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How I Trained My Dog in Ten Days
'Does your dog need training?''
''It's easy. But you have to be firm. Dogs always try to take over. Don't let them. It's rude to brag, but it only took me 10 days to train my dog Scamp. If I can do it, so can you.''
And so begins the training of a boy's new pet dog, Scamp.
Or -- is this actually the training of Scamp's new boy?
Fun picture book is a humorous and heart-warming ode to our furry four-legged friends!
32-page full-color picture book with dust jacket.Sturdy hardcover binding.Picture book measures 8-3/4'' wide x 11-1/4'' high.Author Norma Lewis lives in Grand Haven, Michigan, with her cat Scalawag. Illustrator Tom Tinn-Disbury lives with his wife, son, and two dogs, Wilma and Fred.
''It's easy. But you have to be firm. Dogs always try to take over. Don't let them. It's rude to brag, but it only took me 10 days to train my dog Scamp. If I can do it, so can you.''
And so begins the training of a boy's new pet dog, Scamp.
Or -- is this actually the training of Scamp's new boy?
Fun picture book is a humorous and heart-warming ode to our furry four-legged friends!
32-page full-color picture book with dust jacket.Sturdy hardcover binding.Picture book measures 8-3/4'' wide x 11-1/4'' high.Author Norma Lewis lives in Grand Haven, Michigan, with her cat Scalawag. Illustrator Tom Tinn-Disbury lives with his wife, son, and two dogs, Wilma and Fred.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published March 31, 2020
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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August 13, 2025Getting a new dog can be ruff... So let's see if we can train him in 10 days! We follow a young boy through 10 days of setting boundaries with his new pup Scamp. By creating a list of things Scamp can and cannot do, we get to see who is REALLY training who in this household. This is an adorable, heart-warming, and humorous story that introduces kids to the hard work it takes to train a dog... and how it may not always go the way you want it to. It is a must read for all dog lovers!
-Alyssa C.
-Alyssa C.
April 6, 2021
Similar to If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, this book is a hilarious view of a young boy failing to set boundaries for his dog. The book is adorable and well-illustrated, but there isn't much resolution. He doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes and continues to allow his puppy to make a mess, but it's still a cute picture book. Perfect for story times, because it's very short.
July 19, 2022
7/19/2022 ~ Dry humor as the dog does exactly the opposite of what the boy says. This book will draw laughs as the dog eats flowers from the garden, steals the pillow, and plays with the video game controller.
December 6, 2021
The end of the book is basically the punch line as the dog begins to write "How I Trained My Boy In 10 Days."
January 14, 2022
Each day, the boy decides that one less thing is required of the dog to be considered well trained. It’s gets a little monotonous before day 10, but the pictures are perfectly, adorably silly. The biggest joke comes on the last spread.
May 1, 2025
My first grader chose this at the library and loved reading it with me today. Such a funny “how to” book!
November 4, 2020
A dark-skinned boy receives a pet dog, Scamp. In the next ten days, the boy will train Scamp, explaining each day to readers so they, too, can train their dog in ten days. On the back cover, the boy smiles wide as Scamp licks kisses him. The text reads,
“Best friends forever! With just a little bit of training . . .”
Anyone who has ever tried to train his or her dog will appreciate How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days. With each command the boy gives to Scamp, the dog does just that in the next spread. The next day, the boy relents, allowing Scamp to do whatever or go wherever he had told him not to do or go. Scamp never growls, or barks, or talks to the boy. Instead, Scamp looks at the boy, seemingly interested, and listens to the revised list of “do’s and don’ts” each day. This goes on for ten days, with a new “don’t” added to the list each day, and the previous day’s “don’”t changes to a “do” after finding the dog doing what he was not to do. By day ten, Scamp is writing his own title, making readers wonder if the book is about training your dog in ten days or how the dog will train you in ten days.
How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days is a humorous take on a not so easy chore: getting your dog to behave. The cute, gray Schnauzer looks innocent enough, but he has a calculating way of getting what he wants, which is nothing more than what the boy doesn’t want him to do. So, Scamp is a typical dog. The young boy keeps his cool throughout, never once getting upset at Scamp outwardly, but on occasion, he is visibly not happy with his new pet. Young children will enjoy Scamp breaking all the rules and turning them upside down.
Adding the illustrations, which are funny on their own, and How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days becomes a picture book young children will love, especially if they have a pet of their own. Young children will have a few things to say about the boy simply giving in and changing the rules, which can be the start of some interesting conversations with your child or between students and teachers.
A quick note: The author and illustrator have a pet dog and cat between them. Reading the text under the author’s illustrated picture, you find she has a cat named Scalawag, who is bewildered as to why her mom would write a book about a dog. The illustrator has a Boston terrier, who the illustrator consulted while creating the spreads.
Just like the story, the question is. “Who created How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days?” Was it Norma Lewis and Tom Tinn-Disbury or his un-named Boston terrier with her cat Scalawag watching over the dog’s shoulder, full of disdain the story is not about training your cat? (Sorry, Scalawag, but after seven cats I can tell you one fact about cats: their behavior is not trainable.)
If you love stories with pets or funny picture books, you will get both in How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days. There is repetition, to help your child learn to read, and laughs to keep things light.
“Best friends forever! With just a little bit of training . . .”
Anyone who has ever tried to train his or her dog will appreciate How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days. With each command the boy gives to Scamp, the dog does just that in the next spread. The next day, the boy relents, allowing Scamp to do whatever or go wherever he had told him not to do or go. Scamp never growls, or barks, or talks to the boy. Instead, Scamp looks at the boy, seemingly interested, and listens to the revised list of “do’s and don’ts” each day. This goes on for ten days, with a new “don’t” added to the list each day, and the previous day’s “don’”t changes to a “do” after finding the dog doing what he was not to do. By day ten, Scamp is writing his own title, making readers wonder if the book is about training your dog in ten days or how the dog will train you in ten days.
How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days is a humorous take on a not so easy chore: getting your dog to behave. The cute, gray Schnauzer looks innocent enough, but he has a calculating way of getting what he wants, which is nothing more than what the boy doesn’t want him to do. So, Scamp is a typical dog. The young boy keeps his cool throughout, never once getting upset at Scamp outwardly, but on occasion, he is visibly not happy with his new pet. Young children will enjoy Scamp breaking all the rules and turning them upside down.
Adding the illustrations, which are funny on their own, and How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days becomes a picture book young children will love, especially if they have a pet of their own. Young children will have a few things to say about the boy simply giving in and changing the rules, which can be the start of some interesting conversations with your child or between students and teachers.
A quick note: The author and illustrator have a pet dog and cat between them. Reading the text under the author’s illustrated picture, you find she has a cat named Scalawag, who is bewildered as to why her mom would write a book about a dog. The illustrator has a Boston terrier, who the illustrator consulted while creating the spreads.
Just like the story, the question is. “Who created How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days?” Was it Norma Lewis and Tom Tinn-Disbury or his un-named Boston terrier with her cat Scalawag watching over the dog’s shoulder, full of disdain the story is not about training your cat? (Sorry, Scalawag, but after seven cats I can tell you one fact about cats: their behavior is not trainable.)
If you love stories with pets or funny picture books, you will get both in How I Trained My Dog in 10 Days. There is repetition, to help your child learn to read, and laughs to keep things light.
July 17, 2024
A willful dog thwarts a young boy's efforts to teach him any kind of boundaries or obedience. I would have maybe preferred to see it as the dog looking cute enough to get away with it rather than being so smug. I think the dog acts more like a cat than a dog! (Love cats--they just have a tendency to do what they want rather than try to please you.)
October 19, 2023
A book to make your child laugh with a main character of color and his dog, Scamp. Throughout the book our main character keeps trying to implement rules and then revises them as the dog keeps breaking the rules! This is a silly one that I think younger readers will enjoy and caregivers, too!
April 9, 2020
Note: I received an F&G at ALA Midwinter 2020.
June 30, 2020
Kids will crack up at this one.
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September 27, 2020It's easy to train your dog, right? A young child leads readers through easy steps to train your dog...but humor ensues as things don't go quite according to plan. Features a diverse main character.
January 1, 2021
Any new pet owner will confirm this is the way it goes. A funny premise, sweetly executed with a good pairing between text and illustrative style.
July 28, 2025
Grinned and giggled the whole way through.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews