Monday, February 21, 2011

Speaking of Monks and Mutts...

Awhile back I posted about reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother for my book club.  I am about halfway into the book and came across a chapter where Tiger Mom goes against her long held "no pets" policy and bribes one of her daughter's with a puppy to get her to master a particular piano piece.  With characteristic Tiger Mom fervor, she tackles raising the puppy with the same Dragon Mother tactics she applies to raising children and finds this book, which she hails as the best for dog training...

The Art of Raising a Puppy

OH NO.  Maybe I AM the Dragon Mother... this is the BIBLE of puppy training.  At least it has been MY bible.  Seriously, if you have a new puppy there is no point in reading anything else... and it reads like a great novel, which makes it so much better.  Let's be serious, reading a puppy training book sounds about as appealing as chewing glass.  This book follows a litter of German Shepard pups born and raised in the monastery and it is just beautifully written... it holds a place of high honor on my bookshelf.  Throws me for a bit of a loop that my love for the Monk's philosophy may place me into the Tiger Mother category.  YIKES.

We had a German Shepard when I was a little girl... before our love affair with Standard Poodles began.  His name was Baron, and he was beautiful, smart, and a great protector.  He also had an affection for Krispy Kreme donuts and would regularly run away only to be found at the back door waiting for them to throw out the leftovers...


He also once ate a couch... the entire couch.  WHOOPS... needless to say, Mimi was NOT a Tiger Mother.

Vintage-hand-carved-hand-painted-german-shepard-figurine



14 comments:

CremeMagnolia said...

I love you story about Baron ~ we are dog lovers in my house and they live better than small children. I once had a dog eat a full size bed! Thank you for a wonderful book review.

Judy El Masri said...

. . . I believe I mentioned previously that yes you may be somewhat like a Tiger Mother and perhaps that just isn't too bad on some level. I had a dog that was only 35 pounds when I first moved to Houston and man she could eat. She could eat the carpet, the shoes, the sofa, the corners of the counters, the corners of the end-table; Oy!

Annette said...

Thankfully my dog doesn't eat household items but we can't leave any food out within her reach! I can't blame Baron for loving the Krispy Cremes!!

Dorine said...

Baron was a great protector. I babysat and entire summer for you when I was "16 going on 17" and I had to lock him in a room so the diaper service could deliver.

On another note, our Black Lab, Darby ate all the cushions off our deck furniture or should I say chewed up. It look like a snow storm in our back yard when we arrived home.

Love your post today.

Primal Painter said...

LOL! I have lots of animal stories, but the worst chewing incident was when my keeshound Nicky chewed a big hole through the wall in my rental house years ago. Turns out we had raccoons living in there! I wondered why it always smelled like a zoo in that house!

Alessandra @Tribal Times said...

I grew up with Standard Poodles and do love them! Thanks for the book info, I'll be sure to pass it on to my friends with pups.

Playing with Shells said...

I have an affliction, or affection for Boxers. We have had several of them, and now have two, and a Boxer grandpuppy! We did have a boxer a long time ago that chewed up the couch. Her bone was stuck between the cushions, and I guess she freaked out. Poor girl. I love the story about Baron, it brought back memories of my Mishra.

Jodi Chapman said...

So great! Our sweet Norwegian Elkhound, Xena, is the love of my life! :)

roseworksjewelry said...

I'll have to keep that book in mind if I ever get a puppy :)

Orangies Attic said...

Soulful... we had an Elkhound when I was in elementary. Such a BEAUTIFUL dog.. but I swear I think my mother is still finding his fur! HA!

Anonymous said...

I will keep this book in mind. We have a puppy in our future.

I have heard horrific things about Tiger Mother! I should probably read it for myself. My hubby calls me Marshmallow Mama so I'm betting I'm not a Tiger Mother ;-)

Orangies Attic said...

Jupiter... I will write a review when I finish the book. I like Marshmallow Mama! I know quite a few that would fit that name... I'm hoping I'm somewhere in the middle. ;)

Anonymous said...

I like to think I'm in the middle,personally but hubby is ex-military and thinks our house should be run that way LOL. Can't wait for the review!

Tiffany Barry said...

Found you on UEF and following! :)

-Tiffany with Will Write 4 Food
http://tiffanywillwrite4food.blogspot.com

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