Embracing the Wild in your dog by Bryan Bailey

Some time ago, dogs became as interwoven in the American culture as baseball, apple pie and the Fourth of July. In fact, in most households, the dogs have even trumped evolution itself and jumped straight to being four legged humans where they are adorned with human names, designer outfits and fed diets that would confound even the best nutritionist. In most cases, we've granted them our human intelligence and our sacred human emotions as well. They are no longer dogs to us, they're family! Yet, for all that man has done to carve the wolf from the wild to create a surrogate human, today's dog is still a wolf at heart and the accompanying instincts borne from such ancestry defines how the dog approaches its world.

The ontogeny of anthropomorphism, where we attach our human traits to our pets, is the most damaging and paralytic problem associated with dog ownership today. Believing in a fairy tale world where dogs possess the same moral consciousness and sense of altruism as attributed to humans has led to a drastic increase in leash laws, dogs being outlawed in a rising number of city and national parks, some breeds being banned in several states, an alarming escalation of aggression to humans, a rising cost in homeowner and business insurance, and a record number of clinically maladaptive dogs.

This book is not a training book. It does not cover obedience topics such as heel, sit, down, stay, and come. Instead, it's about righting the ship of American dog ownership by changing our perception of our dogs. It is about the author growing up in the Alaskan wild under the tutelage and guardianship of a Special Forces survival instructor who introduced him to the ways of wolves and the similarities they shared with dogs. It is about the wisdom and splendor of nature and the many life lessons she provides. Mostly, it about developing a deep understanding of the authors of your dog's behavior; nature and the wolf. In doing so, you will truly learn who and what your dog really is and the whys and hows of its behavior. You will learn the tools that nature gave them to survive and coexist in both the mountains and in our homes. You will learn how activating and deactivating natural impulses and mechanisms in your dog will lead to the harmonious existence and the control you always dreamed of.

Most of all, you will come to embrace the wild in your dog and the grace and the peace that is breathed into its acceptance. @goodreads

MY REVIEW:

4 STARS 

I love that the author used Native American sayings at the beginning of each chapter.

To look into the eyes of a wolf is to see your soul. Just be sure something you want to view is there ~ Iroquois saying



I really loved this book because the author talks about my two favorite things: Wolves & Dogs.



The author lived in Alaska growing up and had a mentor that taught him about wolves and the wild. He incorporated these things into dog training, looking at your dogs inner wolf so to speak.

The author and his wife own a training facility to help people with their dogs by training them like the wolves train their families. I think this is an interesting concept.

Some clients would come to him and not listen and their poor dogs would get put to sleep by court order from biting someone. It's sad, but it happens. They thought he was crazy because he didn't use regular methods of training or explaining about your dog. Here's the thing, why don't you try it to see if it works. Hello people!



The bottom line is to see the inner wolf in your dog, treat them both with respect, and love them both :)


*I would like to thank NETGALLEY and the wonderful publisher, SMITH PUBLICITY, for putting this book on my shelf to read as part of October's Adopt A Shelter Dog Month and in exchange for my honest review.*

 GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1416758834

AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015X2G51C?keywords=embracing%20the%20wild%20in%20your%20dog&qid=1444917877&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1