A Brief History of an unbreakable bond by Simon Garfield.
As so many of you got in touch and even retweeted my last dog book review, I thought I would share this little gem with you.
I actually got the signed hard back copy of this book, because I love signed copies of books. Maybe it stems from winning the psychology prize at school for getting 100% in my AS Level psychology exam and getting a signed copy of Nature via Nurture by Matt Ridley as my prize (I still have it on my book shelf 13 years later).
Anyway, I digress, on with the review.
This is a really nice hardback book that goes through lots of different information about dogs.
Is it a textbook?
Not quite.
Is it a novel?
No….So I’m not really 100% sure what category it fits in but if you like dogs as much as I do then you’ll find it interesting.
The book has some witty insights and thoughts from the author on his personal experiences with all sorts of dog breeds, as well as information about people he knows in the dog world and dogs that he’s encountered.
One of the parts I really enjoyed was the section on big dog events, like Crufts. Like many canine professionals I have spent many a year in the NEC at Birmingham in March watching dogs compete in heelwork to music, obedience and fly ball when really I should have been selling things on whatever stand I was working on that year. I’ve also fallen foul to spending all of my earnings on unnecessary dog related paraphernalia. I would say much to my partner’s horror, but he is worse for it than I am! If you have never been then visiting Crufts or Dog Fest is something that all dog owners should do at least once (I recommend without taking your dogs) because despite how well Simon describes it, there really is nothing quite like it in the fur. Hopefully it will be back in 2022 after all of the covid-19 cancellations.
Rachel and Lee at Crufts with 2 Griffon Bruxellois
Part of the book I was not expecting was the depth it went into on the history of the dog and the domestication process. As so many people wrongly believe dogs are “wolves” and they need to be the “pack leader”, it is good to see a book not aimed at canine professionals covering this in an accessible way.
A personal highlight for me was the chapter on dog training.
Spoiler alert, I’m a dog trainer! So oddly enough I was going to like that section. In particular though, I enjoyed the section in the book about dog training because it refers to a lady that I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my time with assistance dog charity Dog A.I.D.
The book refers to the lovely Susan Close, who is a wonderful dog trainer based in London,U.K. I don’t want to tell you too much about how Simon describes Susan and her training, but it really was an added benefit for me of being able to read and see somebody else’s interpretation of Susan and her training techniques. There’s something really enjoyable when a book has a personal impact on you and when that is because it is about somebody, you know, that’s even better!
The dog as we all know is a really interesting animal, and this book does well, it’s approximately 300 pages to cover so much from how dogs began, right through to where we’re at with dogs now as pets and and how we view them in society. There are some images in the book, albeit, black and white photographs, which really emphasise the points that the author is putting across but do not go into this expecting it to be a brightly coloured, short and easy read, it isn’t! But if you’re a dog owner or a bit of a dog geek, then it’s certainly a book I would recommend having a read of. It’s very enjoyable, and even for someone like myself who has worked with dogs for years, you can find out new things or stories of dogs that you’ve not met before. The author writes in a way that really captures the essence of the relationship between man and dog and ultimately that is what I strive to help you improve on a daily basis.
If you would like to read Dog’s Best Friend by Simon Garfield you can purchase the book here
If you need help working on your relationship with your dog so that you can become their best friend, please email info@nosetotrail.co.uk