Customer Reviews

Shorty & I: A Guide to Raising Young Herding Dogs in the City

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Shorty and I is an interesting combination: an easy-to-follow guide for training herding dogs with love and patience and a detailed account of one woman's courageous struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome. It is chock-filled with humor, which makes the life lessons easy to swallow. It's a manual for anyone trying to train any breed of puppy or face life's challenges with strength and a positive attitude.

One sign of a good book for me is if I am translating the printed word into visual images or pictures. In other words, I am already drawn into the book and living the authors verse in my minds eye. Jeans' book did that for me. I also liked the whimsical way in which Ms. Mueller choose to illuminate the reader in puppy love while learning skills for herd master and pup. It is an honest book that is down to earth, simple to read, amusing yet seasoned with moments of grace. It is also loaded with tips in understanding dogs and concrete steps to becoming a skillful herding dog trainer. Although, I have no interest in ever becoming a herding dog trainer, I would recommend reading: Shorty and I to any dog lover who enjoys a read that is gentle, fun and a little quirky.

I love this book. I can hardly believe someone has written about training a herding dog (a Kelpie) in an urban environment. A year ago I adopted a "rescue dog," a 6-month-old mostly-Kelpie. She's a wonderful, loving friend, but I worry and sometimes feel guilty that she has nowhere to use her innate herding instincts. She tried once with a herd of wild turkeys, but when they all flew off in different directions, she was stunned and didn't know what to do. After a heavy snow she tried to herd a pack of neighborhood children on sleds, but they didn't respect her. It's obvious from her behavior that she wants to herd. I didn't know what to do. Then this book popped up on Amazon.

It could have been written about Dakota and me. My pup came to life right off the page. While I don't have chronic fatigue syndrome like the author, I am in my seventies, diabetic, and have had similar physical and mental reactions to post-breast-cancer medications for years. Reading this book was like sitting down and talking (listening) to a sister.

"Shorty & I" is a complete delight, filled with wonderful suggestions, and anecdotes so familiar they brought tears to my eyes. She describes games we can play that make use of the herding dog's innate movements, shows how to build on what the dog is born knowing, and entertains with stories about her dogs' skill at playing "gotcha" with her. At the risk of giving away Mueller's secret, I learned how to teach my dog by letting my dog teach me.

It you love or have ever loved a dog, you'll know this book is a gem.

This book is very easy to read and has a lot of great advice. I don't do herding, but I think a lot of the training tips can be adapted to non-herding dogs too.

Jean shares a lot of great stories about time with her dogs.