Customer Reviews

Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to DoIt: Life Lessons from a Wise Old Dog to a Young Boy

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
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The visual image of Mr. O'Hurley's sweet little dog writing notes and placing them under the foot of the Big Blue Elephant is priceless. The notes themselves are clear and direct, as dogs are wont to be. They form the basis for the chapters which are filled with wisdom, laughter and tears. This is a beautiful love letter from a devoted father to his beloved son. Whether you love a dog or another person, I feel certain you'll be deeply touched by this delightful book.

John O'Hurley's sophomore novel is a breath of fresh air! Okay, he claims it was written by his dog, Scoshi, with only a bit of commentary added by him for clarification. Regardless, this is a wonderful book filled with laughter, tears, and solid advice to a little man from a little dog and his loving father.

Before Your Dog can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It: Life Lessons From a Wise Old Dog to a Young Boy discusses many lessons the author's learned from dogs, which carried him from the New England woods of childhood to his successful life in Hollywood. It was his dog who pointed the way to wisdom - and who, he says, wrote on small scraps of paper some words of wisdom - Scoshi's life lessons for father and son, from a wise old dog. This parent's insights and advice is purposeful, directed and easy to absorb.

While I thoroughly enjoyed O'Hurley's first book, "It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump", I thought his latest one, "Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It" was extraordinary. Setting aside his penchant for very long titles, he is a very talented writer. He makes me laugh and cry and everything in between. He is far more candid about his early life than one would expect, and that endears him to us. We can see a little bit of ourselves on these pages. I see dogs and love them in much the same way he does, so for me he is truly a kindred spirit.

I bought this book just because I like dogs - however, what a pleasant surprise! O'Hurley (or Scoshi...) says things that make you stop and think about, things that you agree with because you also have lived them, felt them; you just had never stopped to think about. Totally worth reading.

Beautifully written, an entertaining and touching read. My dog is the same age as Scoshi, so the introduction was particularly poignant for me. I highly recommend this book for people of all ages.

As both a parent and dog lover, I enjoyed this book. Had some very realistic advice in it. Hope his son enjoys it when he gets older.

Quick read..took about an hour to finish.

I knew of John O'Hurley only from his humorous role as J. Peterman on the "Seinfeld" sitcom; and as a talented TV game show host. I purchased "Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It"...subtitled "Life Lessons from a Wise Old Dog to a Young Boy" (perhaps the longest title ever--certainly among the 1200-plus books in our family library!) because of our love of dogs, arguably one of God's greatest gifts. The title suggested that it would be filled with the funny, and sometimes sad, anecdotes about these special creatures which are the basis of many books being published today. And while "BYDCEYHFYHTDI" certainly met my expectations for humor and pathos, this extraordinary work is so very much more. Though consisting of only 152 pages, nearly all of them offer profound insights into parenting, love, integrity, faith, commitment, and individual responsibility (so lacking in so many, as documented in news reports on a daily basis). Mr. O'Hurley reveals himself as an intelligent, caring and honest man; and his insights into the human mind, conscience, heart and soul are inspiring messages which can profoundly motivate the readers of this very special book. As one who has reviewed countless books, and is a member of Amazon.com's Vine program, I can enthusiastically, and without reservation, highly recommend this second book by John O'Hurley--whose young son, William, is indeed blessed to have as his father. (I haven't as yet read his first book, "It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump"... but it's on order!)
--Ron Howe (aka 'Toby Martin II) Erskine, Minnesota.

This book will help you love dogs even more. John O'Hurley has a special way of writing and he shows how much he loves animals. It is an uplifting book and one that can be read while waiting at the doctor's office or on a train or plane since it is not a large book. It's a good book for children also. Anyone who loves dogs will enjoy this book.

Love his writing. He's funny, smart, fun & serious all at the same time. You should definitely read this book.