Working Dog Heroes

by Steve Austin

A great Aussie yarn packed with inspiring stories of shelter dogs that have been given new life and purpose - and turned around the lives of others.



Steve Austin isn't your average dog trainer. In this feelgood, yarn-laden memoir he shares amazing stories from a career of rescuing and training shelter dogs to become a crack force of K9s, culminating in his work for the 'Young Diggers' program, which pairs specially trained dogs with returned Diggers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and more, with astonishing results.

A down-to-earth Aussie larrikin of a bloke with a gift for telling a great yarn, Steve Austin trains extraordinary, elite dogs for vital missions internationally in the fields of drug enforcement, environmental protection and much much more. From drug detection to penguins, cane toads and even truffles, and from the icy conditions of Macquarie Island to the LAPD, if you need something detected, Steve's got a dog for that. And a yarn to tell!

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

Published February 22, 2016

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant book. I loved this book so much. It was very interesting and at times I did laugh out loud. Steve Austin is an incredible person. The things he has done and achieved all over the world in working with all sorts of animals. I’m an animal lover, but you don’t need to read this book and appreciate the dedication and hard work this man has done over many years. His love of animals started from childhood and continued into his adult years. An incredible read and I’m so glad I read this book. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating story; my only qualm was that it was far too short! The book is actually around 287 pages, although the description here on Goodreads lists it as much shorter. I just wanted to know even more about the many training exploits Steve has done over the years, and even more about the dogs he rescued from pounds across Australia to train as working dogs in all different areas.

Steve has trained dogs from truffle hunters to penguin protection, and I must say I'm impressed by his list of achievements. He describes dog training in a simple and effective way, and I know I've picked things up that I will be able to apply with my own dogs.

A fantastic book, highly recommended. Always love a new animal memoir, but this one stands out from the crowd. Five stars!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous worthwhile read, the title doesn’t truly encapsulate what’s between the covers, it’s so much more. Thankful the author has shared his incredible life story (challenge after challenge) + his brilliant canine friends.

[Nicola Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read though it was more of an autobiography than a book about working dogs. The story follows the life of the author from childhood to the present and depicts the evolution of his career in training dogs. There are lots of lovely and sometimes sad anecdotes about the dogs he has trained and loved, but also lots of hints on how to deal with dogs - which as a dog owner I appreciated. Steve Austin has done a lot of conservation work with his dog training as well as sniffer dog training - and it is really all very fascinating and easy to read.
If you're a dog lover, you will enjoy this book.

[Chelsea R.H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every second of this book.
As an animal lover, I loved the descriptions of the dogs, horses, cats and pigs that Steve has loved over the years.
As a dog trainer, I loved the descriptions of how he trains his dogs for incredibly specific tasks and the stories he tells about the jobs he's had over the years.
My one complaint about this book has to do with the title though. This book is more like Steve Austin's autobiography, rather than a book about specific working dog heroes. There's also very little about his work repurposing shelter dogs.
Other than that, an excellent book and I really liked the audiobook version!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may appeal to some but I found it to be more about the author than the animals and I just wasn't engaged.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting book, and I loved all the animals Austin trained, but I would liked to have known more about HOW he trained them, not what they did once they were trained.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Austin (2016) WORKING DOG HEROES (AUDIOBOOK)
BorrowBox - Bolinda Publishing

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 stars

BorrowBox writes, "A great Aussie yarn packed with inspiring stories of shelter dogs that have been given new life and purpose - and turned around the lives of others. Steve Austin isn't your average dog trainer. In this feel-good, yarn-laden memoir he shares amazing stories from a career of rescuing and training shelter dogs to become a crack force of K9s, culminating in his work for the Young Diggers program, which pairs specially trained dogs with returned Diggers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and more, with astonishing results. A down-to-earth Aussie larrikin of a bloke with a gift for telling a great yarn, Steve Austin trains extraordinary, elite dogs for vital missions internationally in the fields of drug enforcement, environmental protection and much more. From drug detection to penguins, cane toads and even truffles, and from the icy conditions of Macquarie Island to the LAPD, if you need something detected, Steve's got a dog for that. And a yarn to tell!"
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Great audiobook. I reckon Steve Austin has one the best jobs! Clearly he gets a lot of job satisfaction. And it's not just dogs, it's all sorts of animals.
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