Customer Reviews

"Please, Oh Please Can We Get A Dog": Parents' Guide to Dog Ownership

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My family found the book to be very beneficial as it helped to guide us through the process of getting a dog and opened our search to other areas other than the newspapers and pet shops. The author explains how to research your life so that the dog you are looking for complements it. She also explains how to research the breed for health and temperament problems and gives many questions that should be asked of breeders with sample answers that we should receive in return. Working with breeders can be intimidating and this book helped to ease our fears because it explained what we really needed to know in order to work with breeders and organizations to get a dog. I think anyone looking for a family pet will benefit from reading this book.

"The spiritual and emotional connection that we have with our dogs doesn't just happen. The process begins long before you bring a dog home, and Cheryl Peterson's "Please Oh Please Can We Get A Dog?" is the perfect manual to help parents prepare their children (and themselves) for adding a four-legged member to the family. Peterson leads you through the process, helping you ask the right questions to find the right dog to match your family's lifestyle, and then to help you provide proper stewardship for the life of the dog. With Peterson's help, your family will be rewarded richly with the unconditional love and loyalty that only a dog can give.

-- David Frei, Co-host, The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on USA Network and for The National Dog Show on NBC."

This is a must read for any dog loving family. The author is obviously knowledgeable and passionate about dogs and the families they are coupled with. She takes a prospective dog purchasing family through all the steps needed to make a decision as to type of dog they should bring into their home, if any at all. My family has been lucky enough to have a dog with us for many years. My children have grown and moved on. They are looking to introduce a dog into their family. I was happy to present them with this book.

DOG WORLD MAGAZINE -- BOOK REVIEW -- October, 2005

Reviewed by Janine Adams

This engaging, informative book is a terrific resource for parents who are considering buying a dog for their children. It opens astutely by positing, "Two of the most dreaded questions children ask their parents are: Where do babies come from? [and] Please, oh please can we get a dog?"

Peterson, a dog trainer, fully understands how children can benefit from having dogs in their lives. But she wants to help educate parents about the commitment a dog requires. She gives them a reality check when it comes to expecting the children to care for the dog, endeavoring to make sure that potential first-timers know that dogs should never be purchased on impulse.

Peterson has written something unique: a book specifically designed for parents to read before the dog is purchased. As such, there's room for great detail on some important topics that can help keep parents from making a big mistake. She takes the reader through a series of realistic questions. (Will your family's leisure activities accommodate a dog? Can you afford to keep a dog? Is your marriage healthy?) She even devotes a chapter to helping parents decline those pleading puppy requests.

For the parents who get through the first few chapters and still want a dog, Peterson includes detailed pages on how to choose a breed (including a comprehensive table of breeds prone to a variety of genetic diseases); where to purchase and equally importantly, where not to purchase a dog; and how to find and recognize a reputable breeder, even when reading a newspaper ad. She paints a clear picture of what a responsible breeder is, and what puppy buyers can expect from a breeder. Then she helps the reader prepare the house for the new dog.

This is the perfect book for the responsible parent trying to find the very best way to answer the daunting title question. That answer may well be no. But if it's yes, this book will help parents and children make the very best of that decision.
[...]

Janine Adams is an award-winning writer and the author of seven books. Her latest is the You Bake `em Dog Biscuits Cookbook (Running Press, 2005).
BowTie, Inc., publisher of Dog World, grants permission to re-publish this review. Text copyright © 2005 by BowTie, Inc.

we bought this book but were disappointed because it really was not aimed at parents with kids. it was just a general dog book. it was aimed more for a single person getting a dog. there wasnt' much mention of kids and there needs at all.

not a very good book about dogs. my big beef -- photos are tiny. You can hardly see what the dogs look like.