A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me

by Jon Katz

Book Overview

"Change loves me, defines and stalks me like a laser-guided smart bomb. It comes at me in all forms, suddenly and with enormous impact, from making shifts in work to having and raising a kid to buying a cabin on a distant mountaintop. Sometimes, change comes on four legs." In his popular and widely praised Running to the Mountain , Jon Katz wrote of the strength and support he found in the massive forms of his two yellow Labrador retrievers, Julius...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812966902
• ISBN13: 9780812966909
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A great book!

I loved this book. I don't get how people thought that Jon Katz acted like he could throw away a dog and get another dog. I think by his writting he sounds like a big dog lover, and any dog lover knows you can not replace a dog in any way. So, anyway I thought the book was written well and very humerous at times. He writes so well, that I can really picture was is going on in my head when Devon the Border Collie misbehaved. I loved this book and all the books Jon Katz has written about his dogs. I think he is a well respected writer in the dog world, and I think he should keep writting about his dogs. Any Dog person should pick up one of his books, this one especially.

Julius, Stanley, Devon and Homer- The Dogs!

"He was a two-year-old border collie of Australian lineage, well-bred but high-strung, and in big trouble." so starts this glorious book. I heard Jon Katz on NPR discuss his newest book, and knew I had to read his work. I decided to start with an older book of his to get the flavor of the writing and his message. This is a "cannot put down" book. A book filled with humour and fun and sadness and death. Jon Katz believes strongly that if we are to take a dog into our lives, we must treat them as dogs, not as humans. Dogs do not know human behavior, and we should not treat them as such. And, if we love our dogs we will have them trained by someone legitimate, someone who understands dogs. Dogs need to learn to live in our people society. Jon Katz had two lovely Labrador dogs, Julius and Stanley. Everyone loved them. They were the kind of dogs who are peaceful and contained. They loved everyone and actually liked to lick children's faces. They went everywhere with Jon and were well behaved. So, then, why did Jon feel an urge to bring into their lives a border collie who was untrained, wild and had not succeeded in his previous environment? You will come to understand. Jon was approached by a trainer who had read his books on dogs to take in this animal. Devon arrived from Texas on a wild and wooly night via airplane at a New Jersey airport. Jon waited for him and when his cage appeared, he unclasped the lock and zoom the dog was gone. Jon and the security guards spent the next 45mins trying to capture Devon. Finally, he was corralled and thus started the trial to tame Devon. Devon was a border collie, intelligent and curious, but he was the master and no one had been able to train him successfully. He needed to herd and he would run into the road trying to herd garbage trucks and buses. This just didn't work, He would run away and just at the time Jon started thinking it might be time to send Devon back to Texas- a miracle occurred. Julius and Stanley were not loving Devon's arrival, but they tolerated him. Jon and the three dogs would go to an isolated area in New York State on a small farm and run free. Finally life seemed less stressful, and then the unexpected. One of the dogs becomes ill, and one of the most moving dog experiences I have ever read occurs. Tears dripping down my face I finished that chapter. And, then on to the arrival of Homer another border collie. The lessons learned from this book about loving and living with dogs are significant. This is one of those books that help us to realize why animals are so important to our lives. So well written that I feel I know Jon Katz and I certainly know Julius, Stanley, Devon and Homer. Unabashedly recommended. prisrob

What a GREAT book!...

I loved this book! This is an especially great read for anyone who has a Border Collie or Labs, but also wonderful for anyone who has and loves dogs. This book is funny, heart warming, and heart-rending at times. It's about love and loss, and change. It helped me to realize that some of the annoying things my Border Collie does are just part of life with this amazing breed. Another nice thing is Jon Katz is also available by e-mail. His e-mail address is on the inside of the back jacket. I wrote him to tell him how much I loved his book, and some dog stories of my own. He wrote back within the hour! I couldn't put this book down! I finished it over one weekend. I had to promise to pass it on to my Mom, my boyfriend's Mom, and his grandma! I plan to read Jon Katz's other book about his life and his Labs, Julius and Stanley, in Running to the Mountain very soon.

A simple, beautiful story of a man & his dogs.

Jon Katz has given the reading public a wonderful tale with _A Dog Year_. He gives loving tribute to his two faithful yellow labs, and to his two new, energetic border collies, taking readers through the good times and the bad, showing us the boundless love and frustration. The story had me both laughing out loud, and spontaneously bursting into tears. Throughout the entire book, my heart swelled, because Jon Katz is a man who loves and is utterly devoted to his dogs. He is not perfect, and he doesn't shy away from writing about his own mistakes, especially with Devon the Helldog. As Katz writes of his friends, he allows us an intimate glimpse into each dog's unique character and behaviors, letting us feel close to them. This is not a completely happy story, though, and when two of the dogs die, the reader is right there on the floor with Jon, sobbing alongside him. He also gives us a frank look at the challenges of having a border collie in the household; this should be required reading for anyone considering bringing this breed into their home! Border collies require constant exercise and intellectual stimulation, and Katz gives dozens of examples of how this breed can test the limits of an owner's patience and sanity. Devon is a very lucky dog indeed to have found such a devoted person to take him in after his rocky beginnings in this world; I don't know how many others would have put up with his deliberate tests of will. This is a very moving story, simply about a man's life with his dogs. There is no plot, no overtly-stated moral; just a man, his dogs, and their boundless love for each other. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves dogs, and especially for anyone who is still in mourning for a dog they've had to put to sleep. It's a quick read (only a few hours,) but it brings cleansing tears and, with hope, peace. Even now, several hours after having finished the book, I am still filled with the happiness of the dogs I met, my eyes still mist over thinking of the two who passed on, and my respect and admiration for Jon Katz is growing by the minute.

A Prerequisite for Border Collie & Australian Shepherd Owners

This is a book for dog-lovers--a story of how entwined the lives of dogs and their human partners often become. In his book, Mr. Katz describes his relationship with a rescued Border Collie. The story begins with their wild introduction and takes the reader through several turning points in their lives as they grow to respect, appreciate, and ultimately learn from one another.Having raised Australian Shepherds, I found myself relating to many of the trials and tribulations that Mr. Katz describes as his Border Collie repeatedly tests his boundaries and the limits of Mr. Katz's patience. Border Collies (and Aussies), as Mr. Katz describes, are extremely intelligent and energetic animals--they can do wonders for your soul and/or drive you to insanity. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone thinking about owning a Border Collie or Australian Shepherd. Katz does an excellent job of capturing the true character of these incredible animals. In the process I hope that the reader will realize that these dogs are adorable and intelligent but definitely not for everyone.