Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog [Hardcover]

Ted Kerasote (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2007

While on a camping trip, Ted Kerasote met a dog—a Labrador mix—who was living on his own in the wild. They became attached to each other, and Kerasote decided to name the dog Merle and bring him home. There, he realized that Merle’s native intelligence would be diminished by living exclusively in the human world. He put a dog door in his house so Merle could live both outside and in.

A deeply touching portrait of a remarkable dog and his relationship with the author, Merle’s Door explores the issues that all animals and their human companions face as their lives intertwine, bringing to bear the latest research into animal consciousness and behavior as well as insights into the origins and evolution of the human-dog partnership. Merle showed Kerasote how dogs might live if they were allowed to make more of their own decisions, and Kerasote suggests how these lessons can be applied universally.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Humorous, jubilant and touching by turns, this story of the relationship between man and dog is informed by the author's grasp of animal research and his attachment to Merle, a stray dog he adopted. A Labrador mix, Merle first appeared while the author was on a camping trip. Kerasote (Out There: In the Wild in a Wired Age), an award-winning nature writer, decided to take his canine friend home to rural Wyoming. This chronicle of their 13 years together is interspersed with studies by animal behaviorists that strengthened Kerasote's desire to see Merle as a responsible individual rather than a submissive pet. Merle set his own eating schedule (though not without early mishap), refused to hunt birds (although not elks) and, according to the author, possessed a range of emotions and sentiments similar to those of humans. Kerasote tends to anthropomorphize Merle's every look and movement, but this narrative is entertaining and Kerasote's strong love for Merle and enthusiasm for life in the wild will win over many readers. Kerasote's joyous relationship with Merle is balanced by a bittersweet account of a close relationship the author had with Alison, a neighbor and fellow dog owner. Kerasote's last weeks with the dying Merle are beautifully rendered. (July)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Merle showed up at the San Juan River at the same time Kerasote and his river-rafting friends arrived. Merle looked at Kerasote as if to say, "You need a dog, and I'm it." He accompanied the group down the river and then went home to Wyoming with Kerasote. A dog who was eager to please and almost trained himself, Merle learned the ways of bison, ground squirrels, and coyotes. Merle then taught Kerasote the fullness of the hunt, leading Kerasote to his favorite prey. But, after Kerasote installed a dog door, the main thing Merle taught him is that a dog develops to his full potential, becoming the dog he was meant to be, when allowed to make his own decisions. Merle developed a life of his own, patrolling the small settlement where they lived with his dog companions, and yet was always very aware of Kerasote and his schedule. In telling Merle's story, Kerasote also explores the science behind canine behavior and evolution, weaving in research on the human-canine bond and musing on the way dogs see the world. Merle is a true character, yet Merle is also Everydog. An absolute treasure of a book. Bent, Nancy

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition edition (July 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151012709
• ISBN-13: 978-0151012701
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (349 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Essays

More About the Author

Ted Kerasote is the author of many books, including the national bestseller "Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog" and "Out There: In The Wild in a Wired Age", which won the National Outdoor Book Award. His essays and photographs have appeared in Audubon, Geo, Outside, Science, The New York Times, and more than sixty other periodicals. Focusing on the interrelationship between people and nature, Ted's writing continues to take him from the Arctic to Africa and many places in between. His home, and the place he finds his peace and inspiration, remains Jackson Hole, the high valley that lies between the Teton and Gros Ventre mountains in northwestern Wyoming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

276 of 284 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story Masterfully Written, July 4, 2007

By 

M. L Lamendola (Merriam, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog (Hardcover)

"Wow. What a book." These are the words that I breathed out when I reached the end of Merle's Door.

Ted Kerasote is to writers what Mozart is to composers. His writing is that good. If he were to write about how the grass grew in his yard over summer, I have no doubt it would be a page-turner.

But that's not the story he wrote. This story is so much more. This unforgettable story begins when a big golden dog emerges from the dark to introduce himself to a small group of people camping in the desert. One of those people was Ted Kerasote, and the dog went home with him. As the story unfolds, we are taken on an amazing journey that goes well beyond "a boy and his dog."

Good relationships are built on mutual respect, and this relationship was better than most. This book is the story of that relationship. These two were the best of friends, and this account of their life together shows how each grew and learned from the other. Love, patience, and understanding are evident throughout the book.

At times, this book is humorous, and at other times it's instructive. But always, it's interesting. One of the lessons Merle taught Ted was that great things can happen if humans will change their behavior instead of always trying to change the behavior of their dogs. The prevailing wisdom is that dogs must be trained and molded a certain way, and treated as though they have no independent powers of judgment. Merle proved this isn't so wise.

The problem is that people don't let their dogs grow up. They make the dog into a perpetual child, and then are surprised when anxiety surfaces in the form of behavior problems. But how would you feel if you always had someone telling you what to do, and not letting you make any decisions on your own? This treatment, while often well-intended, disables a person. It disables dogs as well.

Ted suggests loving in a different way, one that provides more personal freedom and is less about controlling the dog. He says, "His (Merle's) lessons weren't about training, but about partnership. They were never about method; they were about attitude."

The partnership between these two took them on a far different path from one they would have taken if, for example, Ted had decided to make a bird dog out of Merle. Rather than make Merle into something to fit a desire of his own, Ted allowed Merle to be himself. And in so doing, Ted would eventually find his own deep needs met in ways that he could not have predicted. This made for a story worth telling and one definitely worth reading.

In addition to providing us with a wonderful story masterfully written, this book presents an impressive amount of science and technical information on a range of subjects. The list of sources runs 15 pages (in small print, at that). Yet, none of this seems out of place. Whether it's a quote from a biologist, an explanation of cognitive maps, or a summary of experiments with dolphins and mirrors, it's all good and it all fits. The wolf research is especially interesting. For anyone wishing to look up those facts after finishing the story, the extensive index will prove helpful.

This book has 18 chapters spanning 364 pages. Not a single one was wasted.

111 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even if you have never loved a dog, read this book, June 29, 2007

By 

Jeffrey Capshew "jdcapshew" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog (Hardcover)

First, the cold facts. Ted Kerasote has an uncanny ability to mix the sociology and history of dogs with humans and the very personal story of his life with his extraordinary Labrador mix, Merle, and makes it work like no other dog book I've read (and that's a lot of books). He is such a good writer that it's fun to read science part. But what really makes Merle's Door sing, or howl, is the poignant love story of Ted and Merle as they get to know more about each other over the years. Merle's story as told through Ted, who can put the words on the page since Merle could not, rings so true. When you read this book you are reading the story of two friends who share a life of adventure and love that is simply all too short. Millions of humans have had loving relationships with our canine halves, and never has it been so eloquently distilled in a single volume as this book. Read it, shed some tears of joy, give it to your friends, this is a magical book.

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most touching book I've read in a long time..., July 10, 2007

By 

Lori Pritchett (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog (Hardcover)

I bought this book knowing nothing about it or the author. I love dogs and had the love of my life dog pass away about 2 years ago. I've read Marley and Me and other dog books, but somehow they didn't come close to expressing the bond between man and dog as this book does so flawlessly. I read the book right away as we are now raising two puppies and I thought the book would be instructional. Wow. Although the book is instructional, it is so much more than that. This book touched me like nothing has in a long time. I finished it last night and I still can't think about it without choking up. What a life! It makes me want to go put my arms around the author and tell him I understand.
Bravo!! Well written. 5 stars. I loved it. I wish I had known Merle.