Let the Games Begin!

It is the 20th! And we all know what that means, right? The official start to the Four-Legged Friend Reading Challenge. I am so excited, and I am so happy that so many people have joined in! Remember that you can join later if you want. This challenge has actually made missing Sandy much more easy to handle. Thanks for all the comments and to all the people that posted about their animals, it was great to read!

I am off to start my first book for the challenge! Happy Reading. Please post links to any of your reviews in either this post or the one that explains all the rules of the challenge.

I have some baby pictures of Sandy, so I will hopefully find time to scan them tomorrow. She came before digital cameras afterall.

The Reviews:

I will keep a listing of all the books reviewed on this post to make it easy to see what people have read and their thoughts about it.

The Capture by Katryn Lasky - Reviewed by Nicola.
Marley and Me by John Grogan - Reviewed by Callista
Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata - Reviewed by Annie
Into the Wild by Erin Hunter - Reviewed by Nicola
Varjak Paw by S.F. Said - Reviewed by Nymeth
Kävik the Wolf Dog by Walt Morey - Reviewed by Lady Tink
The Adventures of Jack and Laura by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Reviewed by Zeek
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamila - Reviewed by Zeek
Goldie by Ellen Miles - Reviewed by Bonnie
The Fur Person by May Sarton - Reviewed by Bonnie
Watership Down by Richard Adams - Reviewed by Zeek
The Sight by David Clement-Davies - Reviewed by Annie
Miracle Dog: How Quentin Survived the Gas Chamber to Speak for Animals on Death Row - Reviewed by Amanda
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - Reviewed by Amanda
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - Reviewed by Debi
Be the Pack Leader by Cesar Milan - Reviewed by Ames
The Outlaw Varjak Paw by SF Said - Reviewed by Rhinoa
Varjak Paw by SF Said - Reviewed by Rhinoa
Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book Eight: The Outcast by Kathryn Lasky - Reviewed by Annie
Stuart Little by E.B. White - Reviewed by Chris
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry - Reviewed by Nicola
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman - Reviewed by Julia
Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel - Reviewed by Nicola
Sounder by William H. Armstrong - Reviewed by Lady Tink

Cesar's Way and Be the Pack Leader by Cesar Millan

Completion Date: September 2007
Pages: CW: 320; BaPL: 336
Publication Years: 2007
Received both from Random House in 2007.

Reason for Reading: Two books for the Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge and because I like dogs.

Instead of posting the book descriptions for two books, go here to read more about Cesar's Way and here to read more about Be the Pack Leader.

I no longer have a dog, so I do not really have a reason for dog handlers books, but I have always wanted to read Cesar Millan and figured that now was as good a time as any. While reading the books, I read that dogs are a mirror of you. That was interesting to me, because when I asked someone what Sandy said about me, they said that I must have selective hearing. You see, Sandy listened to me, but others had to battle with her to get her to listen at times. I'd like to think that instead of this being a mirror, I was just a good pack leader sometimes.

So, of course I was reading this book more to see where I succeeded and failed with Sandy. I learned that her fear of thunder should have been handled differently. Sandy has always been scared of thunder, I am not sure where the fear started from, but I think it was likely when she was a puppy and my father wanted to try her out for duck hunting. After that, she was very fearful of loud noises and she only went hunting one season. When she was younger she was scared of her food dish if it was metal and it banged on a hard surface. I do not remember cuddling her about it, but it likely happened. I do know that we never stopped using the dish, just sometimes when it happened several times in a row we would move it to a soft surface. Her bigger problem was that Shelby would steal her food. We probably did not introduce the two dogs together very well, because the early years were all power struggles. Like when Shelby took Sandy out into the woods and she came back, but she was missing a puppy. Shelby was such a calm and obedient dog, it is almost funny to remember the times when she was bad.

One of the things that Cesar goes into great detail about is the correct way to walk your dog. I used to use a choker chain when Sandy was younger, and Shelby had one too, but I always felt bad using them. The dogs would listen, and I could control them when it was on them, but I think I felt a great deal of guilt because of the name. Honestly, they need to rename them because no one wants to think they are choking their dogs with it! Needless to say, when Sandy got older I got her a regular collar. I think I probably had more control with that anyways because I felt more comfortable with it than with a choker. Cesar says that you should leave the house first to have control over the situation. I did not do this. I normally would let Sandy run around the yard and then when we got to the end of the driveway I would take over control. Sandy would walk beside me and all that. She would not bark at other dogs or chase cats or anything. The only issue she had was she would pick up food that she found on the side of the road... But, I am not perfect. There is a big field at the end of the my street that I used to let her run around on. She would always come back to me... unless there was a skunk. I had never seen a skunk spray before until that day. Right in the poor dogs face, too! That was an interesting day.

I was thinking a lot about the energy things. When my father lived her and my brother, Sandy was a lot more stressed than she has been the last few years. My father and brother have explosive tempers and when they lose them, Sandy would fly out of the room. It could be why she didn't like thunder. Anyways, when they moved out she was not as skiddish. Actually, the year that my brother ended up moving out was the one and only time that Sandy bit someone! It was Tom, and I had never seen Sandy bite before. I am not sure what my brother did, he had been playing with the dog just before that, but I was just shocked that she actually bite him! Neither Sandy or Shelby were encouraged in their biting as puppies, so I probably will always remember the night Sandy bit Tom, mostly becuase it was such a strange thing for her to do.

So, I learned that the dog that I thought was good, was not really that good after all. She did not have what I consider major problems, but by reading this book I discovered that my pack leader skills need some work. It doesn't help when she is in a house with several people and they are all telling her different things. She followed my rules though... unless someone else was with her, and then that is when the bad stories would surface. Like I would let the dog on the couch with me when I was reading, but otherwise she could only sleep on the floor or in her chair. My mother used to have battles with Sandy to get off the couch. Sandy was allowed to sleep on my bed ONLY if her blanket was on it. She was buried with one of her blankets. Otherwise she slept on her blanket on the floor, and that was all she could get to when she got older. Sandy also started randomly barking when she wanted to come in. Cesar Millan would say that we had to let the dog in when we wanted to, not when she wanted to come in. I say that if Sandy did not bark, my mother would have forgotten she let her out. Many times I would come home to a dog waiting outside for me, and my mother totally having forgot that Sandy was out there.

So, Sandy was not perfect, but she always was not Marley from Marley and Me. She might have had some issues that I did not think of working on, but overall, she did not have a terrible life. By reading these two books and comparing them with Sandy, though, I hope to have an even better dog the next time around. In the meantime, I saw a dog yesterday and I did not handle it the Cesar way, but I hate not having a dog. It is why I have lapses, but these dogs are huge and they almost knocked me over. I am trying to decide if the person would take it the wrong way if I gave her Cesar's books... One of the dogs bites and they are both really hyper. I would hate for them to have to lose them because they bit the mailman or something.

Anyways, Cesar's Way is more of a memoir-type look at dog handling and Be the Pack Leader is a self-help book and a dog training book. Millan wants readers to see their dogs as animals and not as their babies. I suppose I did see Sandy as more than just my dog, but I don't think I treated her like a baby. I would talk about her to other people differently than I would talk to her. And, I did talk to her a great deal. It might not be the Cesar way, but it was not so much that I was more comfortable with Sandy than with other people, it was more than I could tell her things and she was not going to repeat them! It is nice to have a secret-keeping dog.

Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge

*** This is a sticky post, scroll down for new ones***
There have been changes made to this post, they are in bold.

So, it is 2 AM. I cannot sleep because the day was really bad, so I get to thinking, what can I do with myself. (And, yes, that is me in the picture at right... It's old, so I don't necessarily look the same. For starters, I have different glasses. It was also back when my house consisted of four cats and a dog.) I am going to have a reading challenge, that's what. I don't know if I get enough readers to my blog to have a large turnout, but regardless, the challenge can very easily just be for me. (Just so you know, the title is subject to change... I am not really at my most creative right now.)

If people plan to join in, here is the run down:1. This challenge is in memory of my four-legged friend. I have put down four animals this year, and they were all very loyal animals. Sandy was the hardest because she was my best friend. I know they say 'mans' best friend, but that is sexist, she was my best friend.

2. In memory of Sandy, this challenge will begin on September 20th. That was the day that I brought Sandy home for the very first time. Then, I had to come up with an end date. Three months puts it too near Christmas, so we are going to have a weird end date: February 26th. That was Shelby, Sandy's older sisters, birthday. So, the challenge runs for 5 months.

3. The books? Read books that have animals as the main character or an important character. They do not have to believable, in other words if they talk that is fine, but let's keep it with animals of the 21st-century. I am a huge fan of fantasy, but in other words, let's leave the dragons out of this one. So, the animal does not have to be the main character, but they have to play an important enough role that you remember them afterwards. The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks, for example. It is one of my favourite books because of the dog. And, no, this is not a dog challenge, other animals count as well. (Authors like Robin Hobb and Philip Pullman also count.)

4. The aim? 3-5 books. Page limit does not matter, so if you read a picture book to your child at night and it is Bambi, count it. The point is just to honour our four-legged friends. Do the animals have to have four legs? No. If you want to read a book about a monkey and count it, go for it. When you read a book, review it in some manner on your blog and then I am not sure. If get a lot of participants, I will start a blog for it, if I don't get a lot of participants, then just be sure and comment on my blog and say that you reviewed or make a wrap up post before February 26th and post the link in my comments.

5. The prize? I have five months to figure that out. I figure it will probably be a book, likely something like Marley and Me because I really like that book and it reminds me of Sandy. There will be other things too, and they will all be Sandy inspired. All you have to do is read some books to be entered.

6. So, what now? Think about your lists, if you don't have them finished by the 20th, that is no big deal. You don't even have to have a list at all, just comment and let me know you are joining in. If you want to join after the 20th, that's fine, there is no deadline for joining in. I know the 20th is short notice, so I am being flexible.

7. The button... did I mention it is 2AM? If anyone gets ambitious and wants to make me one, I would be very thankful. If not, I will play around with photo shop in the next few days. I have done some thinking about the button, and you know what, I am not going to have one. You guys can be creative. You can either take the picture of Sandy with the snake or worm or whatever you want to call it in her mouth, or you can post a picture of your own pet, both living or deceased. As I say in the next section, this is supposed to be about your pets, not just mine. I think it will make it more special if people post their own.

8. Bonus portion: Think of this challenge in memory of your pets that have gone on before you or even those that are still alive. When you make your intro post, tell us something about your pet. Why they were special, some fun story, how much you miss them, etc. Posting pictures is also good. I like pets. Especially dogs, I am very much a dog person.

9. Now, I bet you are thinking, what does Sandy have to do with books? Everything! Some of my most special memories of me and Sandy are of her laying beside me while I read. At night before bed, in the afternoon on the couch, outside on the patio, etc. Me and Sandy spent a lot of time together that way, and I will always think about her when I read.

10.My suggested food while you are reading? Baby carrots. I used to much on carrots and never really think to give them to Sandy, but she loves them! So, baby carrots turned into half the bag for me and the other half for her. Actually, that's what I did with her for her last night. I ate carrots with her. She did not eat a lot, but I think baby carrots will always remind me of her.

Four-Legged Friend Reading Challenge - The Participants

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all your kind thoughts about Sandy. People that I have never even seen comment before have been commenting, so I wanted to thank you for making that special effort! I also added new blogs to the list that I already read. I really need to update that list in the sidebar...

Anyways, I am going to post a list of the people participating in the contest. It will also include a link to their first post, including their stories about their pets. They have been fun to read and someone even wrote one even though they were not participating. Other people should do that. If I missed you, let me know.

Wendy shared her animal story, but will not be reading along. Hopefully if I bring this back next year she will be able to participate!

Becky who talks about her list and her pets. I love her list, I own all those books from when I was a kid. And, for the themed reading challenge that is making the rounds she is going to try and read all the Beverly Clearly books. I remember when they were so 'in' when I was a kid.

Stephanie, from Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic, is in. I am starting to think there will soon be a blog called 'Challenge-a-holics'. (hehe)

Chris, from Stuff as Dreams are Made of, has his list up now. He is reading Kate DiCamillo books, I love love love her stuff. Because of Winn-Dixie and Despereaux were really good. I have not read Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane yet, but if I decide to buy a book for this challenge in the future, I think that will be it. Oh, right, to see Chris' post go here.

Ames, and Max, from Thrifty Reader is joining in! Since I rarely see her join challenges I feel special.

Heather, aka Orange Blossom Goddess, is in too.

Nymeth is in, you can see her list and her animals by clicking over to her blog.

Zeek is in too, she has her post up about joining in, but no list or story has been posted yet.

Ladytink is in, but I am not sure which blog she will be posting her list on. She does plan on reading Kavik the Wolf Dog, which I have never even heard of before.

Callista is in. She has a great pic of her dog included in her post, it is very cute!

Mollie, from Biblioharlot's Bookshelf, is in. Her list is still pending.

Nicola decided to join in and her list is up now. She is reading some of the authors that I liked as a kid!

Julia, from A Piece of My Mind, has signed up, but I have not seen her list posted yet.

Ex Libris decided to fit one more challenge, and has joined the ranks. That's pretty cool because I 'met' her hosting a Reading Challenge last year for Remembrance Day.

And then we have Debi and her daughter Annie joining in. Annie should make people proud, she just read Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien and she is ten! Very impressive in the days of Gossip Girls, which is a favourite with people up through high school around here.

Sandi, from I Live to Read, will be joining in also! Her list is forth-coming.

Butterfly Amy has her list up, she just joined earlier today.

Kim in Ohio is in too, but I do not know where she blogs from! So, we will have to wait and see.

Bonnie has also decided to join in. She is going to post about her animals with her book reviews, but you can go to that post to see her list and hear about her cat, Duchess.

Carl V. from Stainless Steel Droppings is in, his list will be forth-coming!

Amanda from A Patchwork of Books posted her list tonight. She has some rather, um, interesting animals. Actually, I have never heard of one of them before, let alone knew people had them as pets!

So, anyone else care to join in? Remember, you can join in later if you find that you have the time that you did not think you would have!

Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge - My List

Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge
September 20 - February 26

My Books:

I went through my reading pile for animal-related books, these are the ones that I chose. I do want to say, though, that authors like Philip Pullman and Robin Hobb count for this challenge, the connection between human and animal in those books is very important.

Something by Brian Jacques (rabbit)
Catsworld Portal by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (cat)
Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams (cat)
Cat's Crossing by Bill Cameron (cat)
Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations by J.Edward Chamberlin (horse)
Around the Next Corner by Elizabeth Wrenn (dog)

Okay, so I could use some more dog-related books, anyone have any good suggestions? I have others, but I have read them.