DOGGONE GOOD ADVICE
Trainer offers readers plenty to ponder about human-canine bond
As a Dog Thinketh
Monique Anstee | Touchwood Editions $22 If you forget to shut bedroom and bathroom doors at our house, you will face the wrath of Sally Jo.
Sally Jo is a six-month-old mini Australian shepherd and she takes no prisoners.
Socks are shredded, shoes are savaged and toilet rolls, well forget it, those babies don’t stand a chance.
Recently Sally Jo — who is now an Olympic-level high jumper — came racing out of the bedroom with Victoria dog trainer Monique Anstee’s book As a Dog Thinketh in her mouth. Was it a cry for help? Well maybe not, but I took it as a sign to grab the book and get reading. What I discovered was an easyto-read support manual that didn’t preach but rather gently pushed me toward paying closer attention to Sally Jo and her Sally Jo’ness and checking in with myself and how I was behaving.
Anstee delivers daily reflections and advice on how to be in the moment with your canine pal.
Designed as a daily check-in, the book offers common examples of behaviour and then offers simple, easy-to-follow advice to help guide you toward a better dog and a better you with your dog.
A 25-year veteran of dog training and the owner of Victoria’s The Naughty Dogge, Anstee writes often with humour and a folksy charm that is both soothing and inspiring.
Once I pulled the book from Sally Jo’s snappy little jaw and I replaced it with a chew (by the way this, according to Anstee, is the right thing to do, so I was happy I was doing something right), I immediately sat down and started reading and learning.
Sure I admit that I still sometimes ask myself “why the hell did I get a puppy?” Then we have a really great walk and she listens to me, kind of.
I’ve taken some good tips from As a Dog Thinketh and built them into my daily dog routine.
Currently we are trying out the concept of walking a reactive dog (a.k.a. idiotic puppy that wants to lunge at everything that moves) is like driving a car. I am staying focused. I’m staying in our lane and keeping a keen eye on what lies ahead.
Now if I could only find the ignition switch.