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10th out of 42 books
—
22 voters
Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs
Akin to Monty Roberts's The Man Who Listens to Horses and going light-years beyond The Hidden Life of Dogs, this extraordinary book takes a radical new direction in understanding our life with canines and offers us astonishing new lessons about our pets. From changing the misbehaviors and habits that upset us, to seeing the world from their unique and natural perspective,...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
October 18th 2005
by Grand Central Publishing
(first published 2002)
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If you are looking for a hippy-dippy, mystical dog training book, then look no further! This book is all about understanding the dog at an emotional and - yes - spiritual level. Clothier is a disciple of Linda Tellington-Jones, the pioneer in "bodywork" with horses and dogs aka therapeutic massage that treats animals' behavioural and emotional imbalances. Clothier's basic thesis is that dogs have rich emotional lives and that without respecting that enough to build a high-quality, equal, respect...more
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One of the BEST BOOKS EVER!!! I laughed and cried, sometimes at the same time! It truly improved my relationship with my dog and confirmed some of the things I was already doing right that made people think I was crazy.
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I found this book unbelievably pretentious and boring. There were a few bits of wisdom shared that I enjoyed, but what I learned from this book would fill less than a page double spaced on Word. I felt like much of the book was the author rambling on and on. I would have liked it more had there been more stories about dogs she's worked with, or if the stories that were included had been fleshed out a little more. The way her personal experiences were written felt incomplete and stilted, and I sp...more
I spent the first chapter or two wondering just how far off her rocker this woman might be, but it got better. The author's beliefs and teachings aren't all that different from some others, she doesn't exactly say anything "new", rather it's all just common sense. Still she manages to present things in a way that sounds/seems different, while also debunking some other stuff (meaning rather than being in one specific beliefs "camp" or the other, there IS a way to borrow from both and stay in the...more
I picked up this book thinking it would be more of a guide to determining what it is your dog is thinking. And it is a little bit of that. But it's not a how to manual. It's mostly an autobiography of a dog trainer, and her experiences on how she has connected with dogs. Some of the lessons are ones I can transfer for use with my own dog. Some where not as usful, but still interesting. And others were not very interesting. Parts of the book read like a self tribute to how clever and caring the a...more
This book is not really a "how to" or training guide. It offers more insight into how to read the signals our dogs give us and it teaches us how to better communicate with them.
The author shares her experiences with animals as well as humans using a very heartwarming and gentle approach.
I have a dog with food aggression issues and found the two chapters dedicated to the topic of Aggression very helpful.
I highly recommended this book for all dog owners whether you are simply trying to learn mor...more
The author shares her experiences with animals as well as humans using a very heartwarming and gentle approach.
I have a dog with food aggression issues and found the two chapters dedicated to the topic of Aggression very helpful.
I highly recommended this book for all dog owners whether you are simply trying to learn mor...more
Having heard many comments and recommendations about how good this book is I must say I was really dissapointed.
The author keeps repeating the same things over and over and the redundancies made the book a tedious read every now and then. After the book I was left with the feeling that I'd have wanted more anecdotes and descriptions of what kind of dogs she's worked with and what kind of things were done to make the dog's life better.
I really love Clothier's article "He Just Wants to Say Hi" and...more
The author keeps repeating the same things over and over and the redundancies made the book a tedious read every now and then. After the book I was left with the feeling that I'd have wanted more anecdotes and descriptions of what kind of dogs she's worked with and what kind of things were done to make the dog's life better.
I really love Clothier's article "He Just Wants to Say Hi" and...more
I didn't get a lot out of the first 150 pages. It talked about her love of animals, sure, but I didn't get a sense of how she developed relationships with dogs and animals. There really didn't seem to be a point to the first half of the book.
The second half was quite interesting. Although this book will not tell you *how* to develop a relationship, it will tell you how deep her relationships with dogs is and how it has affected her life. She has a couple sections on loss which were very moving,...more
The second half was quite interesting. Although this book will not tell you *how* to develop a relationship, it will tell you how deep her relationships with dogs is and how it has affected her life. She has a couple sections on loss which were very moving,...more
And outstanding book, with a particularly good section on aggression -- and on behaviors dog owners misinterpret as aggression.
It's well-written, too, with plenty of interest-building personal anecdotes and more than a few philosophical reflections.
Speaking as a former professional dog trainer (currently I only train my OWN dogs, sorry, too many other things to do)-- anyway, I very strongly recommend this book. Your dog would like you to read this book!
It's well-written, too, with plenty of interest-building personal anecdotes and more than a few philosophical reflections.
Speaking as a former professional dog trainer (currently I only train my OWN dogs, sorry, too many other things to do)-- anyway, I very strongly recommend this book. Your dog would like you to read this book!
EVERY dog owner should be required to read this. Ms Clothier advocates teaching, not "training," forging a deep, personal relationship with your dog(s), instead of simply barking commands AT them. Instead of intimidating them into obedience as some "trainers" attempt, you create a relationship where you and your dog communicate with each other, in both directions, and he does what you ask out of love, respect and a desire to please you.
If you want to read a book about dogs and your relationship with them, this is one of the best books I have read. Vlothier speaks eloquently and informatively about our favorite critter- the dog. I recommend it to my friends when they are having dog issues because most problems are due to miscommunication between you and your dog. Definitely a must-read!
Although a bit longer than it could have been, I really enjoyed this book. It was philosophical, well-researched, wry, and educational. Her writing style--a blend of anecdote, meditation, and theory--was inviting, and I learned a lot from the stories of her interactions with dogs, and with people.
Another dog book!
This was a different dog book for me. So far I've been reading about training philosophies and health, mostly. This one was about personal connections with dogs. I think I learned to think a little more from a dog's perspective with this book. Also, I cried through the death chapter.
This was a different dog book for me. So far I've been reading about training philosophies and health, mostly. This one was about personal connections with dogs. I think I learned to think a little more from a dog's perspective with this book. Also, I cried through the death chapter.
Suzanne Clothier is a consultant for Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s Canine Development Center in Patterson, NY. Her training methods and philosophy are described as "relation centered," and this is the approach we have been learning in our puppy raising classes. I hope to have this title completely read before Waffle comes to us a week from this Monday!
Well, we've had our sweet Waffle Doodle with us for almost three months and I still haven't finished reading this book! Somehow, I have less time t...more
Well, we've had our sweet Waffle Doodle with us for almost three months and I still haven't finished reading this book! Somehow, I have less time t...more
I'm a "cat person" who recently inherited a dog. I read this hoping to learn more about what makes dogs the way they are. It is not a training manual in the usual sense, but I hope what I've learned here will help me understand and communicate better with dogs.
I'm completely reevaluating the way I work with my formerly "aggressive" dog as a direct result of this book. Listening to trainers, feeling generally compromised as a result, I can see a great deal of wisdom in "dancing with your dog". And guess what? She LOVES it!
I liked this book, especially since I am a dog lover. But unfortunately, I didn't learn anything new from this book. Certain parts were a joy to read. I loved the author's personal stories. Other parts confused me, with the author going on and on about a point that could have been made and then move on. I am "listening" to my dog more, and of course, loving her every day!
This was one of the the most true to like, touching (sad and uplifting) books about dogs that I have ever read. I highly recommend this to any dog lover. I wish the author would write another book!!!!
My full review here: http://thedoggerel.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/review-bones-would-rain-from-the-sky/
Excellent book! Highly recommended to anyone with a dog. One feels one is learning to speak dog and have a deeper understanding of what they are trying to tell you.
This is a terrific book both for folks who live with dogs directly, and those who live with them vicariously. So much to learn if we just listen.
Jul 25, 2008
Kate Merriman
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
animal lovers, pet owners
Recommended to Kate by:
Taurus Dog Training in Austin TX
I highly recommend this to everyone who knows a dog. Very eye-opening and challenging approach to working with dogs, but told in a very gentle, interesting way. By the end of this book, you will want to be buddies with its author. You will also (hopefully) have gained a new respect for and a better way to communicate with the dogs in your life.
The wisdom and insight in this book is not handed down in a prescriptive manner, which might frustrate some folks. I also agree with earlier reviewers tha...more
The wisdom and insight in this book is not handed down in a prescriptive manner, which might frustrate some folks. I also agree with earlier reviewers tha...more
Apr 21, 2009
Michele
is currently reading it
Going to her seminar this coming weekend, so thought to myself last night...I should try to get this read before then! We'll see....
This is one of those life-changing books that come along maybe five times in a lifetime. Beautiful, soulful, the book is only superficially about dogs -- truly it's about relationships, whether with another human, a dog, or any animal. It reaches past merely learning to be humane to a new perspective on living with and loving another. I recommend this book to everyone.
This book reminded me dogs hold a nearly miraculous capacity to lift us from our musings about the future and into a celebration of the now. They prove the strength of a wordless presence to mend the breakage of our hearts.
While there's much to celebrate on its pages, I found myself laboring through it at times. Some sections say the same thing in differing language, yet Suzanne's great payoff comes at the end. Her revelation of mercy at the end of a dog's life celebrates of the unique joy dogs...more
While there's much to celebrate on its pages, I found myself laboring through it at times. Some sections say the same thing in differing language, yet Suzanne's great payoff comes at the end. Her revelation of mercy at the end of a dog's life celebrates of the unique joy dogs...more
Trained with Suzanne when I lived back east. She knows dogs. This is a book every dog owner should read.
Life changing read.
Also very affirming in my own training and relationship
with my dog.
Also very affirming in my own training and relationship
with my dog.
This book was life changing for me. My all time favorite dog book ever written. Read it...
I ABSOLUTELY love this book! I love working with dogs and this book really captures how I feel about working with the dogs. I think she points out how we can learn about ourselves, and the people around us by opening ourselves up to being more humane with the four legged creatures around us and how training should be a win-win situation where it can add to our dogs lives and ours. I read this a couple of years ago and I keep coming back to reread it from time to time to get a tune up, and I alwa...more
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“Humans are not put to sleep for failing to provide leadership for their dogs, countless dogs have lost their lives for the want of it.”
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