EDITORS REVIEW
Editor ’ s Review
Your Puppy and You :
A step-by-step guide to raising a freak ’ n awesome dog
Written by Irith Bloom , Laura Hills , Cassi Perez , Maria Schultz , illustrated by Casey Perez Published by The Freak ’ n Awesome Dog Project , Sacramento , California ( freaknawesomedogproject . com ) on Oct . 16 , 2021 ; 124 pages . Where to purchase : Amazon , $ 27.99 paperback , Dogwise , $ 27.99 paperback .
This book , “ Your Puppy and You : A step-by-step guide to raising a freak ’ n awesome dog ” should be gifted to anyone who takes on the challenge of raising a puppy . This book comes about two years too late for me , but happily , there are many training suggestions that will still work with my field / red Golden Retriever wild-child named Poppy . It had been nearly a quarter of a century since I had gotten a puppy after adopting Charlee ( 5 ), Chessie ( ancient ) and Evie ( 2 ) as older dogs . And Poppy is unlike any puppy I ever raised . The authors explain it beautifully in the Why We Wrote This Book section : “ Puppyhood involves ups and downs , great joy and great aggravation . We wrote this book to help you find more joy and suffer less aggravation as your puppy grows from adorable youngster to wonderful adult companion .” Poppy is nearly three now , so the chewing aggravation I never had with any of my previous six Golden Retrievers has abated . Today , anyway .
Speaking of the authors ( all four of them ), they all have been deeply involved in the animal training industry . Irith Bloom , CPDT-KSA , CBCC-KA , CDBC , VSPDT , KPA-CTP , CSAT , and CBATI , is a faculty member at Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training and Behavior and DogBiz ’ s Dog Walking Academy in California . She is also Fear-Free and TAGteach certified . Laura Hills , CPA- CTP , CPDT-KSA , CCFT , CTDI , is the founder of Dogs ’ Spot- Dog Training Center , in North Kansas City , Missouri , where she specializes in teaching puppy manners and agility , among others . Cassi Perez , KPA-CTP , VSA-CDT , started Midtown Mutts , a dog training , dog walking , and pet sitting business in Northern California , which has grown to a team of 20 dog walkers and trainers . Maria Schultz , CCFT , has a master ’ s degree in education , and a Bachelor ’ s of Fine Art in graphic design and illustration . She is the author of several books that combines her passions for graphic design , dog training and paddling . Illustrator Casey Perez , of Sacramento , California , is a graduate of the Academy of Art , University of San Francisco , California , with a Bachelor ’ s in Fine Art in Traditional Illustration .
So , on to the book review . The book , at just 124 pages , is a baby book for your puppy , with lots of areas to write notes , memories and details about your puppy ’ s first year . The book is sprinkled liberally with beautiful illustrations . Part I deals with the first year of a puppy ’ s life , jumping right into Socialization , followed by Enrichment , Bonding , Training and Management and Training
Notes . Part Two breaks down a puppy ’ s development by weeks , and then allowing room for notes in the back of the book .
The Socialization section is great for list-doers because you can checklist off the ways to socialize your puppy , whether it is going to the vet , walking on grass and then asphalt , and even climbing stairs with different textures ( i . e ., those with scary gaps in them ). While trainers may know to expose puppies to different sounds early on , new pet owners may not understand teaching a puppy about fireworks in February might help them overcome a pathological fear of the sound in July . Each training section has it broken down into introducing the puppy to learn a desired skill , tips on how to achieve success , common mistakes to avoid , and troubleshooting for those who need a bit more guidance and patience .
Under the Bonding chapter , illustrations show the differences in body language from an anxious / fearful dog to one that is comfortable and happy . I was particularly impressed with how “ whale eye ” was illustrated , a term I hadn ’ t heard of until I started working for APDT .
The authors stress positive reinforcement , explaining methods such as clickers , markers , shaping , luring , etc ., using treats and toys to deflect unwanted behavior . While puppy-proofing the house ( time to put up the antique Persian rug ) seems like a no-brainer , the authors go so far as to suggest rather than putting puppy in a
56 Building Better Trainers Through Education