Reviews for Walking Ollie: Or, Winning the Love of a Difficult Dog

The average rating for Walking Ollie: Or, Winning the Love of a Difficult Dog based on 2 reviews is 1 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-05-24 00:00:00 Cameron Constant Ugh....this man is so self-centered it's scary. Everything this dog does is because of HIM. If the dog doesn't listen, it's not because the dog has something fun to do, it's because the dog hates HIM. If the dog does this, it's because the dog hates HIM. The dog doesn't want to listen to HIM. The dog wants to make HIS life harder. Give me a break. I can't believe this was actually published. This is the best example right here of people who shouldn't own dogs. I finished the book and it still sucked. I want it out of my home as soon as humanly possible- it's that bad. I don't know how this guy can even call himself an animal lover to be honest. It's like he's lacking in total common sense. He does these things, puts his dog in danger and then feels as if the dog did it to get back at him. Guess what Foster? HE'S A DOG buddy! A DOG! A FREAKING DOG! He gets surpised because the dog takes off one night. Why did the dog take off you ask? Well, number one, he had no leash. Number two, because he's A DOG. THAT IS WHAT THEY DO. But- apparently the dog wasn't supposed to take off like that and who wants to know why? Becuase he never had before while walking that route. Yes, I'm serious. I read that in this book. It's in there I swear. I guess he's not aware that dogs do play by humans rules. Did I mention the dog (and Foster) were running through traffic because he decided to walk him, leashless, near the road? I don't know what to say about this- I have so many pages checked with the most idiotic things he wrote. I just don't have the desire to go through it all again because it's actually quite scary. My three year old knows more about dogs than this guy. I apologize if this is harsh, I hate to be harsh, but everything I say is the truth and this book bothered me to no end. Let's not forget this little tidbit either- he loves his rescue dog so much that he went out and bought a purebred from a breeder. You loving animal lover you.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-03-09 00:00:00 Benjamin Rojek This promised to be a nice read: the story of man who rescues a dog from an animal shelter and the subsequent bonding and working through of the dog's issues. Unfortunately, it wasn't. There were so many moments in this book where I smacked my head (figuratively speaking) and wanted to scream at the guy. The problems I had with the book are as follows: 1. He barely knows this dog and the first thing he does is let it off leash. A surefire way to watch your dog either disappear into the sunset or get killed. Amazingly he doesn't get killed though he does get a nasty leg break at one point when he, as is no surprise, runs out into traffic and gets hit by a car. Does he learn his lesson? No. After keeping him on leash as he works up the dogs muscle tone and as the bone heals, as soon as the doctor says he's heeled, he lets him off leash again. 2. The dog is a lurcher, which is a dog that is part greyhound (in this case, greyhound and saluki). These are dogs that can see something a mile in the distance and are off like a shot, faster than any human being can run. One thing rescues for greyhounds require is that you never EVER let your dog off leash. It is the ultimate in stupidity to do so. 3. He says, over and over and over again throughout this book that rescue dogs are, basically, bundles of nerves and behavioral problems. He doesn't even mention that not all, that some are well-behaved dogs who just need a second chance. It was no surprise that in the end, he got his next dog (a purebred saluki) from a breeder. I guess he doesn't want one of those horrible rescue dogs. 4. He insults a lot of people in the book. No one specifically, but at varying turns he insults people who walk their dog on leash (because they're not FREEEEE), people who get annoyed when his loose dog rudely barrels into theirs and starts jumping on the dog and biting his neck (but he just wants to play!), people with labradors and border collie mixes (yes...he insulted BC mixes...wtf?) because apparently we're stiffs. 5. His dog is afraid of him. I don't think he started out that way, but he became nervous around him. And instead of trying to bond with him, he just kept carrying on the way he was somehow expecting the dog to change. You know when he did start to bond with him? When he was forced, due to Ollie's being hit, to walk him on leash for 3 months. Gee what a surprise. So all together, this was NOT an enjoyable book.