"Dog Training Books"

I’m always apprehensive when a new book on the subject of dog training is added to the Library’s collection. Over the years of library work, I have had to withdraw many such books from the collection after only a checkout or so. It’s not that the books were poorly bound, or that a patron found something objectionable about them, or that they were not accurate. The major reason I have had to discard them is that they are returned to the library chewed beyond recognition!

I’ve been known to caution a patron about checking out dog-training books. I explain that the book must never be placed on a coffee table, a couch, or a porch swing. The book will have a much greater chance of surviving its loan period if placed on top of a refrigerator or on the uppermost shelf in a bookcase.

While I really don’t think that dogs can read, I do believe that they can sense that the book is causing their owner to act in a strange and hurtful manner. To eliminate the master’s domineering and demanding behavior and to restore the former relationship between master and dog, Fido instinctively goes for the book.

Sometimes, upon returning a chewed and shredded book, the borrower will explain the damage by saying that his five-year-old dog must be teething, or that the dog mistook the book for a chewable toy---like a bison bone.

As I am collecting the money to replace the book, I always try to listen to these excuses with an understanding demeanor. After all, I’ve been in the same situation with a dog. However, I remedied the problem. But, I dare not tell the dog owner of my solution.

New books on the above subject include: “21 Days to Train Your Dog” by Colin Tennant, “Dog Training for Dummies” 2nd ed. by Joachim Volhard, and “The Only Dog Training Book You’ll Ever Need: from Avoiding Accidents to Banishing Barking, the Basics for Raising a Well-Behaved Dog” by Gerilyn Bielakiewicz..

The 55-minute video, “Training the family dog” would be a good introduction to dog training also, as long as the borrower keeps it in the video tape player.

The “Friends of the Columbus Public Library” group is in its organizational stage with a hardworking committee composed of Melodee Pedersen, Jean Wilson, Jill Owens, Lori Neid, Sally Hansen, and Mary Peterson. The organization’s articles of incorporation have been filed with the Secretary of State; the first newsletter has been published; and the by-laws are in a draft stage. The “Friends” will be both a volunteer and a social organization with benefits such as a quarterly newsletter, invitations to “Friends”-sponsored literary events, and first-day book sale purchases. Readers are encouraged to join the “Friends of the Columbus Public Library” by picking up an application form at the check out desk. Membership currently stands at 43 individuals and families.