Dog book recommendations : Later life first time dog owners
February 9, 2013 4:25 PM   Subscribe

Recommendations for dog books seem a common request here, but this one is going to be a little bit more specific: I'm after a kind of dog book that involves a person getting a dog for the first time, only in their adult life. Meaning, they didn't grow up with dogs, or didn't have any meaningful experiences with dogs as a child, but as an adult, from a cold start, got a dog. Examples - My Dog Tulip, he gets the first dog of his life, the dog who changes his whole life, in his 50s. Dog Man - The guy who was instrumental in saving the Akita breed from extinction, got his first dog only in his 30s. Counter-examples - Marley & Me, they both had dogs as kids.

True stories would be preferred, but let's not rule out fiction. The whole story needn't be about the fact it was the person getting their first ever dog in adulthood, but that's necessarily going to be an important factor to the story. Ultimately I'm looking to read more of the kind of validating story that mirrors my own, someone who as an adult went into dog ownership completely from a cold start, and had his entire life and outlook changed.

The counter-example I gave (Marley & Me), while a great story, has a kind of complacency to it in comparison. It's like, the kind of person who was always open to dog ownership, always looking to repeat the experience of having a dog earlier in life, that's great, but they've reached that place too easily, with far less personal realisations and growth on the way (whether or not that's actually true, it's how it strikes me).

Hit me up with your best first-time-as-adult dog owner books :)
posted by Elfasi to Pets & Animals (7 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Adam Gopnik's "Dog Story," which appeared in The New Yorker, might be a good read for you. (Article, not book, though.)
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:53 PM on February 9, 2013


My answer will be as it has always been, non-fiction but filled with anecdotes.

Patricia McConnell, The Other End of the Leash.

Also, by the same author/behaviorist For the Love of a Dog.

No one should share a home with a canine without reading both books. There are other books, of course, but these are essential.

Marley and Me is not a great story. For anyone who knows dogs, it is an incredibly brain-lazy, painful, cringe-inducing tale. You know, not for kids, or adults. Pointless and/or damaging.
posted by vers at 4:56 PM on February 9, 2013 [4 favorites]


IIRC, Ted Kerasote's "Merle's Door" is about how an adult man got his first dog. Warning: you will cry at the end.
posted by msali at 7:18 PM on February 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


Strongly seconding msali. A deeply moving exploration of the effects of the relationship on both parties. Yes, the painful end is unavoidable but it's natural, not tragic.
posted by R2WeTwo at 9:30 PM on February 9, 2013


Emily Yoffe's What the Dog Did: Tales from a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner. She has a great sense of humor and the book is a pleasure to read.
posted by belau at 6:43 AM on February 10, 2013


Response by poster: Some great recommendations so far, thanks everyone. Seems there's not so many people can identify, but I will definitely be checking all these out.

vers - You're the first person I ever heard say a single bad thing about Marley & Me. Interesting perspective. I guess even at its worst, it's about a family who loved a dog very much, and that's always going to pluck heart strings with me, so I could never hate it. But certainly it doesn't achieve what this question is after. Also I appreciate the Patricia McConnell recommendations, I even own the first one, although I didn't think she was someone who came to dog ownership only from adulthood. Guess I'll have to read them both to be sure :)
posted by Elfasi at 6:26 AM on February 11, 2013


I should have done better at answering your question the first time, but a book that more closely fits what you're looking for is Caroline Knapp's Pack of Two.
posted by vers at 6:26 PM on February 11, 2013


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