What do you think?
My Dog Understands English! 50 dogs obey commands they weren't taught
Dogs are smarter than we think. Has your dog ever surprised you by doing something you said the first time? You are not alone! Here are 50 stories about amazing dogs who understood what their humans said. Some even saved lives in the process!
Chloe the golden Beagle braved a hurricane to obey the new command, "I need Dad, Girl." Ellie the Coonhound helped her human family escape from an angry bear by obeying the new command, "Get it!" When her human brother said jokingly, "Maybe Cocoa could dig again and find it," Cocoa did just that!
Chloe the golden Beagle braved a hurricane to obey the new command, "I need Dad, Girl." Ellie the Coonhound helped her human family escape from an angry bear by obeying the new command, "Get it!" When her human brother said jokingly, "Maybe Cocoa could dig again and find it," Cocoa did just that!
- GenresDogs
230 pages, Paperback
First published November 24, 2013
About the author
Cherise Kelley
13 books47 followersCherise Kelley writes the Dog Aliens series and other G-rated fiction from the dog's point of view!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Read
November 28, 2013In this book, 50 dogs obey commands they weren't taught. Raffle gave me the idea for it when he finally ate some green beans off the kitchen floor after I said, "Oh, so you'll eat grass but you won't eat green beans, eh?" I was mad at him for eating grass and then spitting it up on the carpet. Dogs are smarter than we think, so I'm sure he has his reasons for doing that, but... Here is the cover for this book and an excerpt: Story #3: ELLIE THE COONHOUND.
~I regrettably shouted two small words, “Get it!”~
We call her Ellie, a two-year-old black and tan Coonhound we adopted only a few months ago. She has a persistent but loving way about her, very gentle as dogs go. Nothing seems to get to her or affect her fifty pound, houndish mannerism. As soon as I set my eyes on her, I knew she was the one I was looking for! She’d lived in the animal shelter for a few months. I could see her stress and she’d sustained a drawn out appearance. Nevertheless, I could see right through all of that. I could see the real Ellie behind that ruse of nervousness and disparity.
Then there is Delilah, my wife’s purse-pooch kind of dog, all eight pounds of her! They call her a Chiffon, a cross between a Bison Griffin and a Shih-Tzu. I usually do not admit it but she is a cute little dog and I am quite fond of her. She is robust and energetic; I do believe she thinks she is as big as Ellie for she struts around the house and yard with the authority of a Great Dane!
After about a month, we also noticed Ellie becoming gentler with the little half-pint of an animal that is Delilah. In fact, as the two played Ellie would lower herself to the floor to ‘level the playing field,’ so to speak. There are times I am afraid that Ellie hurts Delilah, but she knows she did wrong and tries anything she can do to get back into “good graces” with her. Sometimes the big Coonhound forgets that she is indeed a large animal!
The four of us live in a pastoral farming countryside sharing our little slice of heaven with many other creatures that you would normally find in the Northern Michigan woods and forests.
Often we take the two dogs out for excursions through the fields and woods for exercise and for the simple reason that we all like the adventure. One thing we noticed is that Delilah will never let Ellie out of her sight, even if she has to jump straight up in the tall grass to find her! Those two have made a bond since Ellie’s arrival, and now where Ellie goes you can be sure Delilah is not too far away.
There was an instance when Delilah became confused, and it was not a very good time to become confused, for any of us.
It was looking overcast that day, the clouds moving ominously across the sky, but we still decided to go out for a walk one afternoon. We really did not wish to cancel our daily excursion, despite a few sprinkles.
Crossing a large hay field, we headed toward a wooded area with the wind against us. I did notice Ellie acting strangely but that was normal when heading into unexplored countryside. Reaching close proximity to the edge of the trees, Elli’s nose bounced from the ground and up into the air, which she had done oftentimes. This time was different. I knew it myself but was uncertain how to respond to my intuition.
Delilah ran straight to the edge of the tree line, as she would normally do to catch up with Ellie. She stopped, frozen in her tracks. I heard a grunting sound and a prominent exhale from a large beast coming from a large patch of blackberries and underbrush. Ellie heard this too but did not know what to do with this new information.
Then the animal stepped out from the undergrowth of bushes and blackberries. It was a black bear no farther than five feet away from Delilah, scared frozen in place as if planted at that spot.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ellie, her gaze concentrated upon the bear, the hair on her back and neck standing straight up, only making brief glances towards me.
I was not ignorant of what my Coonhound was capable of, and one of the animals Coonhounds hunt and track … is the bear. I also knew that when you hunted with Coonhounds you used a pack of them, but I only had one! It was apparent she did not know what to do, at least to me.
Delilah was in serious danger because the black bear, usually on the docile side, apparently felt threatened and was becoming more irritated by the second. Surely, Delilah was a goner! And the rest of us were in danger, too, for that matter.
The bear raised itself a little and came down, stomping its feet on the ground, obviously a warning sign shortening the distance. And then it raised its paw. It appeared that the bear’s paw was raised to swat poor little Delilah!
I glanced back at Ellie. She struck a look back at me.
~Then, hoping her blood legacy could somehow be our salvation, I regrettably shouted two small words, “Get it!”~
Without hesitation, as if those words were what she longed to hear, she bolted out toward the bear in four long strides. As soon as she reached the side of the bear, she let out with a short houndish bray and quickly jumped back, dodging toward the back of the bear at a relatively safe distance, braying and barking from behind.
The bear spun and attacked Ellie, but the seemingly aloof hound now had the endurance and agility of a deer! Ellie sprang back and continued to carry on.
I knew people hunted with hounds in packs and that Ellie was following that strategy. I found anything I could to throw at the bear while shouting. The bear turned back to me but Ellie closed in, nipping at the back paws of the bear until it turned back around.
Delilah retreated to the arms of my wife while she coaxed her to come and drew back across the field.
Ellie played nip and tuck while I kept with distracting the bear until it withdrew, with Ellie giving chase. I searched for Ellie until I found her. Except for slight bleeding from the end of her ear, she was perfectly healthy!
This book is available online already!
Paperback: Amazon
eBook: Kindle | Kobo | Smashwords
Coming soon to iTunes, Nook, Sony, Walmart.com, and more.
~I regrettably shouted two small words, “Get it!”~
We call her Ellie, a two-year-old black and tan Coonhound we adopted only a few months ago. She has a persistent but loving way about her, very gentle as dogs go. Nothing seems to get to her or affect her fifty pound, houndish mannerism. As soon as I set my eyes on her, I knew she was the one I was looking for! She’d lived in the animal shelter for a few months. I could see her stress and she’d sustained a drawn out appearance. Nevertheless, I could see right through all of that. I could see the real Ellie behind that ruse of nervousness and disparity.
Then there is Delilah, my wife’s purse-pooch kind of dog, all eight pounds of her! They call her a Chiffon, a cross between a Bison Griffin and a Shih-Tzu. I usually do not admit it but she is a cute little dog and I am quite fond of her. She is robust and energetic; I do believe she thinks she is as big as Ellie for she struts around the house and yard with the authority of a Great Dane!
After about a month, we also noticed Ellie becoming gentler with the little half-pint of an animal that is Delilah. In fact, as the two played Ellie would lower herself to the floor to ‘level the playing field,’ so to speak. There are times I am afraid that Ellie hurts Delilah, but she knows she did wrong and tries anything she can do to get back into “good graces” with her. Sometimes the big Coonhound forgets that she is indeed a large animal!
The four of us live in a pastoral farming countryside sharing our little slice of heaven with many other creatures that you would normally find in the Northern Michigan woods and forests.
Often we take the two dogs out for excursions through the fields and woods for exercise and for the simple reason that we all like the adventure. One thing we noticed is that Delilah will never let Ellie out of her sight, even if she has to jump straight up in the tall grass to find her! Those two have made a bond since Ellie’s arrival, and now where Ellie goes you can be sure Delilah is not too far away.
There was an instance when Delilah became confused, and it was not a very good time to become confused, for any of us.
It was looking overcast that day, the clouds moving ominously across the sky, but we still decided to go out for a walk one afternoon. We really did not wish to cancel our daily excursion, despite a few sprinkles.
Crossing a large hay field, we headed toward a wooded area with the wind against us. I did notice Ellie acting strangely but that was normal when heading into unexplored countryside. Reaching close proximity to the edge of the trees, Elli’s nose bounced from the ground and up into the air, which she had done oftentimes. This time was different. I knew it myself but was uncertain how to respond to my intuition.
Delilah ran straight to the edge of the tree line, as she would normally do to catch up with Ellie. She stopped, frozen in her tracks. I heard a grunting sound and a prominent exhale from a large beast coming from a large patch of blackberries and underbrush. Ellie heard this too but did not know what to do with this new information.
Then the animal stepped out from the undergrowth of bushes and blackberries. It was a black bear no farther than five feet away from Delilah, scared frozen in place as if planted at that spot.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ellie, her gaze concentrated upon the bear, the hair on her back and neck standing straight up, only making brief glances towards me.
I was not ignorant of what my Coonhound was capable of, and one of the animals Coonhounds hunt and track … is the bear. I also knew that when you hunted with Coonhounds you used a pack of them, but I only had one! It was apparent she did not know what to do, at least to me.
Delilah was in serious danger because the black bear, usually on the docile side, apparently felt threatened and was becoming more irritated by the second. Surely, Delilah was a goner! And the rest of us were in danger, too, for that matter.
The bear raised itself a little and came down, stomping its feet on the ground, obviously a warning sign shortening the distance. And then it raised its paw. It appeared that the bear’s paw was raised to swat poor little Delilah!
I glanced back at Ellie. She struck a look back at me.
~Then, hoping her blood legacy could somehow be our salvation, I regrettably shouted two small words, “Get it!”~
Without hesitation, as if those words were what she longed to hear, she bolted out toward the bear in four long strides. As soon as she reached the side of the bear, she let out with a short houndish bray and quickly jumped back, dodging toward the back of the bear at a relatively safe distance, braying and barking from behind.
The bear spun and attacked Ellie, but the seemingly aloof hound now had the endurance and agility of a deer! Ellie sprang back and continued to carry on.
I knew people hunted with hounds in packs and that Ellie was following that strategy. I found anything I could to throw at the bear while shouting. The bear turned back to me but Ellie closed in, nipping at the back paws of the bear until it turned back around.
Delilah retreated to the arms of my wife while she coaxed her to come and drew back across the field.
Ellie played nip and tuck while I kept with distracting the bear until it withdrew, with Ellie giving chase. I searched for Ellie until I found her. Except for slight bleeding from the end of her ear, she was perfectly healthy!
This book is available online already!
Paperback: Amazon
eBook: Kindle | Kobo | Smashwords
Coming soon to iTunes, Nook, Sony, Walmart.com, and more.
May 17, 2019
Loved all 50 references of english commands that 50 dogs followed to Blue the Little Mutt to Olive and Baxter the poodle !E
December 7, 2013
I received this book from the author after NOT being selected in the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. Thank you so much!
Do I Recommend? Yes, a fun peek into the lives of other dog lovers.
Captured my interest: from the start
Editing: 4/5 - At least one misspelled word. A nice job.
Price: 5/5 - free to me is a very good price. The Kindle edition is just $3.99 at Amazon 3-4-14; that's a reasonable price.
Will I be buying other books in the series or by this author? If I ever have extra money (a rarity)...yes.
First Impression: Dogs (and cats) = Love.
Characters: I would be very happy to meet all of them; just not at the same time.
What I Liked: I liked all the stories, some more than others. Comments by the author throughout were a nice touch. The very best part is all the memories of the animals that have blessed MY life that reading this book brought to mind. Wonderful memories <3 I have never had an animal I didn't communicate with in one way or another. Some were smarter than others. My Persian cat Molly used to find me and tell me she was ready for our nightly grooming session. She would come and sit near me, looking up at me all big eyes and tail flicking; so bossy! I wasn't fond of her way of telling me she was done though, lol - maniacal ;)
Overall Rating: 4/5
For Fans Of: Dogs, animals, funny and heartwarming stories.
Do I Recommend? Yes, a fun peek into the lives of other dog lovers.
Captured my interest: from the start
Editing: 4/5 - At least one misspelled word. A nice job.
Price: 5/5 - free to me is a very good price. The Kindle edition is just $3.99 at Amazon 3-4-14; that's a reasonable price.
Will I be buying other books in the series or by this author? If I ever have extra money (a rarity)...yes.
First Impression: Dogs (and cats) = Love.
Characters: I would be very happy to meet all of them; just not at the same time.
What I Liked: I liked all the stories, some more than others. Comments by the author throughout were a nice touch. The very best part is all the memories of the animals that have blessed MY life that reading this book brought to mind. Wonderful memories <3 I have never had an animal I didn't communicate with in one way or another. Some were smarter than others. My Persian cat Molly used to find me and tell me she was ready for our nightly grooming session. She would come and sit near me, looking up at me all big eyes and tail flicking; so bossy! I wasn't fond of her way of telling me she was done though, lol - maniacal ;)
Overall Rating: 4/5
For Fans Of: Dogs, animals, funny and heartwarming stories.
February 25, 2014
I received this as a Goodreads First-Reads award and found it to be an enjoyable collection of stories by various people whose dogs had responded in a unique or unexpected way to first-time commands.
Although I believe many of these were instances where the dog read its human's body language or tone of voice, the animals were indeed very intuitive in their interpretation and execution of the commands given. The humans' obvious love and trust in their canine companions was touching.
I was disappointed with the level of writing as the tales were full of grammatical errors, misspellings, incorrect word usage, etc. I would have enjoyed this more if Ms. Kelley had perhaps edited the selected stories and sent them to the authors for approval before putting them in her book. A reader does not expect or desire a collection of amateur essays when they purchase a book, which fortunately I did not. Even the author's side notes contained errors that should have been caught on editing.
As a life-longer lover of animals, particularly my own Pembroke Welsh Corgi, I strongly believe there is an emotional connection between humans and the companions who share their lives with us. These stories are testament to the strong bond between us and our pets.
Although I believe many of these were instances where the dog read its human's body language or tone of voice, the animals were indeed very intuitive in their interpretation and execution of the commands given. The humans' obvious love and trust in their canine companions was touching.
I was disappointed with the level of writing as the tales were full of grammatical errors, misspellings, incorrect word usage, etc. I would have enjoyed this more if Ms. Kelley had perhaps edited the selected stories and sent them to the authors for approval before putting them in her book. A reader does not expect or desire a collection of amateur essays when they purchase a book, which fortunately I did not. Even the author's side notes contained errors that should have been caught on editing.
As a life-longer lover of animals, particularly my own Pembroke Welsh Corgi, I strongly believe there is an emotional connection between humans and the companions who share their lives with us. These stories are testament to the strong bond between us and our pets.
December 29, 2013
While the title of this book seems silly and I don't actually think dogs can understand English; this book is a testament to the evolutionary relationship that has been forged between humans and dogs and a dogs ability to read minute features of human body language and vocal intonation.
A collection of 50 short stories of extraordinary dogs as told by their owners. Some are more exciting than others, but if you like cut stories about dogs, you will like this. The author chimes in with her thoughts within the story, sometimes with what cues the dog might have actually been reading, sometimes with things that would have been more appropriate as a footnote (like who 'Lassie' was).
I appreciated the stories of Mitzy, the German Shepherd who protected children from snakes. I once had a dog alert me to a rattler, and I was very appreciative. I also enjoyed Chloe the Great Dane who could act as a babysitter.
Stories are appropriate for dog lovers of any age.
This Advanced Reading Copy was provided for free in return for an honest review.
A collection of 50 short stories of extraordinary dogs as told by their owners. Some are more exciting than others, but if you like cut stories about dogs, you will like this. The author chimes in with her thoughts within the story, sometimes with what cues the dog might have actually been reading, sometimes with things that would have been more appropriate as a footnote (like who 'Lassie' was).
I appreciated the stories of Mitzy, the German Shepherd who protected children from snakes. I once had a dog alert me to a rattler, and I was very appreciative. I also enjoyed Chloe the Great Dane who could act as a babysitter.
Stories are appropriate for dog lovers of any age.
This Advanced Reading Copy was provided for free in return for an honest review.
February 26, 2014
I was given this book for an honest review. While I don't believe that a dog can understand English, what I do believe is that a dog can understand every language on this great earth. A dog learns through our voice and body languages and does react to repetition. However, I am amazed that Chloe could understand the fear in her owners voice when she said "I need Dad, Girl" and Chloe instinctively knew what to do. I can honestly say that my own dog would probably have curled up by my face and began licking it.
Being a multitasker, I found this book to be a great companion while sitting upon the porcelain queen. :) This is a collection of 50 short stories written by various authors. I can only hope that Cherise Kelley encouraged some of the great writers in this collection to further their career in writing! There are some typos and words that were inappropriately used, but without knowing if it was a verbatim writing from the original authors or an error on Cherise's part while transcribing the stories we can't fault Cherise.
Overall, a fun read for any dog owner.
Being a multitasker, I found this book to be a great companion while sitting upon the porcelain queen. :) This is a collection of 50 short stories written by various authors. I can only hope that Cherise Kelley encouraged some of the great writers in this collection to further their career in writing! There are some typos and words that were inappropriately used, but without knowing if it was a verbatim writing from the original authors or an error on Cherise's part while transcribing the stories we can't fault Cherise.
Overall, a fun read for any dog owner.
December 4, 2013
This book was provided by the author for review.
This was a very entertaining book with fifty short stories about the communication between dogs and humans. I like how the short chapters allowed me to get a whole story in the short time between snow "shoveling" duty. My mom says I must warm up my feet, but I do not think it is fun to have to leave all that wonderful snow to go in. Oh well, at least I got story time.
Mom here:
Fifty cute stories about the communication and the bond between dog and human. Some of the stories were much better than others, but I enjoyed reading about others dogs and their somewhat crazy behavior.
This was a very entertaining book with fifty short stories about the communication between dogs and humans. I like how the short chapters allowed me to get a whole story in the short time between snow "shoveling" duty. My mom says I must warm up my feet, but I do not think it is fun to have to leave all that wonderful snow to go in. Oh well, at least I got story time.
Mom here:
Fifty cute stories about the communication and the bond between dog and human. Some of the stories were much better than others, but I enjoyed reading about others dogs and their somewhat crazy behavior.
December 17, 2013
My Dog Understands English is not another entry in the recent upswing of books which take a scientific approach to dogs, their ability to learn language, and their ability to cooperate with humans. Rather it is a collection of stories that the author freely admits was crowdsourced that tell of dogs who saved the day or acted unexpectedly. All are clean, warm, and fuzzy. If you need to buy a gift for an older relative who is dog crazy, and whom you are afraid of offending, this might be just the thing. If, however, you want something with more substance, recent books by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods or by John Pilley would be better researched and, in the long run, more interesting.
December 6, 2013
This book was great !
I love dogs and books with short stories so it was a nice treat for me to read My Dog Understands English! 50 dogs obey commands they weren't taught.
The story that was about chloe that helped save her owner was the one I liked best. Dogs are so smart and give so much love. There is 50 dog stories in all.
I plan 2 be purchasing & reading more books by Cherise Kelley in the near future:)
I love dogs and books with short stories so it was a nice treat for me to read My Dog Understands English! 50 dogs obey commands they weren't taught.
The story that was about chloe that helped save her owner was the one I liked best. Dogs are so smart and give so much love. There is 50 dog stories in all.
I plan 2 be purchasing & reading more books by Cherise Kelley in the near future:)
December 27, 2013
I won this book in the Goodread giveaways. I liked reading the different stories about the many different dogs and all the the things they did. And i agree that not only are they our dog's but also our pets, best friends,kids,protector's,and family.
February 23, 2014
This book is a collection of dog stories by different writers compiled together. The stories are cute and if you like dogs, you may enjoy the stories. They are not well written or well edited though. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.
Read
November 28, 2013Bueno
December 7, 2013
This was a fantastic book. so many cute little stories that will make your heart just melt. If you love dogs and like to hear about the cute things they do then this is a book for you.
February 25, 2014
This is a book of collections from dog owners and their incredible dogs. I like the short story format. I own a sheltie and he definitely understand english.
December 10, 2015
Definitely for dog owners and lovers
It was fun to compare my dog with the dogs in this book. I was recommend this book for any dog owner and/or lover.
It was fun to compare my dog with the dogs in this book. I was recommend this book for any dog owner and/or lover.
February 15, 2016
This was a fun easy read; the book is 50 short stories about owners and their dogs. As the book title suggests, the owners are convinced their dogs understand English.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews