The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (Hardcover)

by Jon Katz (Author) "FAR IN THE DISTANCE, AS THE MORNING MISTS BEGAN TO CLEAR, I could see a livestock trailer heading west on Route 30 from Salem toward..." (more)
Key Phrases: training pen, border collies, pig barn, New Jersey, Bedlam Farm, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Katz, whose books A Dog Year and Running to the Mountain earned him many faithful, dog-loving readers, here channels James Herriott's brand of agricultural humanism. It's a classic setup for amusing anecdotes: a 50-something "suburban rookie" buys a farm in upstate New York, stocking it with three border collies and a small herd of sheep. His skeptical wife agrees to the plan, but wisely forbids firearms, farm machinery and long trips in the pickup. This leaves plenty of latitude for adventures—lost sheep, horrible weather, the dramas of dog training and lamb birthing. Soon, the introspective author realizes that his interactions with dogs are about "trying to become a better human." After all, his dogs have unfailingly high expectations of him. The troublesome pup, Orson, becomes the great test of Katz's emotional maturity, requiring consistent discipline and love in the face of awful misbehavior (one of Orson's habits is eating sheep feces). "If we herd sheep for another decade or so," Katz writes, "I might make it: I might become a patient man." While there's no deeply surprising insight into human nature nor any particularly revealing information about canine behavior, these stories offer readers a potent stew of triumphs and failures, all tied together by the constancy of complicated, joyful, lovable dogs.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–In a book that is similar to his A Dog Year (Random, 2002), Katz now recounts the year in which he trained his border collies and farmed. No longer in Pennsylvania, he faced lambing season during an extremely harsh northern New York winter. Although he discusses the training of the dogs to herd sheep, his primary purpose is to show that dogs are a reflection of their owners: that his improved attitude and behavior improved the behavior of his dogs. Sometimes funny, as when the sheep and donkeys misbehaved, sometimes sad, as when he gave away one of the dogs, the story always has the ring of truth. Readers feel Katz's frustration, joy, and triumphs. An enticing way for students in cities to learn what life is like on a simple farm, where life can be hard, but where neighbors help one another.–Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Villard; First Edition edition (October 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400062438
• ISBN-13: 978-1400062430
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #475,896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Woof, Woof, January 7, 2005

By	Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" (Lexington, SC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jon Katz is a late middle aged man with a restless disposition, a tendency to be irritable, a dysfunctional childhood, and--oh yes--an obsession with dogs. In this book he has just moved to a 40 acre farm in upstate New York, leaving his wife behind in the city. And, in the process, acquires a small herd of sheep and two donkeys. You see, he is now obsessed with Border Collies, and they are obsessed with herding sheep.

Training the dogs to work as a team and herd sheep is not easy, in fact it is almost beyond Katz's abilities except on those rare occasions when he can keep quiet and trust the dogs' judgment. He comes to the insight that in order to train these dogs he will have to be a better human. And that is his project through the rest of the book, a devilishly hard winter, and all the misadventures that could possibly happen to a rookie farmer who hasn't a clue.

Fortunately, his neighbors and townspeople take him under their collective wings and help him muddle through. If they regard him as a silly "flatlander" who has no business attempting this adventure, they are kind enough not to say so.

Author Jon Katz has written a number of books. He is fluent and elegant writer, who offers a wealth of interesting observations about rural life, sheep, donkeys, dogs, "dog people" (who only relate to other people through their dogs), and human nature. The book is easy reading and entertaining, if a little superficial. The only real drawback, for me, was author Katz's excessive preoccupation with himself and his inner conflicts. I would have liked to learn more about the animals. Still, the book works, and I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the Love of Dogs, December 30, 2004

By	prisrob "pris," (New EnglandUSA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

At first glance, Jon Katz seems to be a man out of his mind. First he buys a border collie that herds garbage trucks and buses in the city- then he spends the next year training this dog, and finally realizing he needs to move out of the city. So, he packs up his bags, says good-bye to his wife and daughter and off he goes with three dogs and along the way collects two donkeys and sixteen sheep. A sane man- maybe not, but a very smart one. Jon Katz has found the way- or a religion so to speak.

Jon Katz is a writer and a lover of dogs. This story centers around one year of his life. A year spent on a farm in upstate New York, a very difficult year, but one he would do again in a New York minute. He has a small cabin, but realizes he needs more room and with his wife's permission he buys an old farm. He is lucky to have wonderful neighbors who come to his rescue when he needs them the most. Andy is a Vermont carpenter and adds safety and room to Jon's life. He helps to resurrect the barn and other small buildings. John has decided he must have some sheep for his dogs to herd. Along with the sixteen sheep comes a donkey-and then later on another small donkey at the recommendation of The Donkey lady. His sheep and one ram, of course, make babies and in the middle of the worst winter in New York State; 17 baby sheep are born. Jon narrates his harrowing times and what he has learned from the winter. He knows and now understands fully that you must have neighbors who understand what you are up against. He never would have made it without them. Most of his neighbors and townspeople love his dogs and love watching the dogs herd sheep. Most of these people are farmers without much money, and they look at Jon as a curious neighbor, but they too grow to respect him. The admiration is mutual and the stories of the townspeople help us to understand what it takes to live in upper New York State in stark winter. Another reason that Jon may not be entirely sane!

Jon Katz dispenses sage wisdom from his work with dogs. The dogs have changed his life and how he thinks about himself. He builds a new relationship with his long lost sister. He is finally able to understand what his miserable childhood has done to him, and how the dogs can help him mend. He firmly believes that all dogs must be trained to be dogs. Dogs are not people and we need to able to show them how to live in our people world. Good truth and wisdom from this book. Jon Katz has a way about him that envelops us, and we learn to care about him and his dogs. Tears and laughter abound throughout this book. Highly recommended. prisrob

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Big Disappointment, December 29, 2005

By	Jerry H (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Jon Katz creates a remarkable story in this series of books, all apparently derived from his great love of dogs, first his beloved Yellow Labs, and then a gaggle of sheep herding Border Collies. In "The Dogs of Bedlam Farm", however, he finds a way to turn this exciting and compelling story into pure drudgery, an almost painful book to read.

Katz continues to explore the limits of his relationships with his three dogs, selling his upstate New York cottage, buying an old, abandoned farm property, and abandoning his wife. He adds a ram, 15 ewes, and 2 donkeys to the three collies, and attempts to survive a brutal northern winter while training the dogs to herd and keeping all of the livestock alive and fed, with mixed results.

His writing style is disjointed, with constant, but incomplete, references to past parts of the story, so that if you have not read previous books on his dogs (i.e., Orson), you will have a hard time following along. As the narrative enters the dark, frigid winter months, the story bogs down into a nauseating psychoanalysis of ... everything ... his relationship with his father, with his sister and her personal demons, with his dogs, his feelings of insecurity with the farm, the animals, his new neighbors out in the country.

In the beginning, I felt bad that his wife was being left out of all this excitement; by chapter 12, it became apparent that she is the only sane one in the story.

As a dog lover, I couldn't have been more inclined to embrace this book, but it was a huge disappointment.