Mr. and Mrs. Dog: Our Travels, Trials, Adventures, and Epiphanies
Donald McCaig is quite simply a great writer in this field, and his insight into animal and human nature is masterly.(James Herriot)Donald McCaig is the Mark Twain of dog writers.(Patricia B. McConnell, author ofThe Other End of the LeashandFor the Love of a Dog)Funny, instructive, and delightful to read! A combination of eloquent, touching, telling, and sometimes quirky observations. I read the book in a single day, unable to stop except when my dog needed to go for a walk.(Carol Lea Benjamin, author ofDo Border Collies Dream of Sheep?andMother Knows Best)McCaig talks about his dogs in an amusing and affectionate way. While the author mentions that Luke is not the best sheepdog, his other attributes, such as being a good companion, make up for his lack of skills. The author provides plenty of information about dog habits and breeds, sheepdog competitions and coaching for them, as well as tidbits regarding the joys of having a dog (or multiple).(Kirkus)McCaig's wry, down-to-earth tone expresses a kind of clear-eyed devotion. While he loves his dogs, readers will not find any cloying or precious sentiments here, but rather an interesting primer on dog training and sheepdog trials studded with shrewd philosophical insights into humankind's relationship with our oldest friend.An informative and thought-provoking memoir about a trainer and his two border collies making their way to the world's championship for sheepdogs.(Shelf Awareness)Happily,Mr. and Mrs. Dogis an exception to the ‘heartbreak rule’ about animal books.... By my count, this former advertising executive-turned-farmer has managed to bring out at least fifteen books while somehow keeping sheep in western Virginia, training dogs, and competing in far-flung sheepdog competitions.... Still, there’s more toMr. and Mrs. Dogthan just a series of qualifying competitions in the United States, followed by our human-canine trio’s adventures in Wales. Throughout, McCaig intersperses chapters on dog-training and on current, and competing, theories about how this should be done.(Washington Post)