The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout (16 page)
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Authors: Jill Abramson
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Obama: The Historic Journey
(with
The New York Times
)
(with
The New York Times
)
Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas
(with Jane Mayer)
(with Jane Mayer)
Where They Are Now:
The Story of the Women of Harvard Law 1974
(with Barbara Franklin)
The Story of the Women of Harvard Law 1974
(with Barbara Franklin)
The books listed below, many of which are mentioned in the text, will help puppy owners gain insights into their pets. Collectively they offer a survival guide for the first year.
DOGS (GENERAL)
Elder, Janet.
Huck: The Remarkable True Story of How One Lost Puppy Taught a Family—and a Whole Town—About Hope and Happy Endings
. New York: Broadway Books, 2010. A touching story about how the human-canine bonds deepen when a dog is suddenly lost.
Huck: The Remarkable True Story of How One Lost Puppy Taught a Family—and a Whole Town—About Hope and Happy Endings
. New York: Broadway Books, 2010. A touching story about how the human-canine bonds deepen when a dog is suddenly lost.
Morris, Willie.
My Dog Skip
. New York: Vintage, 1996. The classic coming-of-age story of a boy and his dog in the
South. Skip learns amazing tricks, including how to fetch and pay for bologna at the local store.
My Dog Skip
. New York: Vintage, 1996. The classic coming-of-age story of a boy and his dog in the
South. Skip learns amazing tricks, including how to fetch and pay for bologna at the local store.
Quindlen, Anna.
Good Dog. Stay.
New York: Random House, 2007. The end-of-life experiences of Beau—Quindlen’s Labrador retriever—offer lessons, humorous and sad, about a painful time for all dogs and their humans.
Good Dog. Stay.
New York: Random House, 2007. The end-of-life experiences of Beau—Quindlen’s Labrador retriever—offer lessons, humorous and sad, about a painful time for all dogs and their humans.
White, E. B.
Essays of E. B. White
. New York: First Perennial Classics, 1999. The wonderful wisdom of Fred, E. B. White’s dachshund, animates some of the best essays written by the author of
Charlotte’s Web
.
Essays of E. B. White
. New York: First Perennial Classics, 1999. The wonderful wisdom of Fred, E. B. White’s dachshund, animates some of the best essays written by the author of
Charlotte’s Web
.
DOG AND ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Bekoff, Marc
. Animals at Play: Rules of the Game
. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008. Play is how animals learn the importance of truth and justice, as well as just about everything in the realm of social behavior.
. Animals at Play: Rules of the Game
. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008. Play is how animals learn the importance of truth and justice, as well as just about everything in the realm of social behavior.
Grandin, Temple, and Catherine Johnson.
Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. The animal scientist and autism advocate offers unique insights into how dogs feel.
Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. The animal scientist and autism advocate offers unique insights into how dogs feel.
Horowitz, Alexandra.
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
. New York: Scribner, 2009. A psychologist with a Ph.D. in cognitive science, Horowitz tells what the world is like from a dog’s point of view.
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
. New York: Scribner, 2009. A psychologist with a Ph.D. in cognitive science, Horowitz tells what the world is like from a dog’s point of view.
Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall.
The Hidden Life of Dogs
. New York: Mariner Books, 2010. An anthropologist with a
gift for storytelling, Thomas describes the pack dynamic through her observations of the roamings of her dogs.
The Hidden Life of Dogs
. New York: Mariner Books, 2010. An anthropologist with a
gift for storytelling, Thomas describes the pack dynamic through her observations of the roamings of her dogs.
DOG TRAINING
Dunbar, Ian.
After You Get Your Puppy
. Berkeley, CA: James & Kenneth Publishers, 2001. Dr. Dunbar is a veterinarian who helped popularize lure-reward-based training. This is one of several books he has written about his training method.
After You Get Your Puppy
. Berkeley, CA: James & Kenneth Publishers, 2001. Dr. Dunbar is a veterinarian who helped popularize lure-reward-based training. This is one of several books he has written about his training method.
Millan, Cesar, and Melissa Jo Peltier.
Cesar’s Rules: Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog
. New York: Crown Archetype, 2010. The Dog Whisperer of television fame has been criticized by some for using overly disciplinary training methods, but this recent book is careful to include some material about positive, rewardbased training.
Cesar’s Rules: Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog
. New York: Crown Archetype, 2010. The Dog Whisperer of television fame has been criticized by some for using overly disciplinary training methods, but this recent book is careful to include some material about positive, rewardbased training.
The Monks of New Skete.
The Art of Raising a Puppy
. Boston: Little, Brown, 1991. The best commonsense guide to how a day with a puppy ought to unfold.
The Art of Raising a Puppy
. Boston: Little, Brown, 1991. The best commonsense guide to how a day with a puppy ought to unfold.
Pryor, Karen.
Don’t Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training
. Gloucestershire, England: Ringpress Books Ltd, 2002. The queen of clicker training explains her system.
Don’t Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training
. Gloucestershire, England: Ringpress Books Ltd, 2002. The queen of clicker training explains her system.
Rugaas, Turid.
My Dog Pulls: What Do I Do?
Wenatchee, WA: Dogwise Publishing, 2005. A detailed, pictorial guide that should help owners and dogs break a bad habit.
My Dog Pulls: What Do I Do?
Wenatchee, WA: Dogwise Publishing, 2005. A detailed, pictorial guide that should help owners and dogs break a bad habit.
Stilwell, Victoria.
It’s Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect
Pet
. New York: Hyperion, 2007. The positive training techniques embraced by the popular television dog expert.
It’s Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect
Pet
. New York: Hyperion, 2007. The positive training techniques embraced by the popular television dog expert.
DOG FOOD
Hotchner, Tracie.
The Dog Bible: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know
. New York: Gotham Books, 2005. This volume, which offers basic information on a wide variety of dog issues, has lots of information about what dogs like to eat and why.
The Dog Bible: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know
. New York: Gotham Books, 2005. This volume, which offers basic information on a wide variety of dog issues, has lots of information about what dogs like to eat and why.
Nestle, Marion.
Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine
. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. Written in the wake of a pet food contamination scandal, this is an authoritative look inside the multibillion-dollar pet food industry.
Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine
. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. Written in the wake of a pet food contamination scandal, this is an authoritative look inside the multibillion-dollar pet food industry.
———, and Malden C. Nesheiml.
Feed Your Pet Right: The Authoritative Guide to Feeding Your Dog and Cat
. New York: Free Press, 2010. Credible information in this book will help you be smarter about the labeling and contents of dog food.
Feed Your Pet Right: The Authoritative Guide to Feeding Your Dog and Cat
. New York: Free Press, 2010. Credible information in this book will help you be smarter about the labeling and contents of dog food.
The original idea for
The Puppy Diaries
came from two
Times
editors, Trish Hall and Erica Goode, who sat down with me a couple of years ago to talk about adding pet coverage to one of our feature sections. All three of us were (and are) longtime dog owners, and we had noticed that when the paper ran interesting animal stories they zoomed up our list of most popular articles.
The Puppy Diaries
came from two
Times
editors, Trish Hall and Erica Goode, who sat down with me a couple of years ago to talk about adding pet coverage to one of our feature sections. All three of us were (and are) longtime dog owners, and we had noticed that when the paper ran interesting animal stories they zoomed up our list of most popular articles.
Our planned agenda that day was figuring out whether there was a
Times
-ian way to do a pets beat. But, instead of tending to the business at hand, I spent the hour regaling Trish and Erica with tales about my brand-new puppy Scout. I prattled on about my sleep-deprived state, jangled nerves, and full-blown puppy lust. Soon I
was agreeing to their proposal that I write about the experience of new puppy ownership in an online column for our Home section.
Times
-ian way to do a pets beat. But, instead of tending to the business at hand, I spent the hour regaling Trish and Erica with tales about my brand-new puppy Scout. I prattled on about my sleep-deprived state, jangled nerves, and full-blown puppy lust. Soon I
was agreeing to their proposal that I write about the experience of new puppy ownership in an online column for our Home section.
So I want to thank Trish and Erica—who later took turns editing the column and generously agreed to review this manuscript—for what became a fun and interesting experience for me and, I hope, for readers. Emily Weinstein of the
Times
had great ideas about adding videos and photos to the columns, and many of the photos were taken by Jim Estrin, the brilliant photographer for the paper. Elisabeth Griggs also chronicled Scout’s puppy months lovingly and beautifully in her photographs and videos.
Times
had great ideas about adding videos and photos to the columns, and many of the photos were taken by Jim Estrin, the brilliant photographer for the paper. Elisabeth Griggs also chronicled Scout’s puppy months lovingly and beautifully in her photographs and videos.
Emma Gilbey Keller, an early fan, encouraged me to turn the columns into a book and introduced me to her friend, agent, and fellow dog lover Suzanne Gluck. Suzanne not only inspired me throughout the bookwriting process, she also accompanied me to the Westminster Dog Show.
As an editor, John Sterling is a reporter and writer’s dream. John edited one of my previous books,
Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas,
and I had my heart set on working with him again, even though an account of a puppy’s first year is not exactly the kind of project he usually takes on. His encouragement and advice, some of which he dispensed during walks with Scout along the Hudson River, were instrumental. Thanks also to
Stephen Rubin, Henry Holt’s president and publisher, whose enthusiasm for the book was galvanizing and infectious, and to Paul Golob, editorial director of Times Books, who supported this project from the first.
Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas,
and I had my heart set on working with him again, even though an account of a puppy’s first year is not exactly the kind of project he usually takes on. His encouragement and advice, some of which he dispensed during walks with Scout along the Hudson River, were instrumental. Thanks also to
Stephen Rubin, Henry Holt’s president and publisher, whose enthusiasm for the book was galvanizing and infectious, and to Paul Golob, editorial director of Times Books, who supported this project from the first.
The two Janes in my life—Jane O’Connor, my sister and writer extraordinaire, and Jane Mayer, my coauthor on
Strange Justice
and coconspirator in many of the things that matter—reviewed the manuscript at various stages and made it better.
Strange Justice
and coconspirator in many of the things that matter—reviewed the manuscript at various stages and made it better.
Many of the people who helped Scout become a good dog appear in the book and have my immense gratitude for being part of her life. Lee Gibson generously shared Viggo’s story, and I especially appreciate her willingness to let me join her on one of Viggo’s final training walks, an emotional and memorable experience.
Scout would never have come into my life without my husband, Henry, who persuaded me that we should get her in the first place and has done the lion’s share of the real work involved in her care. He provided crucial research during Scout’s initial months with us and later did additional reporting to help me complete the story of her first year, allowing me to deepen the stories of some of the people who played formative roles in Scout’s early life, including Donna Cutler, the Spiros, and other friends from Connecticut and the city. Henry even went to San Diego to become a master of clicker training, and his is still the only voice that Scout really listens to.
The story in the book unfolds as we experienced it. In a few instances, I’ve compressed the time frame a bit, and three events recounted in the final chapter—Viggo’s training walk, Scout’s reunion with her ancestors, and the Parade of Pooches—actually occurred shortly after Scout’s first birthday. But they were so important to the story of Scout’s early life that without them the narrative would have been incomplete.
I realize now that most of the people who are important in my life, including the folks thanked above, are certified dog nuts. As James Thurber once observed, “Dogs are obsessed with being happy.” This, above all else, is why we need them in our lives.
JILL ABRAMSON, a best-selling and award-winning author, is the executive editor of
The New York Times
. An unabashed dog lover, she has long been fascinated by the complex relationship between dogs and their owners. She, her husband, and Scout live in New York City and Connecticut.
The New York Times
. An unabashed dog lover, she has long been fascinated by the complex relationship between dogs and their owners. She, her husband, and Scout live in New York City and Connecticut.
Copyright © 2011 by Jill Abramson
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
Times Books
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Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Publishers since 1866
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New York, New York 10010
www.henryholt.com
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Designed by Kelly S. Too
eISBN 9781429996921
First eBook Edition : August 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Abramson, Jill, 1954–
The puppy diaries: raising a dog named scout / Jill Abramson. p. cm.
Summary: “A work of narrative nonfiction that will chronicle the author’s first year with her Golden Retriever, Scout, based on her blog of the same name from The New York Times”—Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9342-1 (hardback)
1. Golden retriever—A necdotes. 2. Human-animal relationships—Anecdotes. 3. Dog owners—Anecdotes. 4. Abramson, Jill, 1954–I. Title.
SF429.G63A247 2011
636.752’7—dc22
2011007968
First Edition 2011
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