Love Has No Age Restrict is now out there in audio. Wheeee! My co-author, Karen London, and I are deeply grateful for the way it has been welcomed by shelters, rescues, and adopters. This booklet, about bringing house an adolescent or mature canine quite than a pet, has bought virtually 150,000 copies and was known as “A one-of-a-kind academic jewel,” by Cathy Baier of the Florida Keys SPCA. Victoria Stilwell, of the Victoria Stilwell Academy stated, “If you’re contemplating adopting a canine from a shelter then Love Has No Age Restrict will likely be your excellent companion.”
Karen London, of Deal with Everybody Like a Canine fame, and I wrote this e-book collectively as a result of, as we are saying within the Introduction:
“. . . there’s something very particular about bringing an older canine into your private home. Puppies include little expertise behind them, appearing like furry, little sponges who’re primed to absorb data. They connect themselves to anybody who will feed them and rub their bellies, after which comply with them all over the place. Older canine are completely different in some methods; they arrive with a historical past behind them, having realized what to anticipate from life as they matured. They might come able to bond with you, or they might want just a little time to get to know you. They might include good habits or dangerous ones. . . “.
After years of seeing purchasers, Karen and I spotted that there was little or nothing written about bringing a canine with a historical past into your private home. It’s partially like bringing a pet house (home breaking-it’s a brand new home in any case!), however not in lots of different methods. Your new canine is likely to be frightened of males, or have by no means seen a cat, or realized to pee the place they sleep. How do you have to put together for his or her arrival? What when you’ve got no time to arrange?! What to anticipate by day three, week three, and three months in? Why to not panic when your (to date) excellent canine develops a behavioral drawback on day twenty two? What about your different canine? Cat? Horse? Roommate?
You could possibly write a complete e-book on these points, however we needed a booklet that was concise sufficient to be really useful, however not so detailed that few of us would make it by way of. Thus, Love Has No Age Restrict was born. Each part within the print model begins with a photograph of a rescued canine–right here’s Pilot, for instance:
(FYI, you’ll be able to see all the pictures and the textual content in a pdf accompanying the audio. Slick!)
My favourite factor about this e-book is that everybody labored collectively (graphic artist, authors, printers) to maintain the price of the printed booklet as little as we might, in order that shelters and rescue teams might give them away free of charge to adopters. It’s lower than $10 as a single copy, however has big reductions for bulk orders–$4.95 for 20-49 copies for instance, and $2.95 every for 200 or over. A lot of of us have made massive orders and donated them to their native shelter or rescue, which makes Karen and I about as comfortable as comfortable might be.
In fact, you’ll be able to’t “bulk order” an audio e-book, however you’ll be able to refer everybody you recognize to it. It’s $6.95 or free in case you’re simply becoming a member of Audible. Ideally, figuring out how our brains work, I’d get the booklet after which take heed to the audio e-book on the best way to get the canine. I do know–that sounds sooo self-serving, argh–however actually, retaining data is a problem for all of us, and the extra methods you work together with data, the extra you’ll bear in mind. (I bear in mind greatest if I writing issues down–in cursive. It’s not simply me, try this analysis!)
Love Has No Age Restrict consists of subjects starting from making ready the home, the primary day, introductions to different animals, and a raft of behavioral issues, like separation anxiousness and the concern of strangers. I’m not making this up once I say that I learn it myself earlier than we received Skip. Sincere. Getting a brand new canine is frightening stuff for these of us who take it as critically as we must always, and each coach and behaviorist I do know has butterflies within the abdomen when a brand new canine, one we hope and pray will likely be a eternally canine, enters our houses.
I’m soooo so grateful to Dogwise for making this occur (Erika rocks!), and to the narrator, Debra Shieber, who does a incredible job placing phrases into the air from the web page. Kudos to her for being each heat and clear. (I attempted doing a studying myself, and what you assume will sound okay sounds mushy as quickly as you hear it as an audio e-book!) And because of all of you who’ve supported this work; I feel there are millions of canine who’re grateful.
MEANWHILE, again on the farm: Friday morning was spent in heaven at Littledale Farm, the beautiful property of Graham and Margaret Phillipson. They graciously invited me and a few buddies to work our canine on their high-quality Scottish Blackface and North Nation Cheviots. What a day, in superbly stored sheep and pastures, nice buddies, and really comfortable canine! I believe Skip was particularly comfortable, as a result of he grew up within the UK working these type of sheep (flighty), versus the “heavier” sheep on the trials round right here, whose response to a canine is extra “No matter” than “Let’s get out of right here.”
I like these three photographs under of Skip and a flock of yearlings, taken one proper after one other. Deal with the sheep in every photograph. Discover that Skip has not moved (as greatest I can inform) however the sheep noticed him, from a long way away, and selected to depart with out him choosing up a paw. These type of sheep might be tough to work, as a result of your canine must be quiet, fast to cease or lie down, and keep effectively away. If not, the sheep have interaction in hoof races that may full with Olympic hundred-yard dashes. Nobody desires panicked sheep.
A lot of different canine and buddies started working too. Right here’s Tune within the photograph under, a brand new canine belonging to good pal Rowie, working within the excessive grass. Discovered her? The sheep definitely knew the place she was.
Right here on the farm, a bounty of strawberries is assuaging my misery over somebody (I’m speaking to you, the every day doe) consuming our lettuce, peas, chard, and spinach. Beneath is simply at some point’s choose, from our tiny little raised mattress.
Our native honeysuckle vine retains the hummingbirds comfortable, which makes me comfortable . . .
Final weekend some expensive buddies and neighbors rallied to plant a “prairie patch” in an space previously filled with sunflowers. The flowers had been beautiful and maintenance free and the bugs beloved them. So did a woodchuck, who denned within the hill and decimated all of the crops. Discussions about this, largely between Skip and this 12 months’s woodchuck, are ongoing.
Thus, the weekend was full of excellent individuals rallying for good causes. My coronary heart is full.
