A Dog's Wisdom

Margaret H. Bonham

Description

Live spontaneously. Be who you are. Hang tough. Be curious. Take a siesta.

Through a collection of delightful vignettes, author and dog-lover extraordinaire Maggie Bonham shares the lessons she's learned from beloved dogs. Dogs live in the moment, forgetting yesterday's slights and not worrying about tomorrow's plight, but finding joy and contentment wherever they can. Following their instinctive lead can enrich your philosophies on home, work, play, friends, love, relationships, raising a family, life, health, and more.

Complete with tips from canines Kodiak, Kira, Ranger, and Haegl, A Dog's Wisdom is a stirring celebration of the special bond between people and the dogs they love. Through compelling stories and touching photographs, A Dog's Wisdom will inspire you to look at the world with renewed enthusiasm and wonder--and to look at your best friends even more appreciatively and affectionately.
Acknowledgments.

Foreword by Steve Dale.

Preface.

Meet the Dogs with Wisdom.

1. A Dog’s Life.

2. That Denning Instinct.

3. Marking Territory.

4. Working Dogs.

5. Party Animals.

6. Tail Wags.

7. Puppy Love.

8. Family Values.

9. Stay Healthy.

10. Believe in Yourself.

Appendix Treats to Show Your Love.

Sujets

• Dogs
• Pets

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470328248
• Langue: English

Extrait

A Dog s Wisdom
Also by Margaret Bonham from Howell Book House:
The Complete Guide to Mutts
Having Fun with Agility
Bring Me Home! Dogs Make Great Pets
Bring Me Home! Cats Make Great Pets
A Dog s Wisdom
A Heartwarming View of Life
Margaret H. Bonham
Copyright 2005 by Margaret H. Bonham. All rights reserved.
Howell Book House
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Photo credits can be found on page 186.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Bonham, Margaret H.
A dog s wisdom / Margaret H. Bonham.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-7914-1 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 0-7645-7914-2 (pbk.)
1. Dogs--Miscellanea. 2. Dogs--Pictorial works. 3. Human-animal relationships. I.Title.
SF426.2.B66 2005
636.7 0022 2--dc22 2005003956
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Book design by LeAndra Hosier
Cover design by Wendy Mount
Book production by Wiley Publishing, Inc. Composition Services
In memory of Quinn, Winnie, Ed, Kersel, Tasha, Houston, Lightning, Spice, Serena, Cuawn, Conan, Mirin, Shadow, Dancer, Jasmine, Skye, and Framm.
But this book is especially dedicated to Kiana, the white Malamute. If there s a heaven, she s there causing mayhem.
And to Larry, who loves the dogs as much as I do.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Steve Dale
Preface
Meet the Dogs with Wisdom
1 A Dog s Life
Live Spontaneously
Surprise Someone with Something You ve Learned
Be Who You Are
Howl at the Moon
Take a Siesta
Stick to a Schedule
There s Safety in Numbers
Hang Tough
Whining Works
Love Is Stronger than Death
Try Something Scary
Be Curious
Taste Everything
Be Amazed
2 That Denning Instinct
Never Dirty Your Den
Home Is Where You Enjoy Family and Friends
Home Is a Safe Place
Know the Way Home
Protect Your Home
Celebrate the Holidays
Home Is a Great Place to Cuddle
Defend Your Turf
3 Marking Territory
Think Big
What s Mine Is Mine
What s Yours Should Be Mine
My Land-I Protect It
If It s on the Ground, It s Mine
Eat All Your Food
Know Your Territory
Guard Your Possessions
Turn Your Back and It s Mine
4 Working Dogs
Leaders Don t Always Look the Part
Be Patient
Act Like You Know What You re Doing
Leadership Takes Many Forms
Lead When You Know the Way
Be Tenacious
Be Nice to Those Below You
Expect Good Things from People
Think before You Act
Study the Situation Thoroughly
Teamwork Is Important
Don t Back Bite
5 Party Animals
Never Miss a Moment to Be Silly
Always Take Time to Play
Have a Sense of Humor
Sharing Makes Games More Fun
She Who Has the Most Toys Wins
Every Day Is a Good Day to Play
Never Miss an Opportunity for a Morning Walk
Don t Be Afraid to Step Outside the Rules
Learn by Watching
Invent a New Game
You Don t Have to Win to Have Fun
6 Tail Wags
Enjoy Each Other s Company
Bark before You Bite
Be There for Your Friends
Set an Example
Be Loyal to the End
7 Puppy Love
Love Doesn t Need Words
Love Unconditionally
Share Your Love with Your Friends
Make Someone Feel Better
Love Doesn t Care About Money
Everyone Needs to Be Loved
Kiss Everyone
Love Is a Gift
Forgive and Forget
Protect Those You Love
Even the Unlovable Need Love
Be a Good Listener
Greet Your Loved Ones Enthusiastically
8 Family Values
Set a Good Example
Set Boundaries
Correct Gently
Teach Your Pups What They Need to Know
Comfort a Frightened Pup
Protect Your Pups
Provide a Safe Place for Your Pups
When You re Scolded, Look Hurt
A Tired Puppy Is a Happy Puppy
9 Stay Healthy
Avoid the Vet If You Can
Get Plenty of Exercise
Drink Lots of Water
Keep Your Teeth Clean
Eat a Well-Balanced Diet
Keep Active to Stay Young
Tell Someone When You re Sick
Have a Pet
Buckle Up
Keep Your Wounds Clean
Know When to Let Go
10 Believe in Yourself
Appendix Treats to Show Your Love
Acknowledgments
I d like to acknowledge the following people for their help with the book:
Jessica Faust of Bookends.
Roxane Cerda (senior acquisitions editor), Cindy Kitchel (director of acquisitions), and Kathy Nebenhaus (publisher/vice president) of Wiley.
Beth Adelman (friend and development editor).
Myrna Wantanabe, Sandy Whelchel, Jessica Faust, Diane Peters Mayer, Carol Richtsmeier, Karen Holowinski, Charlene LaBelle for sharing stories about their dogs.
Thanks to the following people for photos: Jessica Faust, Diane Peters Mayer, Carol Richtsmeier, Al Holowinski, Karen E. Taylor, Teresa Bullard, Carolyn Risdon, Phyllis Degioia, Margaret Meleski, Monissa Whiteley, and Jim and Kathy Stabler.
Anne Page, who let me reprint recipes from Houston s Canine Chronicles.
Thanks to Kodiak, Kira, Haegl, and Ranger, who show me their wisdom daily. Thanks to Mishka, who has made me smile.
Thanks to Larry, who made suggestions and puts up with the dog madness.
Foreword
By Steve Dale
Dogs are wise enough to teach us simple, everyday life lessons. Just yesterday, I was putting some boxes away and I couldn t see what was going on below me because I was holding them. I accidentally stepped down pretty hard on my dog Lucy s leg. She yelped, got up, and within two seconds began to wiggle in forgiveness.
Of course, if someone mistakenly steps on our foot, we also forgive. But, now fess up: Isn t there just a tiny twinge of anger that lingers until the other person says, Pardon me ? That s one difference between Canis familiaris and Homo sapien: Dogs forgive a whole lot faster than people do.
We ve also learned to trust the judgment of our dogs. Wendy is a friend who walks through a busy Chicago park nearly every day after work. Bingo, her dog, is the type who s happy to see everyone who approaches. When he was a puppy, he tried desperately to say hi to everyone in the park, but he eventually learned not everyone wants to return the greeting or has the time to; they just keep on jogging or racing by on Rollerblades. Still, when Bingo is in the park, his tail never stops wagging.
On one winter day in the park, a man walked up to Wendy. He was about to say something, but Bingo immediately began to growl.
Wow! In Bingo s six years, Wendy had never heard that sound come from him. She looked down at her dog, totally surprised. She saw his tail was held erect and the hair on his back was standing on end.
Although all of this occurred in maybe three seconds, the stranger got the message and walked off.
The next day, a bulletin was posted in the building where Wendy lives that a man fitting exactly the description of that stranger had robbed someone in the park. It happened at around the same time Wendy and Bingo were leaving the park. Wendy believes that if it wasn t for Bingo s judgment, she would have been the one who was robbed.
Since that one cold night in the park about two years ago, Bingo has met countless people and has never growled again. How did he know?
Dogs do know things. They know how to manipulate us-even smart people who work with animals every day. My friend Annemarie Lucas, supervisory special investigator at the ASPCA and a star of Animal Precinct on Animal Planet, was visiting a shelter in Corpus Christi, Texas. She certainly wasn t looking for a dog; at the time she already had four. And Annemarie says if she was looking for a dog, she certainly wouldn t seek out a Dachshund and Chihuahua-type mix. But he gave me this amazing look