How to Speak Dog Book Review

Dixie 

 Last April we adopted a wonderful 2-year-old Jack Russell Terrier named Dixie.  We are really enjoying Dixie and when our grandkids came to visit, they fell in love with her.  She is very sweet, but sometimes I wonder what she is trying to tell me.  For Christmas this year my daughter gave me a book called How to Speak Dog.  This little book is full of ways to give you ideas of what your dog is trying to relate to you by their actions and body language.  

In the book you meet, Dr. Gary, a veterinarian and dog expert.  Dr. Gary gives you all kinds of training tips and vet and care advice.  The book is also full of fun facts, quizzes, hands-on-activities, resources to get more information and dog photos.

I love the way the dog on the front cover looks just like our dog, Dixie.  The book is listed for children ages 8-12 and in fact has won the Children's Book Award from the Animal Behavior Society.  I feel that the book is actually great for dog lovers of all ages.  I know I have learned a lot from the book.

On the rest of this post, I will have my dog Dixie show you through her pictures some of the different areas of the book.  This is only a sampling of the wonderful material in the book.

Body Talk

Dixie- Belly Up

Dixie loves to roll over and lay belly up when I talk to her.  She loves to get her belly rubbed.  In the book, Dr. Gary says the real meaning of this dog position is submission and trust.  She is saying that you are in charge and she's okay with that.  In this section Dr.  Gary gives a tip that massage feels as good to animals as it does to humans and if they are nervous a good way to calm them down is a back rub.

The chapter on "Body Talk" also contains several other topics such as paw on your knee, full body shake, wiggles away from you and one paw raised.  Each section tells what that usually means and gives you some tips.  Each topic is two page long.

Read my Face

Expressive Ears

The section on " Read my Face" has topics like the begging stare, ears erect, and teeth barred, pricked ears, licking your face and yawning. 

In the photo above you see Dixie's expressive ears.  Whenever she is interested in something her ears go up.  In the photo above she had been laying on the bed when something outside the window caught her attention.  Dr. Gary said that dogs will prick up their ears to hear better.  One of the tips on the page says, " Dogs can hear noises that are up to four times farther away than those humans can hear".  No wonder Dixie jumps to attention or barks when we don't hear anything.

Telling Tails

There is another chapter in the book just on tails.  It contains things like a showy tail, stiff high tail, crooked tail, scared wag, straight tail, tucked tail, and happy wag.  Dixie's tail is constantly going.  If we say her name, her tail wags even if she had been sleeping.  I can really see the "Happy Wag" on her.  Dr. Gary says " A wagging tail is a truth-ometer.  Dogs can't control when or how wagging happens.  The tail is like an electric line connected directly to the brain that transmits how a dog is feeling."

Wagging tail at squirrels.

This is just a sampling of the delightful material in this book.  If you love dogs, I know you will enjoy the book.   In closing I'll leave you with a few more photos of Dixie.

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Review of Tips for Photographing your Pet

Dixie Rose

 On April 10, 2021 we adopted a new dog.  We had been looking for a dog for nearly a year but had been unable to find a small dog to fit our needs.  Then, in early April, Tricia from Stray Paws Rescue contacted us and said she thought she had the perfect dog for us.  Dixie is a two year old Jack Russell Terrier who had been abandoned and was rescued by Stray Paws in January.  She was a month pregnant at the time and was brought to a foster home to have her pups and recover.  Tricia took excellent care of her and the pups and the four pups were all adopted once they were weaned.  It was then that Tricia, who had read our application, thought she would be perfect for our household.  Tricia brought her over to meet us and she is indeed a perfect fit.  She loves to follow my husband around and go on long walks with me.  Here are the first photos I took of Dixie right after she came to our house.

Photography Tips for Dogs

Now those of you who know me or have been reading my posts know that I love photography. So, when sweet Dixie arrived you just knew she would be my next photography model.  The first photos I took were quick shots to show our family and friends what the new member of our family looked like.  I knew that I would want to take some better photos once Dixie got to know me better, so I did some online research on tips on photographing dogs.  There is a wealth of information out there, but for now I thought I would share a few of the tips I have used.  I have a lot of work to do in improving my technique but it is a fun new challenge.

Use a Black Background for Classic Portraits

I found this tip on several sites and decided to give it a try.  It is not one I would have thought of on my own but I like how they turned out.  My favorite is the intro photo for this article and here are two more that I like.

This first photo shows Dixie in her classic pose every time I walk up  to her.  She rolls over on her back and waits for me to scratch her belly.  She is so cute.  This was also another tip I read to have them on their back looking up at you.

By holding up a treat I got her to sit and look up toward me.  

Keep Their Personality in Mind

On all of the tip sites that I read they suggested to get to know your pets personality and keep that it mind when taking the photos.  The following photos show some of Dixie's favorite activities.

Dixie loves to watch the squirrels in our yard and on the trees in our backyard.  She will spend hours just looking at them as you see in the two photos below.  

When Dixie is tired from her squirrel patrol you will find her curled up on the bed or on a blanket on the sofa.  Here are a couple of her resting photos.

Both of these photos also use another tip I read about online.  That is to "focus on the eyes to create depth" .   That isn't always easy to do because when I put a camera in front of my face Dixie tends to look away.  I'll have to work more on that technique.

More Photography Tips for Dogs

Here are a few more tips that caught my interest.  I will have to work on them.  Stay tuned, I see another post on dog photography after I've had Dixie for a while and have perfected some of these techniques.

• Capture Owner Pet Relationship
• Think before you Snap
• Rule of Thirds- don't always have dog in center of photo.  Look for unique angles.

Dog Toys Provide Hours of Fun

Dixie loves all types of dog toys, but I think balls are her favorite.  Here is one she recommends.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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