From the Bookshelf of Write About Dogs!…

Smile! and other practical life lessons your dogs can teach you

Lynne Swanson

Start date: December 1, 2016

Finish date: December 20, 2016

Why we're reading this: Solid, positive, VERY practical and pro-active advice from a vet who lives with and rehabs many dogs at a…more
[close] Solid, positive, VERY practical and pro-active advice from a vet who lives with and rehabs many dogs at a time. With lots of relevant examples, it beats the heck out of dry "scientific" tomes on dog behavior. Half canine psychology and half human psychology...totally unlike any dog books I have read.

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Dec 20, 2016 Vicki rated it it was amazing

If you can relate to learning something new and feeling "Wow! I wish I knew this years ago!" that's how you will feel when you read Smile! Chapter after chapter, it's the perfect combination of human psychology and canine psychology, and the practices Dr. Swanson teaches works really, really fast. I did what she recommended, and my dogs responded as if they were saying, "Thank you! It's about time you got what we've been trying to say."

Smile! is practical and straightforward (yet thought-provoki If you can relate to learning something new and feeling "Wow! I wish I knew this years ago!" that's how you will feel when you read Smile! Chapter after chapter, it's the perfect combination of human psychology and canine psychology, and the practices Dr. Swanson teaches works really, really fast. I did what she recommended, and my dogs responded as if they were saying, "Thank you! It's about time you got what we've been trying to say."

Smile! is practical and straightforward (yet thought-provoking), and I like that you can apply its wisdom moment-to-moment. Unlike other books on animal psychology, it doesn't get bogged down in scientific terminology and paragraphs on apes and chickens. And it is smile-based! Why is that so neat? To quote from the book (Chapter 2):

"We reward our dogs with sincere, relaxed smiles. What, no dog biscuits? No "good dogs?" No clicker clicks? That's right, smiles ninety-five percent of the time. Why is that? Because smiles don't lead to mouthiness the way treats can. Smiles don't elevate a dog's energy the way "good dogs!" often do. Smiles are always with you. They can't be dropped by arthritic hands, and they don't leave crumbs in your pockets. Smiles can be used selectively when working with multiple dogs, and we don't even have to be looking at a dog for them to send their message. Plus, giving smiles to others helps us let go of a lot of our unwanted stress, through the release of endorphins (our very own happy-molecules). This further helps us to communicate with our dogs! Because dogs aren't happy where there is tension. Dogs just don't love the drama. Have you ever tried to smile and be dramatic at the same time? Fortunately, it is hard!"

You have to love Smile's cover, too. It's got a picture of two smiling goats hanging out with a happy little dog and three smiling dobermans!

According to the back of the book, all the proceeds from its sale go to dog rescue and public library projects. Pretty cool. Check this book out, especially if you have issues with your dogs that you wish to solve! I found it at givesmiles dot us, though I know it is available elsewhere. ...more

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