Cesar's Way

Ok, so I got a dog, and I'm obsessed. exhibit a:

(yes, i look disgusting, and yes, he's allowed on the couch now, but he sleeps on me like that!! how could i say no??)

Anyways, for those of you who are like I used to be, and don't have a dog, or like dogs but are just not crazy crazy about them, you can skip this... because I'll admit, I've turned into a crazy dog lady.

So my dad got me this book:

And I read it in 2 days. Oh.my.goodness. Talk about an EDUCATION. If there were ever to be Cesar Millan flavored kool-aid, I would be chugging it. I will admit, I ate every syllable of this book right up. And learned so, so much. I know there are professionals out there that don't agree with him, but after reading this, that seems a bit dificil. The bottom line is we all love our dogs, and want them to be happy. And this book helps you to do that.

"Cesar's Way" isn't what you would call a "dog training" book. It doesn't give you any specific steps, per se, but instead focuses on broad concepts and generally changing American dog-owning thought. To me, it was all completely logical, but pretty much the opposite (sorta) of how I and most dog owners view our dogs and the relationship we have with them. It starts out with Cesar Millan's own personal history, which is an absolutely amazing story. (Did you know that one of biggest reasons he became so well known and successful was due to Jada Pinkett Smith?) It then moves on to describe his day to day life as the owner of the Dog Psychology Center in L.A., with tons of anecdotes about the rescued dogs he has rehabilitated. The last half of the book tackles common dog problems (agression, fear, phobias, fixations - i.e. going nuts over squirrels and people on walks) and how they are pretty much human created. Dogs live in the moment, and aren't obsessing/dreaming/flipping out about negative past experiences like humans do. So these problems we attribute to their "personalities" really aren't so. We encourage them, and we can also change them.

Ok, it's really obvious that this book had a huge effect on me. I can't stop talking or thinking about it. And I can attest to the fact that Shamus is literally a different dog on our "cesar calm-assertive" walks now. He walks right next to me, doesn't chase squirrels, leaves, or people.

READ this book! Anyone who has a dog or wants to get a dog, it's a perspective that I don't think many of us have, but should. Es magnifico. $8.99 at Costco.

ABR # 2

Second book I wanted to talk about:
A Spot of Bother, by Mark Haddon.

I read this earlier this year. It's Mark Haddon's second novel, (his first is "A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" which I read a couple years ago and loved as well).
This one is completely different, but I actually enjoyed it more.
It's written from 3 different perspectives, however, the main voice is that of George, a 61 year old hypochondriac, depressed, British man. His wife is cheating on him, his daughter is getting married to a guy he hates, his son is gay and doesn't think his dad (or mom) approves, and George think his eczema, "the spot of bother", is cancer.
It's dark, it's sad, but it's hilarious at the same time. I laughed out loud, I gagged, I cried. It's very vivid. I just loved it. Loved, loved, loved it. :)

ABR #1

When I think of the word "hobby", I think of scrapbooking, running, guitar-playing, or photography.While I wish I had all of those hobbies, ehhh, "not yet". But when I have to fill in the "what are your hobbies?" blank, I feel good that I have at least one I'm not lying about: reading. I get through 3-4 books a month, and since I really love getting book recommendations, I thought I'd share a few of my own.

and so begins part one of my personal series :
Molly's Abridged Book Reviews (or ABR) (abridged because i don't think i'm cool enough or proficient enough to give you a full blown review, but a quick blurb is fine from anyone, right?)

I'll start with The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.

I'm starting here because a) I just finished it last night and b) I think it's a book that everyone would really like.

I'm sure many of you have read it, it's uber-publicized and a loyal member of most current best-seller lists. Which usually makes me not want to read it. Snobby, I know. However, this truly was a wonderful page-turner, and I really can't see anyone not falling in love with Aibileen, Minny, or even the "white trash" Cecilia.

I coincidentally re-read To Kill A Mockingbird right before this one, which is also set in Mississippi, civil rights era, so I'll admit at the beginning I had my nose-turned at the stereotyped verbiage and lack of all around Harper Lee perfection....but once I got attached I was LATCHED on. I loved the story, I loved the lessons, and I loved the ending. Pick it up next.