Rick Bragg

2 x The Speckled Beauty and His People 

Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South 

2021 

Weight: 20.13 oz

Method of Disposal: Giving two to dad and one to a friend

Two different people gifted me The Speckled Beauty within weeks of each other, and I felt loved.  I had just finished reading Where I Come From, which I purchased at Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Ga.  Bragg has a couple essays where he mentions The Speckled Beauty and some other dogs, The Dancing Skinny and Pup McGraw.  I had already started naming dogs at the shelter after them.  We are still on the lookout for our Pup McGraw, but we had a Speck, a Speckled Beauty, and a Dancing Skinny.  I guess I should do a Bragg too.

Everyone seems to love Rick Bragg, and I like to buy at least one book anytime I go into an independent bookstore--or really any bookstore these days--so, when I saw his name on the new arrivals wall, I grabbed it right away.  It was a collection of essays, and it was good.  I did think I would have enjoyed them more by stumbling on them one by one in magazines or online but, realistically, that had not happened often so this was my best chance to read them.  I just could not resist reading them all at once, which might have taken away some of the power of them individually.  I thought about my dad several times, especially when he talked about fishing without the idea of catching anything.  My father often says he is going to feed the fish when he goes fishing.

The Speckled Beauty I enjoyed even more.  I liked the feel of reading it.  It was a slow meander and, though my bad dogs are indoors and I would never dream of doing some of the things with them that I read in the book, like his brother using motor oil to treat mange, I am not unfamiliar with this way of being with dogs.  I have met and talked with dog owners like these (Given, I have told them not to use motor oil). Bragg describes his dog, his brother's dogs, his mama's dogs.  They all have a different outlook on dogs and a way of being with them, and they all clearly love dogs very much.  Bragg and his mom take in only the most pitiful of strays and love them no matter how terrible they are, maybe love them because they are so terrible.

But, this book was not just about a dog or about dogs.  It was about people, about the South, about getting older, about loss.  It was beautiful and sad and funny and easy and hard.  At one point, Bragg caught me so off guard that I just burst into tears.  I was not expecting it at all and was shocked, as I laid in bed next to my sleeping wife, holding this book close to my chest, scaring my own dogs who woke with a start when they heard my sobbing.  And, it was not because the dog died, and it was not because of the dog at all.  In fact, the main dog lives in this one, folks.  That is a rarity in and of itself.  It was because Bragg has a way of letting you in so that you do not just read the words but feel them fully.  His indirect descriptions bring up powerful emotions.  He may be talking about a dog, but through that dog we learn so much about him and his family.  

It is good stuff.

A Dog's Purpose

A Dog's Purpose: A Novel for Humans by W. Bruce Cameron
2011
Weight: 10.4 oz
Method of Disposal: Lending Library at animal shelter

I read this late at night when my wife was asleep, and I bawled my eyes out, heaving, and whimpering without waking her up at least two, possibly three, times.  The book was much like a Hallmark movie with a story line guaranteed to be an emotional roller coaster for anyone with a heart, but there is no particular depth and the story is not really a surprise.  Everything is expected.  I read it while also going through vet visits with our older dog who we lost the night after I finished this book.  That really upped the ante for me and made it to where I could not blog about this book for a minute afterwards.

This is not a book I am likely to recommend because it was kind of like television for me.  I enjoyed it, and it captured my interest, but it is not something that will change my life or that made me connect on any deep, human level.  It was not outstanding as a work of art.  All that being said, I would not discourage anyone from reading it either.  It WAS entertaining, and it did make me feel things.  If you want to read a story about a loyal and "good" dog and his relationship to people from his own perspective then why not?  Pick it up.  See what you think.

Cesar's Way

Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems by Cesar Millan

2006

Weight: 12 oz

Method of Disposal: Recycling

I am tempted to burn this thing just to ensure that no one tries to get it out of my recycling bin but, with all the natural disaster surrounding us, I am not sure I should risk adding to the problem--either by not recycling or by burning down my neighborhood!  As a shelter manager, I cannot begin to describe the harm done by Cesar.  So many adopters assure us that they will be great homes for our pups because they use all of Cesar's methods and they are THE Alphas in their homes.  They do not know that every last one of us is cringing.  We try to gently, without embarrassing them, lead them in another direction and encourage them to see a professional dog trainer that is more modern, more positive.  We know that being uneducated does not mean that they will be bad dog owners in the long run, but we also know that if we let them walk out the door and use Cesar tactics on their new dogs that many of them will come back with a set of issues that is different and more challenging that the ones they might have left with.

It is not common that a dog is euthanized for aggression at our shelter.  We see a trainer that specializes in working with aggressive dogs, and we try to screen and prep our adopters with all the information and everything we know.  We do have to say goodbye to them sometimes and one of the consistent things I have seen is that these dogs have often been through some fairly intense Cesar-style training and that it has broken the dog's spirit.  When they see people they see someone alien who does not have the faintest idea how to communicate with them.  There is something broken in these dogs that ,when you start to become aware of it, will make you break down into tears because you will feel the guilt, the disappointment, and the shame of a shelter worker who knows there was a different way.  It must be incredibly frustrating for these dogs to live each day with their families, trying to express themselves in so many creative ways and the only thing that makes people listen is what will ultimately get them surrendered and/or euthanized, and that is biting.  It is a last resort for many when they first begin trying to communicate but, by the time it becomes their go-to, you have a real problem.

I know there are people out there who use Cesar's methods or methods like them and have great success in molding the dog that they have always envisioned having.  Many dogs are so amazing that they learn and love us in spite of us.  That is often described as the magic of dogs.  Unfortunately, it is the intelligent, the fearful, and the aggressive dogs that usually do the worst with this type of training, and it is those dogs that people are most commonly willing to seek outside help from trainers for.  There are a lot of trainers out there that use old school methods of punishment and dominance, and there are many people who are not even certified but, after having read books like these and working with their own dogs, feel like they are experts and can help you.  These people seem to be drawn to working with aggressive cases.  I do not know why they are drawn to it--maybe it is the challenge--but I can understand why the dog owners are so desperate for a fix that they will try anything, even if it does not sit right with them.  It breaks my heart to see a loving owner who never thought they would give up on their dog, who has funneled so much time, energy, and money into mis-training their dog, come into the shelter in defeat.  All of those resources could have been used in other, more successful ventures but, by then, the owner is burnt out and cannot hear it.  Sometimes, in rare cases, the dog has given up too.

Cesar is right that dogs need exercise and that being calm and collected is essential to communicating with your dog.  That is what you might read that is useful in this book.  The things that might cause harm are assuming that your dog is like a wolf, that you and your dog are having a power struggle to be the more dominant one, that flooding is a useful tool in overcoming a dog's fears, and Cesar might even encourage you to read the wrong things in your dog's body language.  For some dogs, they will continue to be the loving, wonderful pups they were born to be with a little extra fear of their owners but, for other dogs, these methods can make them react and become dangerous.  There is a reason his show comes with the warning not to try his methods at home.  I would recommend you don't.  And, when given a copy of his books or one of his cds, do not pass it along.  If you read it, please also talk to other dog trainers and read other books to see if something feels a little more right for you and your pets.  I think that many people know in their gut something is wrong with his method, but they want so badly to see a change in their pet that they push that down and dominantly proceed ahead without listening to their own dog.  A relationship is built on mutual trust and respect, and it cannot be maintained without good communication.  Your relationship with your dog is not different.