This book came at probably the best time for me. Deciding that eventually I’m going to get back into training animals (specifically dog and horse training), it was the best thing to drop into my inbox.

This is not a training guide. Bryan Bailey has a fascinating story of life in Alaska, and intricately weaves it with stories of his training, ancient wisdom, modern statistics, and makes you look at your best friend with clear eyes.

Some time ago, dogs became as interwoven in the American culture as baseball, apple pie and the Fourth of July.

In fact, in most households, the dogs have even trumped evolution itself and jumped straight to being four legged humans where they are adorned with human names, designer outfits and fed diets that would confound even the best nutritionist. In most cases, we’ve granted them our human intelligence and our sacred human emotions as well. They are no longer dogs to us, they’re family! Yet, for all that man has done to carve the wolf from the wild to create a surrogate human, today’s dog is still a wolf at heart and the accompanying instincts borne from such ancestry defines how the dog approaches its world.

The ontogeny of anthropomorphism, where we attach our human traits to our pets, is the most damaging and paralytic problem associated with dog ownership today. Believing in a fairy tale world where dogs possess the same moral consciousness and sense of altruism as attributed to humans has led to a drastic increase in leash laws, dogs being outlawed in a rising number of city and national parks, some breeds being banned in several states, an alarming escalation of aggression to humans, a rising cost in homeowner and business insurance, and a record number of clinically maladaptive dogs.

This book is not a training book. It does not cover obedience topics such as heel, sit, down, stay, and come. Instead, it’s about righting the ship of American dog ownership by changing our perception of our dogs. It is about the author growing up in the Alaskan wild under the tutelage and guardianship of a Special Forces survival instructor who introduced him to the ways of wolves and the similarities they shared with dogs. It is about the wisdom and splendor of nature and the many life lessons she provides. Mostly, it about developing a deep understanding of the authors of your dog’s behavior; nature and the wolf. In doing so, you will truly learn who and what your dog really is and the whys and hows of its behavior.

You will learn the tools that nature gave them to survive and coexist in both the mountains and in our homes. You will learn how activating and deactivating natural impulses and mechanisms in your dog will lead to the harmonious existence and the control you always dreamed of. Most of all, you will come to embrace the wild in your dog and the grace and the peace that is breathed into its acceptance. – From the publisher

I loved this book. I loved that it wasn’t a training guide, although it made wish he does make a training guide! I would instantly read that. Barring that, I’d love to spend time with him and pick his brain. Spend time with him and his animals, and have him as a sensei in the dog training arts. Teach me the ways.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to do that right now, so for right now it stays as a dream.

I really connected with this book – I share many of the same views as him, in regards to many things that he brings up throughout the book. And while I’ve never really looked into dog/wolf behaviours, it makes sense. And it’s unfortunate that we are the dog’s best friend and worst enemy in this day and age. Especially now that I’m dog-sitting for a friend, and he requires a brush-up in his training, this book was immensely helpful in accepting (and maintaining) that I am the alpha.

My full review can be found on Goodreads. I fully encourage you to read this book, even if you don’t have a dog! This will help anyone who ever will come in contact with a dog. And at some point, you probably will. If you can arm yourself with knowledge, it’ll lead to such a better world for dogs and their owners.

Bryan Bailey is actually working on another book already, and all information can be found at his website. You can also send your dog for training with him, and it includes training for you as well.

Do you have a dog? Do you treat yours more like a wolf, or a human?