The APDT Chronicle of the Dog Summer 2018 | Page 57

EDITOR'S CHOICE | BOOKS, DVDs AND MORE
sweet and well depicted, including subtle arrows to show children
how to stroke a dog, where and which direction.
This book could be a nice item to hand out for special clients or for
those among your family and friends with young children, whether
they have a dog in the family or not. It could be a popular bedtime
story (quick read) for toddlers and a real hit for those just beginning
to read. —The editor
of the renamed Lily as she slowly gained weight on an exacting
feeding schedule with soaked kibble and frozen lollies. She thrived
into adulthood, becoming enamored with tennis balls and footballs
(soccer balls), getting muddy in creeks and “pre-washing” dishes that
go into the dishwasher. In 2017, Lily became one out in 5,983 out of
8.5 million dogs in the United Kingdom qualified as Pets As Therapy
(PAT) dogs. Lily and her mother, Pilot, visit residential care homes
and participate in the Read2Dogs program.
Written by Laura Hamilton It’s a heartwarming tale of a woman who devoted her life to giving the
lovely Lily a chance at life, despite a condition that requires three very
careful feedings a day and watching to be sure food isn’t found on the
sly during walks. A single careless moment along with some counter-
surfing could turn into disaster for a dog unable to swallow correctly.
Hubble & Hattie Publishing, a division of
Veloce House, Parkway Farm Business
Park, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury,
Dorchester, Dorset, England, published
March 2018, 72 pages. Where to
purchase: hubbleandhattie.com and
Amazon for around $9.99 paperback. Laura admits at the end of the book she never intended to have a
second dog. She had gotten Pilot as a puppy just four months after
her husband’s death from cancer. But now she can’t imagine life
without having both dogs who helped during her bereavement.
It shows that despite the challenge, the reward is always greater and
that other animals born with genetic disorders may live full lives if
only given the opportunity. —The editor
Lily, One in a Million! … A
Miracle of Survival
I’m a sucker when it comes to Golden Retrievers, so when I saw
this booklet with a cream-colored Golden on the front and the
word “Miracle,” I was hooked.
The Nose Work Handler —
Foundation to Finesse
The story features Lily and her nine littermates, born to an English
cream Golden named Piper in the city of Southampton, County of
Hampshire, England.
Written by Fred Helfers
Distributed by Dogwise Publishing,
published October 2017, 144 pages.
Where to purchase: Dogwise
Publishing, $23.96 for paperback;
Amazon, $25.36 paperback, $9.99
Kindle.
It took only minutes for Piper’s owner, the author Laura Hamilton,
to realize something wasn’t quite right with the puppy named at
first Purple Porsche for the purple collar around her neck. Although
vigorously nursing, milk seemed to go everywhere but in the puppy.
Two more puppies also seemed to suffer from the same problem.
One puppy died after four days, and the second puppy was humanely
euthanized on day 19 after failing to thrive. By then, however, Laura
finally had a diagnosis about the problem: a rare genetic condition
called cricopharyngeal achalasia and in Purple Porsche’s case, the even
more rare cricopharyngeal asynchrony. Essentially, the three puppies
suffered from a genetic condition where they had a delayed reaction
to closing their cricopharyngeal muscles, which makes it easy for the
puppies to aspirate food and water into their lungs, which made them
all susceptible to aspiration pneumonia.
Although it was suggested perhaps Purple Porsche, less than half the
size of her siblings, should go by the way of her two littermates, Laura
noted her littlest Golden was a fighter and wanted to live. So she
vowed to help the dog with such a rare condition to survive despite
the odds, taking on a lifetime of feeding the dog to keep her from
aspirating food and water into her lungs.
Nose work is becoming not only a huge dog sport, but trainers
are realizing how valuable a tool it is to spend mental energy
on dogs, bring shy or fearful dogs out of their shell, and even
just a fun activity to do with your dog. Nose work triggers a
dog’s natural ability of using their nose!
Fred’s book, “The Nose Work Handler – Foundation to Finesse,”
breaks down into simple terms the mechanics of a dog using
their nose. Once you learn the mechanics, Fred shows through
illustrations and easy-to-read language how to begin.
Fred includes drills to practice, how to pick up on how your dog is
alerting and a simple program to train. This book is a MUST for
dog trainers who are wanting to add nose work activities to help
their clients, or for an individual who wants to self-train.
— Jolynn Payne CPDT-KA
The slim volume, at only 72 pages, features 16 color picture pages
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