Reviews for The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family

The average rating for The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-08-16 00:00:00 Michael Pierce I highly enjoyed and recommend this book. I have not read Katz's other books, but I anxiously look forward to it based on The New Work of Dogs. He addresses many issues I've often thought about through the use of individual vignettes of dog owners. The stories are both literal and allegorical, full of examples of good and bad, right and wrong, and how the lines between the two are many, many shades of grey. Have you ever been annoyed by a friend who posts about his/her dog constantly, calls them her baby, or seems to put the welfare of the dog above their own? - Then read this book and understand why some people do this, its pros and cons. Have you ever been horrified at the callousness of owners who insist "its just a dog"? Or been shocked to see someone walking their dog yelling at them or jerking them? - Then read this book and understand a little bit of their perspective, their good intentions, the complex nature of human behavior. I'm relatively new to the world of dog lovers. I'm a cat person since very young. Sure, dogs were ok, but I could live without them. Since acquiring our most recent dog, a 100+ lb lab mix, my perspective of everything dog-related has changed. I suppose I'm trying to walk the fine line that Katz illustrates so very well. Dogs are more than the average pet, but yet not quite as much as some place onto them.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-05-10 00:00:00 Thomas Heyde I found this book at a Goodwill while I was on my honeymoon. Each chapter details a different person's unique relationship with his or her dog, and shows how, in many cases, dogs are filling a particular emotional need. In one chapter, we see a boy who beats his dog to "toughen the dog up" so that the boy feels less threatened in his neighborhood; in another chapter, we see a woman who wanted children but never had them, who then "babies" her dog to the extent that she can't bear to discipline her, not even for potty-training. We see dogs let go that should have been kept with their families, and dogs kept with their families who should have been let go. We see healthy and unhealthy human-dog relationships. Each one is heartbreaking in its own way. But what really makes this book worthwhile is the last chapter. After Jon Katz has laid out his examples, he examines what this means. Is it healthy for humans or for dogs now that dogs' "work" has become providing emotional support to humans rather than herding sheep or catching rats? Are so many dogs abandoned because their humans no longer find them "necessary" after working through a particular trauma, or because they can only disappoint when they're expected to fill roles that should be filled by other humans? The questions posed and the research presented are thought-provoking and urge the reader toward healthier relationships with both their pets, and with other humans. Any dog lover will probably see a little bit of themselves in at least one of these stories--for better or for worse.