The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read

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Fantastic read for dog owners. I wish I'd read this before getting our dogs, not after, but it still adds so much value and a really unique perspective on your relationship with your dog. I bet everyone does this,” I say, sheepishly. She nods: they do. Like any therapist, she’s had to get better at setting boundaries. Spending time under the skin of a dog-person relationship can be intense, whether it’s young offenders or A-listers. “You’re getting so involved in people’s lives… you’re invited into people’s homes. I love it, I’m quite nosy and always have been, and that’s a massive privilege, but equally it is a massive responsibility. And it comes with that feeling of offloading.” Glazebrook’s professional experiences have been complemented by a long line of beloved fostered and adopted dogs, from Henry, a mysterious Great Dane-Boxer mash -up found during the Dalston riots who eventually found a home in the country (“He took a bit of my heart with him”), to deaf bulldog Cookie. Cookie was the first dog Glazebrook and her husband got together, “our angel dog” who over 10 years saw them through the birth of their two children. The unbearably sad, but necessary, last chapter of the book on end of life, touches on the heart-rending decision to have Cookie put to sleep. “The loss is so huge. I think honestly it took about two years for me to be able to process.” After Cookie there was Fred, a 65kg rescue Great Dane, and Barnie, her parents’ “hilarious” bulldog, who was rehomed after being provoked into snapping at children in his previous home.

Louise is one of the leading dog behaviourist and trainers in the UK, working hard to help owners understand their best friends in a friendly, fun but no nonsense manner. For people otherwise you might find the odd thing piques your interest but otherwise a lot of skimming material.

I liked everything about this book. I love the title. I feel that my dog would want want me to read it. Louise Glazebrook is a dog behaviourist, trainer and television presenter who specialises in teaching people how to understand and connect with their dogs.

There's many mentions of specific experiences with dogs as a behaviorist and an 'owner'. Possibly could be less, but some might enjoy reading these. It’s a whole sequence of love, learning and loss that has helped shape her philosophy: if we’re unique, strange individuals, so are dogs. “With every dog you learn something new,” she says. Her husband must like dogs, I hazard? They have been together since they were 17 and his childhood spaniels also formed part of Glazebrook’s doggy education. “He loves them. He’d be absolutely screwed if he didn’t.”Some useful tips here to arm me - I was very purposeful in my dog management immediately after reading the book but as ever my determination is waning. My husband loves dogs, too. He’d be absolutely screwed if he didn’t’: Louise Glazebrook with Rebel, Bowie and Pip. Photograph: Dan Burn-Forti/The Observer This is a great read for families considering adding a dog to their home. Full of advice on how to choose the right dog and where to choose them from. However saying that, as an owner of three dogs I still really enjoyed reading through this book. Possibly good for people who are really not acquainted with dogs but would like one or do something where one is around one.

Hopefully the book will help, but in our dog-obsessed, dog-confused age, I doubt Glazebrook will get a breather any time soon. Thankfully, I don’t think she minds much. “I just think there’s a wonder about them. The love they give you is incredible.” She includes a list of questions you should answer before you choose a dog (instead of how a breed looks or what color it is). After you have chosen your canine companion, she discusses a variety of topics from supplies you will need to toilet training and on through life to older dogs. Interesting guide to dog care with a very heavy focus on the puppy phase. Which makes sense, Louise Glazebrook was a consultant on the BBC show 12 Puppies And Us. 12 Puppies made it clear that A Lot of people adopt puppies without really thinking it through and clearly Glazebrook felt a lot of pressure to educate those kinds of owners. Unfortunately it did leave the rest of dog life feeling like a bit of an afterthought. Walking to meet Louise Glazebrook, I see dogs everywhere, even in central London, even on a rainy weekday lunchtime. A Shiba Inu in a neatly belted mac trots past; a shaggy sphere on its owner’s lap in a café peers through a dense fringe at her pastry; a sleek sausage shimmies, belly grazing puddles.

Could be shorter. Or else some things exchanges for more detail and depth. But likely too much of the later might be a bit much for a total 'newbie' on average anyway.