Review -- Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote

Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote was released in paperback this past April and published originally in hardcover in 2007. We featured it in last year's Holiday Book Gift Guide and have had it in the review pipeline here at Super Cool Pets for awhile. This book receives a 5-star rating at Amazon through 153 reviews, easily understandable. If you haven't read this book, read it and give it as a gift to every dog lover you know. As the book ends, you may find this dog and his owner unforgettable.

Lots of us have lived with dogs for many many years. There is always room to improve our interactions with the animals who share our lives. Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog does not disappoint as to "lessons". Author Ted Kerasote's account of his conversations and life with his dog Merle reveal a loving insight into dog psychology we have never before encountered.

Mr. Kerasote regards the dog-human relationship as one between partners--he does not view his dog as a subordinate or himself as a pack leader. Let the dog be a dog.

From the Harcourt Press author interview:

Since dogs are wolves--genetically and psychologically--they, too, want some say in conducting their lives as they grow up. They want some authentic freedoms while also listening to those who are their elders, their human partners. Keeping one's dog a perpetual child and quashing this natural maturation process by not giving the dog some leeway in conducting its own affairs--especially providing it off-leash time in which to socialize with other dogs--often leads to what this heavy-handed approach does in child rearing: the dog acts out or becomes a yes-dog, obeying mindlessly and not realizing its full mental capabilities.

The narrative of Mr Kerasote's almost 14 years with Merle is sprinkled with researched information about canine genealogy and the evolution of human-dog interaction. And yes, you will need a full box of tissues, especially if your own dog is lying nearby.

After you throw away the empty tissue box, in case you just can't let go, check out Merle's Life in Photos.

August 1, 2008

Review -- Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote