbr\u003ethe office.\u003cbr\u003eInformed dog lovers expect these problems and navigate\u003cbr\u003ethem with humor and patience. In return, they get\u003cbr\u003emuch love, fun, and companionship. There are conflicts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand rewards in any relationship, human or canine. I believe\u003cbr\u003ein taking a long view when it comes to dogs. You need to\u003cbr\u003esee beyond the moment, especially when you are on the\u003cbr\u003efloor at three A.M. dabbing at the carpet with Nature ’s Miracle,\u003cbr\u003etrying to remove the odor.\u003cbr\u003eThe long view only comes with understanding the nature\u003cbr\u003eof these animals, and accepting that even with great\u003cbr\u003eeffort they won’t always mesh with ours.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eBeware the abuse excuse. \u003c\/i\u003eJust a decade ago, dogs were still\u003cbr\u003e“adopted,” not “rescued,” an even more emotionally\u003cbr\u003echarged notion. More dog owners than I can count now introduce\u003cbr\u003eor describe their dogs with the phrase: “She was\u003cbr\u003eprobably abused.”When I ask how they know, the evidence\u003cbr\u003eis often circumstantial, at best.\u003cbr\u003eBe cautious if the desire to save a dog from abuse is the\u003cbr\u003eprimary reason you want one. There are lots of ways to\u003cbr\u003eexpress humanity and empathy, for people or animals, but\u003cbr\u003ethis particular animal is moving into your home. If you\u003cbr\u003emisread your own purposes or make erroneous assumptions,\u003cbr\u003eboth of you will be coping with the aftermath for\u003cbr\u003eyears.\u003cbr\u003eSteven R. Lindsay, in his seminal two-volume \u003ci\u003eHandbook\u003cbr\u003eof Applied Dog Behavior and Training, \u003c\/i\u003eexplores assumptions\u003cbr\u003emade about abuse in the acquisition of dogs.\u003cbr\u003eFear of human contact and other avoidance behaviors\u003cbr\u003ecan sometimes be traced to previous mistreatment, Lindsay\u003cbr\u003eacknowledges. But shelter workers are quick to invoke\u003cbr\u003ethat explanation when they talk to prospective adopters,\u003cbr\u003ewithout knowing whether it’s true. “Undoubtedly, physical\u003cbr\u003eand emotional abuse occurs and may be a significant\u003cbr\u003ecause of fear,” Lindsay writes. “However, it probably occurs\u003cbr\u003efar less often than one might expect from the frequency\u003cbr\u003eof such reports.”\u003cbr\u003eSince dogs can’t correct us, or complain about their\u003cbr\u003eparents, it’s simple to assume that they’re victims of\u003cbr\u003ehuman cruelty, an idea that also often fits our own emotional\u003cbr\u003eneeds and histories. But genetics, inbreeding, and\u003cbr\u003econditions in a litter, among other factors, can also profoundly\u003cbr\u003eshape a dog. Most of the time, we will never really\u003cbr\u003eknow—a reality that may prove less satisfying than a rescue\u003cbr\u003efantasy. Would you love this dog as much if you knew\u003cbr\u003ethat she was fearful because she was insufficiently socialized\u003cbr\u003eas a puppy?\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eBe skeptical of yourself and expect skepticism in the people\u003cbr\u003eyou’re getting a dog from. \u003c\/i\u003eGood breeders and conscientious\u003cbr\u003erescue and shelter workers will be wary of your wish for a\u003cbr\u003edog, even to the point of obnoxiousness. They’ll ask about\u003cbr\u003eyour schedule, yard, fence, kids, dog-owning experience—\u003cbr\u003eand they should. In fact, if they don’t, take it as a\u003cbr\u003ewarning sign that you might be seeking a dog in the wrong\u003cbr\u003eplace. So many people know so little about dogs when they\u003cbr\u003eget one or have such unrealistic expectations that millions\u003cbr\u003eof dogs are mistreated, returned, or abandoned each year.\u003cbr\u003eThe people who distribute them have seen a lot, too much\u003cbr\u003esometimes. You don’t want a dog from someone eager to\u003cbr\u003egive or sell you one without asking some tough questions.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eKnow yourself. \u003c\/i\u003ePeople tend to blame dogs when problems\u003cbr\u003earise, but they are almost always our fault. Either we made\u003cbr\u003ea dumb choice (bringing a huskie to a condo in Boca\u003cbr\u003eRaton), or we don’t really have the time and personality\u003cbr\u003efor training a dog, or we took refuge in fantasies.\u003cbr\u003eMost likely, you’re getting a dog because you need or\u003cbr\u003ewant something to love, or another thing to love, or because\u003cbr\u003eyou’d like to replace things you love that are gone.\u003cbr\u003eThere’s nothing wrong or troubling about that, but it does\u003cbr\u003ea dog no service to repress or deny it by insisting, “I got a\u003cbr\u003edog for the kids” or “I just got it to keep burglars away.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd does that desire to love outweigh other characteristics?\u003cbr\u003eAre you patient? Do you have a high tolerance for\u003cbr\u003enoise, disorder, and tumult? Do you prize clean rugs and\u003cbr\u003efurniture? Or sleeping late on Sundays? Do you anger easily?\u003cbr\u003eGetting a dog is a big, expensive, life-altering decision\u003cbr\u003ethat affects you for years.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eDogs are not human, remember. \u003c\/i\u003eThey don’t think in human\u003cbr\u003ewords or terms. They can’t tell stories, follow narratives,\u003cbr\u003eread our minds (although they do sense our moods). They\u003cbr\u003eare not “children with fur,” or children at all. We may love\u003cbr\u003ethem to death, but that doesn’t mean they’re like us.\u003cbr\u003eIn fact, most dog owners love them because they’re \u003ci\u003enot\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003elike us. To deny them their dogness is a disservice to both\u003cbr\u003especies. To forget that they are animals, driven largely by\u003cbr\u003einstinctual desires for each other and for food, sex, and attention,\u003cbr\u003eis to alter the reality of their natures, and to endanger\u003cbr\u003ethem.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eDogs aren’t therapists, either. \u003c\/i\u003eYour relationship with the dog\u003cbr\u003ewill likely be affected and shaped by your own family history\u003cbr\u003eand emotional past, but the dog’s ability to heal old\u003cbr\u003etraumas or fill voids is limited. People will tell you that their\u003cbr\u003edogs understand their innermost thoughts and know their\u003cbr\u003edeepest secrets, but don’t dump your emotional baggage on\u003cbr\u003ean animal. If you need help with problems, major or minor,\u003cbr\u003eget it. If your dog understands you better than your husband\u003cbr\u003eor wife, give the dog a bone, then go see a marriage\u003cbr\u003ecounselor, or at the very least have some discussions with\u003cbr\u003eyour spouse. Don’t ask your dog to make you happy or\u003cbr\u003etreat your depression. Your dog’s thoughts probably center\u003cbr\u003eon when you’re going to get off your butt and feed him.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eDogs are increasingly being seen as sagacious spirits and prescient\u003cbr\u003esouls. \u003c\/i\u003eThe Rational Theory doesn’t buy it. The simpler your relationship with a dog, the better, because dogs\u003cbr\u003eare simple. They love rules, routine and clarity, leadership,\u003cbr\u003eintriguing smells, other dogs, and, of course, food and the\u003cbr\u003epeople who provide it. One of the cornerstones of the Rational\u003cbr\u003eTheory: Your dog is crazy about you, but he can\u003cbr\u003ealso learn to love almost anyone else holding a hamburger.\u003cbr\u003e■ \u003ci\u003eA bedrock notion of my approach to living with dogs is that we\u003cbr\u003eneed to be realistic, flexible, and creative, harder on people but\u003cbr\u003eeasier on dogs. \u003c\/i\u003eExpect a lot of yourself in terms of patience,\u003cbr\u003edetermination, and consistency. As you are, the dog will\u003cbr\u003efollow suit. Try not to think in terms of “good” and “bad”\u003cbr\u003edogs. These are human notions that do not apply to animals.\u003cbr\u003eThere are, instead, dogs that understand how to live\u003cbr\u003ein the world and dogs that don’t. Occasionally, dogs are\u003cbr\u003einherently violent, genetically damaged, or mistreated beyond\u003cbr\u003erepair. Happily, they’re rare.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA CAUTIONARY TALE\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eAcquiring a dog is a far more seminal event in a person’s or\u003cbr\u003efamily’s life than the purchase of a plasma-screen TV or an SUV. Yet\u003cbr\u003epeople will spend weeks or months test-driving cars, researching models\u003cbr\u003eand prices on the Net, gawking in parking lots. Then they’ll buy a\u003cbr\u003edog—a living thing who will be with them for years, often at great expense—\u003cbr\u003ehaving done no research, and with nothing ready but a bag of\u003cbr\u003edog food. Dog and owner both pay for this, one way or another.\u003cbr\u003eHence my trepidation about Kyle, a TV producer who","brand":"Random House Trade Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48338545443045,"sku":"NP9780812974348","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780812974348.jpg?v=1769572625","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/katz-on-dogs-isbn-9780812974348","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}