Dog Lover's Daily Companion: 365 Days of Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Living a Rich Life with Your Dog [Hardcover]

Wendy Nan Rees (Author), Kristen Hampshire (Author), Kendra Luck (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

Live a more joyful life with your dog - one day at a time!

Dog Lover's Daily Companion is an inspiring handbook filled with 365 helpful tips, easy-to-build projects, and practical advice on the canine-human relationship. No matter where you live or what breed of dog you have, this book has a year's worth of ideas and insight into an exuberant, healthy life with your dog.

Wendy Nan Rees and Kristen Hampshire use humor, passion, and panache as they guide you through the day-to-day life of owning and living with a dog. From regular vaccinations to dealing with a sick dog; puppy school to obedience training; grooming at home - to those times that you must consult a professional - it's all covered here. Dynamic photographs by pet portraitist and "dogumentarian" Kendra Luck weave a visual narrative that honors the joy of dog companionship.

Inside, you'll find the following day-to-day categories:

Monday - Dogs 101

Tuesday - Table Manners and Training

Wednesday - Playtime and Exercise

Thursday - Grooming and Health Care

Friday - Housekeeping and Cleaning

Saturday and Sunday - Bonding and Relationship Building

Versatile and practical, Dog Lover's Daily Companion will entertain you, inform you, and might even let you in on industry secrets. Whether you are a first-time or lifelong dog owner, you will be inspired to make your own beds and toys, learn valuable tips about pet safety, and enjoy traveling with your pet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

As someone who has written a pet column for seven years, I felt pretty confident that I knew all the basics about dogs. For a layperson, that is. But "Dog Lover's Daily Companion," by Wendy Nan Rees and Kristen Hampshire, has a host of doggy details and trivia that had never even crossed my radar. Subtitled "365 Days of Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Living a Rich Life With Your Dog," this 315-page book, with playful pet portraits by "dogumentarian" Kendra Luck of Albany, will entertain and inform even the most savvy dog owner…With the approaching holidays, the "Dog Lover's Daily Companion" will make a welcome gift for those who already share their life with a dog as well as those who are considering the joys of canine companionship.  --Eileen Mitchell, San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Wendy Nan Rees is an author and entrepreneur who has been involved in the pet industry for more than 25 years. Her career began when she founded Lip Smackers, Inc., a company dedicated to providing healthy all-natural treats to consumers concerned about their pets’ well-being. She is an author of The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and Cats (2007), No Barking at the Table (1996), and No Catnapping in the Kitchen (1996). She orchestrated the book The Name Game, a collection of over 100 celebrity essays and more than 1,000 suggestions for pet names. A percentage of the proceeds from The Name Game goes directly to PAWS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people with HIV/AIDS care for their pets. Her many successes have led to numerous television appearances and newspaper and magazine articles. She was the Pet Lifestyle Advisor on Animal Planet’s Petsburgh, USA and has also appeared on The Home Shopping Network.  She also wrote a monthly column, “In the Kitchen with Wendy,” for Your Pet magazine. Today, Wendy is the host of an internet radio show called “Wendy’s Animal Talk” on www.healthylife.net (see website for broadcast schedule). Wendy also contributes weekly pet tips for www.lovetoknow.com. Wendy lives in Los Angeles with her dogs Senator, Cappy, and Little Man. For more information, visit Wendy at www.petlifestyleadvisor.com.

Kristen Hampshire is an award-winning writer. Her work has been published in a wide range of nationally recognized magazines. She has also served as an editor for two green industry publications, Commercial Dealer and Bayer Environmental Science's Lawn Care Professional. Her most recent book is John Deere's Landscaping and Lawn Care. She lives in Lakewood, OH.

Kendra Luck has created a style and body of work from a past career as an award-winning photojournalist and day-to-day life with her canine muse, Gladys (1992-2008). For Luck, watching a dog is akin to watching children play, waves breaking at the beach, or a bonfire blaze - it's hypnotic. Luck documents the dog's rising role in the family household. She lives in Albany, California, and travels throughout the United States for private photo commissions as well as editorial and commercial projects. For more information, visit www.dogumentarian.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Quarry Books; 1 edition (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592535283
• ISBN-13: 978-1592535286
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,005,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wendy Nan Rees has been involved in the pet industry for over 25 years. Her career began when she founded Lip Smackers, Inc., a company dedicated to providing healthy all-natural treats to consumers concerned about their pets' well-being. The Lip Smackers bakery still operates today out of The Pet Care Company located in Hermosa Beach, CA.
Wendy has come full circle with her new book "The Dog Devotional: 365 Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Living a Rich Life with Your Dog". It is a collection of many of Wendy's most popular tricks and techniques she has used over her 25+ years as a Pet Lifestyle Advisor(tm). It is one of the most comprehensive "How to" dog books that has come along in many years. While reading this book you will be able to pick up on Wendy's enthusiasm. The real secret Wendy is teaching us here is that we are giving back the unconditional love that our dogs offer us.
It is the latest in a long line of books, published by MS. Rees. Her most recent book The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and Cats, published in 2007, is a collection of fifty recipes which rely on natural ingredient, which also includes information about holistic pet care. It is available many places and is one of the few books sold by Whole Foods.

Other books include: No Barking at the Table: Canine Recipes Most Begged For. The book was so well-received that No Barking at the Table 2 and No Catnapping in the Kitchen were not far behind. Moving in a different direction, Wendy then published The Name Game, a collection of over 100 celebrity essays along with over 1,000 suggestions of pet names. This fun book offers pet owners an entertaining and unique take on how and why people name their pets. A percentage of the proceeds from The Name Game go directly to PAWS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people with HIV/AIDS to care for their pets.
Wendy's success as an author and dog-treat creator is no less amazing, due to the fact that she was born with severe dyslexia and ADHD. Wendy and her family were told that Wendy would not graduate high school. However, whenever Wendy is presented with obstacles in her life, it kicks her driving engine into gear and she charges ahead to prove all the naysayers wrong.
Her previous successes led to numerous television appearances and newspaper and magazine articles. She was the "Pet Lifestyle Advisor(tm)" on Animal Planet's Petsburgh, USA and has also appeared on The Home Shopping Network. Wendy also wrote a monthly column called "In the Kitchen with Wendy" for Your Pet Magazine.
Not one to rest on her success, Wendy focused on her entrepreneurial side, helping to create Cedar Green (R), a line of all-natural odor eliminators created with pet owners in mind. The signature product is Freshen Vac; a heat-activated natural odor eliminator that can be used in vacuum cleaners, dog beds, any home air vent and in cars.

In 2000 Wendy was diagnosed with breast cancer, which forced her to take a break from her career to focus all her energy on her recovery. Today, Wendy is happy to say she is cancer-free and working on her worldwide internet radio show called Wendy's Animal Talk. You can hear Wendy every Tuesday at 1PM PST at www.healthylife.net. Wendy also writes two weekly pet tips for the web site www.lovetoknow.com where she provides dog and cat advice.

You can use many words to describe Wendy Nan Rees - author, cancer survivor, inventor, and entrepreneur. And while each of these terms is accurate, they are only part of a truly inspiring and creative woman, who uses her talents to innovate an industry that she has loved since she was a child--the world of pets. Wendy lives in Los Angeles with her dogs Senator, Cappy and Little Man
Wendy Nan Rees- Pet Lifestyle Advisor(tm) www.petlifestyleadvisor.com
"Remember the animals in your life are not just your pets they're your friends" WNR (C)2005

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, Educational and Fun September 6, 2009

By S. Depue

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

What a great book! It's got a lot of great advice combined with fun true stories that any owner can relate to. Great tips on don'ts (after 6 years with our English Bulldog, even I didn't know some of these things - scary!) as well as do's! And suggestions on fun, novel activities. It's a great format for someone with little free time - each page is a new subject. I'll pick this up with I have 5 minutes to read and find myself still reading an hour later.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Dog Will Love You For This! January 23, 2010

By Brooklyn Diva

Format:Hardcover

Dog Lover's Daily Companion is a great book for dog lover's the world over. This book is packed with info, tips, and lots more. Great thoughtful gift to give to the Dog Lover in your life. I highly recommend this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every single penny and more December 30, 2009

By Renee

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I can't tell you how cool this book is, cooking, teaching, how to make a dog house - everything. I've bought 3 and given them to people. I've read it front to back. It's cute, helpful, entertaining, cheap and just completely worth it. I highly recommend it.