The Dog Who Wouldn't Be

by Farley Mowat

Book Overview

Legendary adventurer and writer Farley Mowat's best-loved book, the story of growing up on the Canadian prairie with his extraordinary dog, Mutt. Extraordinary as a tree and ladder climber, and who loved to ride passenger in an open car wearing goggles, Mutt also displayed great skills at hunting and retrieving--once going so far as to retrieve a plucked and trussed ruffed grouse from the grocer. Originally published for young people, this is a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567926126
• ISBN13: 9781567926125
• Release Date: November 2017
• Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Love, laugh and reread this book often

The image there says it all - goggles as he rode in the rumble-seat. I have begged rides in a rumble-seat after reading this book and have yet to have a ride in one. I envy Mutt! I think one of my favorites not mentioned in the first few reviews was when the Dad tried to get him to retrieve geese and he could not stand the taste of the dead ducks. So he redeemed himself, in his humorous way by stealing a stuffed bird from the local taxidermist. this is one of my top 10 favorite books that I read over and over again - maida's little school, girl of the limberlost, illusions, spin a silver dollar, your dog isn't sick - he just wants you to think he is, grandmothers whisper, lost horizon, winnie the pooh, the little prince

I Read This Book at least every 8 to 10 years.

The language is wonderful, description of actions of animals is delightful. The book is listed for 'Young Readers'. A group of 80 + year old women are now laughing and smiling in read aloud sessions of 'The Dog Who Wouldn't Be'

Beloved dog, lost times

This is a tale that couldn't happen today. Dogs don't have the lifestyle they did in the 1920's and 1930's in remote Canada, and sadly, boys don't either. Mutt is a fascinating mutt with a mind of his own; halfway through the book I realised he must be part Siberian Husky with his deafness, his love of roaming and chasing and need to attend to his own desires. Farley's mother demonstrated an act of faith- as well as the desire to save [money amount]- when she purchased Mutt as a puppy from a starving duck seller. Farley's dad wanted a hunting dog; Farley's mom didn't want to spend a lot of money on a dog during the Dust Bowl years, living in Saskatoon.Dogs roamed free, boys roamed free. Boys weren't sent off to summer camp to keep busy- there was enough to do with their own imaginations, their friends and their animal companions. Attitudes towards cats were cavalier; some parts are very hard to read if you appreciate cats. Thankfully that attitude has changed over time.The stories of the father's boating attempts are hilarious. I don't like boats, but am inspired to read "the boat that wouldn't float" by the same author. I live in the western US and have a vague understanding of how difficult it would be to navigate some of these rivers so I appreciated the delusional voyage of The Coot. Farley paints his parents as people who had their own interests and needs, but also understood the needs of their son and his dog. They understood that living in a city wouldn't work for them, after several years living in the sparse western provinces. Farley's imagination was clearly nurtured and allowed him to become the prolific writer he became. Even the car (Eardlie, a Model A) has a character and idiosycrasies that add to the story. My dog, too, is geriatric so I read the final chapter sadly. Mutt's demise will give fuel to the arguments of people who believe completely in leash laws. Yes, this is a fantastic story of a dog, but it is also a wonderful story of life in a more free time, for children. Farley skips over most of the drawbacks of that time and paints a wonderful portrait of childhood.

Crazy dog in Canada

When my daughter was small, her repeated request was 'read about the skunks, Daddy.' I don't think it was the topic (crazy dog, hyperactive kid, sleeping skunk, dirt basement, dead of winter and a garden hose) as much as even after having read it to her dozens of times I still broke up when I got to the line beginning 'A rich golden haze...' (I just cracked up writing this.)This is a book for anyone who has ever loved a dog or a squirrel or a chipmonk or a garter snake or ever rode a two wheeler and pretended it was a horse or walked in a field or wished 'why didn't I ...'No child should be forced to grow up without watching their parents snort coffee through their nose while trying to read 'The Dog Who Wouldn't Be.'

An all-time favorite

I read this for the first time when I was in about 6th or 7th grade and loved it. It was my introduction to Farley Mowat and since then I have read many of his other works. This book is one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. I loved it 30 years ago when I was a kid (maybe 11 or 12) and I enjoyed it again last year.The story is about the life and times of Mutt, the dog that entered the Mowat family and grew up with Farley. Mutt is all dog and a little more. Frustrated with the local cat population and their dominance of the fencetop and rooftop world, he learns to walk fence tops. He develops hunting and retrieving techniques that are the talk of the country -- literally! Each chapter is a new story, a new adveneture into the life of Mutt.

One of the great books of our time.

I first read this book when I was twelve, on a lazy day, at my grandparents house. I have never enjoyed a book as much before or since! It has to be one of the funniest books ever written while at the same time incredibly heartwarming. I've been looking for a copy for years and am going to buy several more as gifts. If you want to lure your kids away from the tube for a few hours get them to try this book. You won't be sorry!

A classic dog story book

This is one of the funniest books that I have ever read. Mutt, the dog, comes to the family in a basket filled with ducks. The father in the story wants an expensive pure bred dog for hunting. However, mother circumvents this by plucking out the dog, paying one cent, and saving lots of money. There are plenty of misadventures in the story, from mutt retrieving a stuffed pheasent in the city (after father pointed his shotgun and said bang), to climbing a ladder into the eccentric womans house filled with 50 cats. There was the encounter with the skunk (in the basement of the house) and the time father accidentally used bluing to clean the dog. The part about the owls is funny and interesting as well. Needless to say, Mutt has many adventures, all of them hilarious I have read this book many times.