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How to Find your Dream Dog Book Review & a Dream Dog Prize Package Giveaway


I love my dog--and our houseful of cats. While Max has turned out to be my family's dream dog--most of the time--there have also been quite a few issues during our six years with him. We have learned a lot along the way! As I watch friends and families add dogs to their own homes--I find myself trying to offer advice. Usually; however, I'm offering advice to help fix a mismatched dog and family relationship--or help someone mend budding "behavioral" problems. I was excited to read How to Find your Dream Dog by Dixie Tenny. What did I think of this guide book for those seeking to add a new dog to their home? I am pleased to share this book--and offer readers a chance to win a copy of this book at the end of this post!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for use in my review. All opinions are my own. 
About How to Find your Dream Dog. Bringing a new dog into the household should be one of life’s happiest events. The process always starts with excitement and high expectations. Too often, though, it ends in disappointment. The new puppy wakes everyone three times a night, gnaws on furniture, piddles everywhere, knocks the children down. The new adolescent dog is too wild. The new adult dog growls at your neighbors. And where did all this dog hair come from?

Most people spend hours researching a new mattress, days researching a new car, and weeks researching a new home or job. Yet for a new dog, a companion for the next 10-15 years, the most they do is visit the nearest shelter or pet shop and buy whatever looks cute and appealing. It’s no wonder they end up disappointed.

Whether you are looking for a purebred puppy or a charming mixed-breed, the type of dog you bring into your home matters. A quiet owner will struggle to keep up with a high-energy labrador mix, for instance, while an active outdoor family will be impatient with a snoozy bulldog. And finding the right kind of dog means becoming the right kind of owner—a task that takes some forethought and planning.

How To Find Your Dream Dog is here to fix the disconnect of dog ownership. It walks you step-by-step through the process of choosing the right type of dog for you—not only exploring the canine qualities that can determine your perfect puppy, adolescent, or adult dog, but also assessing your lifestyle to make sure you’re a good match for the dog, too. The book also looks at good (and bad) sources for finding healthy and sound pet dogs, gives guidelines for evaluating individual puppies, and warns of some red flags to watch out for during your dog search. With this guidebook in hand, you can be confident that the next puppy or dog you bring home will be the right companion and friend for you for the rest of its days.

​Dixie Tenny is a Certified Training Partner with the Karen Pryor Academy of Animal Training and Behavior. During her 30+ years spent working with people and their pets, she has seen again and again how mismatches between dog and owner can create “behavior problems” that never would have happened if the right dog had been matched to the right owner in the first place. She wrote this book to help puppy buyers and dog adopters start out on the best possible foot with their new pet dogs, and stay on that path for years to come.

How to Find your Dream Dog offers Straightforward and Honest Advice. This book does a great job breaking down the many aspects of making the decision to own a dog--and of choosing the right dog for your family and lifestyle. She presents the pros and cons of a variety of dogs, situations and real-life factors that should play into this big decision--and does so in a very straightforward, down to Earth, honest fashion. While we may not want to admit it; dogs are not right for every personal lifestyle. Puppies aren't right for everyone. Shelter dogs aren't right for everyone--but, can be if the dog seeker does a bit of homework before adopting the first cute little fuzz ball he or she sees online.

How to Find your Dream Dog is a Quick, Easy to read Guide. Initially, I thought--"How much guidance and value can the author really give me in only 138 pages?" I discovered that her writing style packs a lot of useful information into a book worded and sized very appropriately for me to hand to even my non-book loving friends and family as they consider getting a new dog. This isn't a textbook. It isn't geared toward a specific breed or resource. Instead this book is loaded with realistic questions, straightforward tips and ideas--and some very "common sense" lessons that many dog owners have learned "the hard way"! 

Would I recommend Find your Dream Dog by Dixie Tenny? Yes. Yes. Yes. It is written directly, simply--and in a very reader-friendly manner. My friends, family and I have owned a variety of dogs in my lifetime. Some "dream dogs"--some disaster dogs. I wish I had read this book--and had been able to share it and recommend it to friends. There are a lot of reminders--and a lot of common sense notes--to help readers take some of the emotions out of choosing a puppy or adult dog for the family. It's a great book to read for those considering their first dog--and is also a great book with reminders for those of us who have settled into life with dogs....but, may want to add another dog. I see me re-reading this book and recommending it to others for years to come.

Buy the Book:  Amazon  ~  Add on Goodreads

Meet the Author:

Dixie Tenny has been helping people and their dogs find each other and form successful partnerships since the early 1980s. She founded two rescue organizations: Purebred Dog Rescue of Saint Louis in 1984, and Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue, Inc. in 1987. Dixie was the Director of Training for the Greater St. Louis Training Club, Inc., for five years, creating classes and overseeing the work of 40 head and assistant trainers. In 2003 she and another experienced trainer created Dogs Unleashed, LLC. They traveled to clients’ homes and worked with behavior and training issues.

Dixie’s professional credentials include trainer certifications from the prestigious Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior, and the Association for Pet Dog Trainers. Dixie formed her own business, Human-Animal Learning Opportunities, LLC (HALO) in 2013. HALO hosts continuing education seminars for dog trainers.

Dixie has lived with a wide range of dogs over the years including mixed breeds, Australian Shepherds, Welsh and Cairn terriers, and more. While in Seattle, Dixie raised a labrador puppy for Canine Companions for Independence, Inc. (CCI). Currently Dixie lives with a Beauceron and an elderly Papillon, as well as four cats. When not doing things related to animals, she reads widely, enjoys the company of her three grown children, follows baseball and English Premier League football, and travels the world.
 
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7 Comments

  1. Good morning! Thanks so much for your great review of "How to Find Your Dream Dog." Writing it was a real labor of love after 30+ years of working with people and their pets. I want the best possible dog for every family, and the best possible home for every dog! Thanks for bringing me to your readers. May the next dog they all get be the real dog of their dreams.

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  2. I would love to read this! Sounds great and informative!

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  3. Sounds like a great and helpful book. People shouldn't buy or adopt a dog on impulse. That's why after the puppy stage or shortly after adoption many dogs end up at or back at the shelter. It's great to see that there is a book like this :) I'd love to read it

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  4. Oh this sounds really good! I would love to read before we find our next dog for our family!!!!

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  5. i wanna read this

    freebiel0ve@yahoo.com

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  6. this is great! this would be a very helpful book for our family

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