Customer Reviews

Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Not too far along I put this book down, fetched my highlighter, and started over. You'll quickly realize this is one you'll want to reference, maybe even re-read entirely. It's a definite top shelf selection for the library of anyone seriously devoted to a dog.
Like its independent-minded author, "Bones" defies categorization. It's neither a training manual, nor another treatise on canine behavior. While both subjects get thorough treatment, the book's focus is communication. Key is the thesis that only through continuous, clear, honest and most critically - two way - communication, can the objective of "deepening our relationships with dogs" be realized. Its virtue is in challenging us to think more deeply about what we already know - about dogs, about ourselves. No particular methodologies are professed other than perhaps common sense and humanity. Clothier demonstrates how contrasting cultures can vex human-canine relationships, using real world comparatives such as, "No mother dog ever told her puppies: `You just wait until your father gets home' or `We'll discuss that later.'" "A dog never needs to say `I may not tell you enough, but - '".
Three developmental stages of the human-canine relationship are described, beginning with mechanical (stimulus-response). Next comes motivational, the essence of reward-based training (and where most of us, even serious fancier types, are likely stagnated). At the apex is spiritual, where the pair - meaning "we" having supplanted "dog and me" - operates in synchronous harmony. "Bones" is filled with the author's experiences, and those of a few others, in lifelong quest of this uppermost plateau. In the midst of these, you'll find lots of thought provoking assertions, such as one of my favorites, "Few things tell me as much about the quality of the connection between a person and a dog as what can be observed as they just walk together."
Suzanne Clothier is a widely respected trainer, lecturer and writer. In its second printing just sixty days into publication, "Bones" is a departure from her previous fare of shorter, single subject oriented works. The style of this book is anything but "hurry up." You'll find not a single bulleted list. Instead of telling us how to do it, the author relates example after real-life example showing us how it's done (or not to be done). You'll see yourself and your dog(s) over and over in the experiences she relates, some funny, some embarrassing, some sad.

"Bones" holds great potential for anyone who trains, breeds, shows, hunts, works with, rescues or has otherwise dedicated a goodly portion of their life to a dog or dogs. Recent films and literature have popularized the image of gifted individuals seemingly far more capable than you or me in relating to animals - "whisperers." The greatest gift in Clothier's work is realizing we can learn to be whisperers, too.

With warmth, humor, and insight, guided by a deep love for dogs, Suzanne Clothier does not just urge us to 'think outside the box.' In 'Bones Would Rain from the Sky,' Clothier succeeds in smashing the box entirely, and builds a totally new paradigm. 'Bones' feeds a hunger in every dog trainer and lover who has been left unsatisfied by the myriad training 'recipe' books available on the market. Clothier holds up a mirror to each of us, requiring that we examine and own our own roles in our relationships with our dogs, and encourages us to use our powers of empathy, compassion, and intelligence to improve those relationships. Clothier's stories open new depths of truth, and promise new levels of possibility between us and our companions. Written with elegance, style and grace, 'Bones' is destined to become a classic which will appear on every dog trainer's and dog lover's bookshelf.

Suzanne Clothier has written a masterpiece!
While this is a beautifully written book whose main theme seems to be about "deepening our relationships with dogs", it actually encompasses a much more important body of thought. It is really a book about developing a richer more fulfilling and effective life in all relationships. Suzanne Clothier provides us the opportunity to learn that what we perceive as happening may very well be perceived differently by those in our lives, be they dogs, children, a spouse or friends, or foreign nations
There are many implications concerning leadership, not just as it applies to animals or even children but leadership overall.
Clothier states,"In the end, our personal philosophy is also our best protection against cruelty. When we know what we believe and who we are, we stand stong and sure about what we will and will not allow."

Clothier quotes Goethe-"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."

"One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it become an emergency." she quotes Arnold Glasglow.

"As ever, a small investment of our full selves reaps rewards without measure.",another quote from this book!

Don't let the title fool you, this is not really just about dogs ,but about people and how we live in this world and how we touch other's lives. It compels one to take an honest look at our relationships and then to proceed through this process, to enriching our lives by making positive changes in our dealings with those around us. Clothier quotes Thomas Jefferson,
"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." We can only be wiser if we are honest with ourselves first.

I bought Suzanne Clothier's newly released "Bones Would Rain from the Sky" because I love, own, & train dogs. I'm not sure what I expected to find in this book, but I got a great deal more than I could have possibly anticipated.

I thought to read yet another well respected trainer's viewpoint on dogs, perhaps. What I got was a mind and soul expanding journey. Suzanne writes with startling self-honesty, but with great wit and a beautiful ability to communicate via the written word. What I found was page after page of pointers toward Truth (with a deliberate capital 't').

If you love animals ... be prepared with kleenex box on hand for she surely can move you to tears. But, also be prepared for many more occasions of smiles and outright laughter.

Most of all, be prepared to find your own philosophy toward dog training, as well as dog-human and human-human relationships challenged to be the best you can be.

About 18 years ago, I watched a "professional" dog trainer hold my young German shepherd up in mid air, dangling from a choke chain. This was allegedly to break his dominance and actually resulted in him disliking men. I suspected there was a different, better way, not just to train my dog, but have a friendship with him that was mutually communicative, since this is why I wanted a dog. I have a 3 yr. old male shepherd and purchased this wonderful book after getting a female shepherd puppy last summer. This book showed me how my dogs tried to communicate with me and how frequently I didn't get the message. There is a language barrier. Suzanne has watched and listened to many dogs and everything she says makes wonderful sense. This book addresses the really significant issues of how we love our dogs and how we can live with them in a natural way that is respectful of them and yet lets us preserve our role as the "leader" of the pack and be loved and respected, but not feared. I concur with another reviewer: you will examine yourself and search your soul and perhaps experience, as I and another friend of mine did, shame at some of our own behaviors in the past towards our beloved dogs. If you really love your dog(s), this book will make you a better dog friend.

"Bones would Rain from the Sky" is not the typical step by step dog training book. The author does an outstanding job detailing how and why our relationships with our canine pals can get off track and better yet how to get things on the mend. The writing is clear and the examples are ones we all can relate to. No matter what role dogs have in your life, this book has something for you. If you only buy one book this year, make it this one. I have two copies already. One that I read and read again and another that I lend to my friends. Don't pass this one by!!!!!

I was amazed by this book. It caused me much soul searching as I went over in my mind the many sessions of training I have had with my own dogs and others and measured them against the benchmarks that this book provides.

Some of what Suzanne had to say confirmed things that I already knew both in my head and my heart. Other things she said opened new vistas in my mind and caused me to look at things from an entirely different viewpoint. My dogs.

Living with a pack of 8 dogs has always been a challenge. When I read Suzanne's book it would seem to me that I have been living with a pack of 13 all this time and did not take those dynamics into account. Our pack of 13 consists of 8 canines, 4 humans and 1 cat. Everybody in that pack has an effect on the others that result in behaviors that I can observe.

I now understand why my 2 year old female Cattle dog "pings" on the older female Cattle dog in terms I never thought of. What I had written off as the two dogs hating each other turns out to be a mutual set of interactions that include (if I can stretch it this far) a set of self fulfilling prophesies on the part of the two participants. The trick and task I now have is to somehow break that chain.

Since I now have an understanding of the motivating factors in this lack of harmony between these females due to my "looking at the situation through the dog's eyes" as Suzzane would put it I have a chance of fixing a long term annoyance in my household.

If you are at all interested in dog behavior and/or training this is a book that not only belongs on your bookshelf but should be read on a periodic basis to refresh your knowlege.

Suzanne Clothier's latest book, Bones Would Rain From the Sky, is perhaps the best single book on the nature of the relationship between dogs and people I have ever read. But saying just that does not nearly encompass the entirety of the book. It is about much more than "just" our relationship with dogs. It is about relationships of all sorts. What we bring to a relationship, what the other party brings to the relationship, and how we can and must learn to read ourselves and our partner.

I am by no means a new age type. In fact if I am anything, I am very much a nuts and bolts type. I have worked most of my adult life as a race car mechanic and a designer of performance parts. I am a freelance technical writer for automotive magazines and a hobbyist race car driver. I am also a dog lover and have been since my earliest memories. I have trained and handled dogs professionally off and on since I was 10 years old. My approach to working with dogs is pragmatic and results oriented. I tend to look more at the how and less at the why. I currently run a rescue that works only with deaf Great Danes. I relate this only to assure you that anyone can find value in, and learn something from Bones.

While Bones is not your typical "users manual" for dog ownership and training, it is a profoundly important work and should be required reading for anyone who owns or works with dogs. It will help you see an entire new side of your relationship with your dog and the dogs you work with, and will help you to better understand how and why they behave the way the do.

Suzanne is one of the best trainers in the business, and in Bones she gives us an insight not only into how she lives and works with dogs, but also how dogs live and work with her, and with all of us.

Buy this book, even if it is the only book on dog ownership, behavior, or training you ever buy. The nuts and bolts stuff you can find in a dog training class in most areas. What Bones can teach you comes only from a select few and at the astronomical hourly rates that a behaviorist would charge.

If six stars were allowed, I'd give this one seven. I think Suzanne Clothier started out to write a really good book about dog training, and ended up with something much better. Those who are looking for a neat cookbook of training recipes are likely to be disappointed at first. While there is advice (and very good advice) about handling training problems and behavior problems, the most simple message of this book: in order to have a dog you can comfortably live with, you have to have a relationship with that dog. So, beyond the training tips and advice on finding a balance with which you are comfortable in training techniques, this is a book about relationship building. With our dogs, even with each other. It's a story told in Clothier's vividly descriptive and often very humorous style, and generously illustrated with many examples provided by the animals Clothier has worked with but it's told from the heart. Not just a training manual, it's an honest and heartfelt journal of a lifetime journey with dogs. Should be required reading for dog ownership

It was so refreshing to read a book about communication with dogs that involved listening to them rather than always expecting them to do what we want them to do, no matter what they happen to be feeling. I find myself going back to read sections over again.
I was especially moved by the story of Chance in chapter 2, "A Black Dog's Prayers." I was moved to tears reading of Wendy's determination to try and reach this dog, and of their setbacks, and then, finally, of the building of a bridge of trust and communication between the two of them.
I have become very dubious of so-called training methods used by many people for some time now, and have only been using positive reinforcement techniques with my dogs. Even so, I have felt something lacking, and Ms. Clothier has hit the nail on the head when she says that dogs are more than just conditioned responses. There is a lot more going on there. We just have to take the time to see it.
Thank you, Ms. Clothier, for a great book. I will be looking forward to reading more of your work in the future.