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Dog Lovers Book Club - March 2017


Undoubtedly, a very special bond exists between dogs and their people. Bonds is a delightful, first-of-its-kind composition which reveals the unique relationship we enjoy with our beloved canine companions. 

BONDS
Capturing the Special Relationship That Dogs Share with Their People

by Indre Cukuraite, Helen Pais

These 42 specially commissioned images of four- and two-legged animals showcase the incomparable dynamics of each bond: their body language revealing the magnetism that exists. 

Observed and presented from the dog's point of view, each photographic essay is accompanied by a doggy thought - a perspicacious nugget of information that encapsulates their understanding of their person ... 


BONDS dogs don’t hunt. They are the philosophers of modern society!


Hardcover, 72 pages
Publisher: Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2nd February 2017


RRP: $44.99 at www.booktopia.com.au

THE EDUCATION OF WILL 
A Mutual Memoir of a Woman and Her Dog
 
by Patricia B McConnell


In this powerful, soul-searching memoir animal behaviourist Dr. Patricia McConnell recounts for the first time the compelling story of her dark past, memories of which are triggered by a troubled dog named Will.

World-renowned as a source of science and soul, Patricia McConnell combines brilliant insights into canine behaviour -gained from her work with aggressive and fearful dogs - with heartwarming stories of her own dogs and their life on the farm. Now, she reveals that it wasn't just the dogs who had serious problems.

Patricia is forced to face her past by her love for a young Border Collie named Will, whose frequent, unpredictable outbreaks of fear and fury shake Patricia to her core. In order to save Will from this dangerous behaviour, she must find her own will to heal, and along the way learn that will power by itself is not enough.

Interweaving enlightening stories of her clients' dogs with tales of her deepening bond with Will, Patricia recounts her fight to reclaim her life. Hopeful and inspiring, the redemptive message of her journey is that, while trauma changes our brains and the past casts a long shadow, healing, for both people and dogs, is possible through hard work, compassion, and mutual devotion.

Hardcover, 320 pages
Published: Simon & Schuster, 21st February 2017

RRP: $52.00 from www.booktopia.com.au


HOW DOGS LOVE US
A Neuroscientist and His Dog Decode the Canine Brain
by Gregory Berns

Neuroscientist Gregory Berns had spent decades using MRI imaging technology to study how the human brain works, but a different question still nagged at him: What is my dog thinking?

After his family brought home Callie, a shy, skinny terrier mix, Berns decided that there was only one way to answer that question – use an MRI machine to scan the dog's brain. His colleagues dismissed the idea: everyone knew that dogs needed to be restrained or sedated for MRI scans.

As well as having to surmount behavioural and technical hurdles, Berns would have to overcome bureaucrats who didn't want pets on campus – and who wondered if it would be simpler just to use Beagles bred for research! 

How Dogs Love Us humanises neuroscience and answers the age-old question of dog-lovers everywhere. It offers profound new evidence that dogs should be treated as we would treat our best human friends with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence.

Paperback, 272 pages
Publisher: Scribe Publications, 20th November 2013

RRP: $27.99 at www.booktopia.com.au


POINTING THE BONE AT CANCER
by Dr. Ian Billinghurst

Dr Ian Billinghurst is a veterinarian, animal nutritionist and the founder of “BARF” (an acronym for “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) for companion animals. He’s also a best-selling author and expert in the science of evolutionary canine and feline nutrition.

Pointing The Bone At Cancer is a book about cancer in dogs, cats and humans. It chronicles and provides a solution for a disease that is striking with increased frequency and severity.
“Read on to discover not only the solutions themselves… and the cutting edge science that validates them… but also the science showing why our current treatments… are failing our cancer patients so badly. The metabolic and nutritional solutions this book outlines… are safe, health enhancing and simple. They are treatments that may be used right now… with or without the “current standard of care”… to eliminate this devastating disease”.


Hardback, 526 pages
Publisher: NSW Warrigal Publishing, 13th November 2016

RRP: $77.00 from www.drianbillinghurst.com


Book Club - Kids' Corner

GOOD DOG, BAD DOG: DOUBLE IDENTITY 

by Dave Shelton

Muttropolis is movie central, and there's been a killing in Collie-wood. This calls for Kirg Bergman and Duncan McBoo, the craftiest cops around! The city is full of mean mongrels who are determined to stop them sniffing out the truth. 

But they haven't reckoned with the finest milkshake-fuelled minds in the force! Criminals beware: Bergman and McBoo are on your tail! 

There are amusing puns and visual gags on every page. It’s also a really fun option for reluctant readers in their teens and comics fans of all ages.

Paperback, 64 pages
Publisher: David Flickling Books, 1st February 2017
Ages: 9+ years old

RRP: $16.99 at www.booktopia.com.au

KONA AND THE DOG PARK BULLY
by Kristin Smith 

On her first day at the dog park, Kona, a lovable Goldendoodle puppy, thinks she's found a friend in Ruby the Poodle. But Ruby is a bully. 

Banding together with other dogs in the park, Kona learns that Ruby bullies each one for being different. Kona takes it upon herself to help her new friends and shows each dog why they are special. And when Ruby falls into danger, it's up to the dog pack to save the day. 

Hardcover
Publisher: Mascot Books, 7th February 2017 

Ages: 4-12 years old

RRP: $29.95 from www.booktopia.com.au


OUR DOG BENJI
by Pete Carter, illustrated by James Henderson 


We all know that dogs will eat anything. We also know that kids’ tastes generally aren’t so wide-ranging... While ice cream and pizza might be devoured in the blink of an eye, the dreaded ‘green stuff’ (vegetables to the adults) is often pushed to one side of the plate. 

With delightful illustrations and engaging text, we see how Benji’s willingness to eat anything — from daffodils to brussels sprouts, sandwiches to bones — gradually inspires his child owner to be a little more adventurous at mealtimes. 

Although both dogs and kids do have standards and it seems there’s one thing neither of them will touch! The perfect book to encourage fussy eaters to try a few more vegetables! 


Hardcover, 32 pages
Publisher: Exisle Publishing, 1st March 2017

For Ages: 4 - 8 years old

RRP: $19.99 from www.exislepublishing.com.au


GUS DOG GOES TO WORK
by Rachel Flynn, illustrated by Craig Smith

Every day Gus Dog goes to work in the back of the Ute with his owner, Tom the shearer. But one morning Gus wakes up to find Tom and the Ute gone. So Gus Dog decides to go to work on his own. 

Gus Dog Goes to Work is the warm and comical story of a not-so-usual day in the life of a sheep dog, by the top author and illustrator team of the best-selling title I Hate Fridays.

Harcover, 32 pages

Publisher: Working Title Press, 30th January 2017

RRP: $24.99 from www.penguin.com.au

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