How to live with 'em

Written by Barbara Sykes
Reviewed by Iain Fraser

Description: This is an important subject for dog owners planning to have children and for young families thinking about introducing a dog to the household.  As far as I know this short (90 pages) book is unique in concentrating solely on these issues.

The book is structured into eight chapters, each covering a theme and ending with a handy summary.  The first chapter summary contains a sentence which encapsulates the overall message.  'Dogs and children have much to give and to learn from each other but, if they are not brought up to respect each other, problems will arise.'

Contents include:-

• Facing the facts
• Making decisions
• Preparing the way
• Avoiding jealousy
• Safe havens
• First steps, first words
• Gaining respect
• Living, loving and learning together

Best features:-
It is full of common sense, written from deep personal experience and anyone following the guidance it contains is unlikely to go far wrong. The advice is safe and sensible, covering the welfare of the child and the dog in equal measure. The practical advice will help readers who are willing to invest their time and effort to avoid the most common causes of problems between dogs and children.

The chapter summaries neatly highlight the key messages. (See above)

Worst features:-
The layout and liberal use of posed black and white photographs give the book a dated feel which fails to draw the reader in.

It is not always clear where advice applies to new dog owners or prospective parents and despite the promise on the back cover, there is little to offer those whose dog has problems with other people’s children.

The author’s uncompromising tone in outlining the behaviour to be expected from dogs and children will alienate some who doubt either the need or their ability to reach her high standards of control and hygiene.

Design & Format: 5/10  Well enough put together but uninspiring.

Price: £9.99

Value for Money: 5/10  Expensive for such a slim volume, but then it is a specialist publication.

Overall rating: 6/10  The definitive work on this subject has yet to be written and for some, the flaws in this book will be fatal. However, there is much in it worth reading and there would certainly be many fewer problems between dogs and children if the author’s advice was more widely understood and practiced.

About the author
Barbara Sykes MBIPDT is known the world over for her experience as a trainer. A former international triallist, author of several books and the focus of numerous TV and radio appearances, she has also attracted much newspaper and magazine interest with her activities programs.

Born on the farm in Yorkshire (on the edge of the famous Ilkley Moors) and brought up with collies, her experience and understanding covers a wide range of topics, including several years shepherding.

She founded Mainline Border Collie Centre in 1986, and has helped both owners and dogs with handling sheep, basic obedience, problem solving and to understand the dog and relate to its way of thinking, plus countless other related topics.

Barbara now has five published books to her credit, which can all be reviewed and purchased direct from her site.

About the reviewer
Iain Fraser is the husband of Jo and father of Emily (age 10), Bill (9), Matilda (6) and Max (4). Between them, they own six agility dogs -  Madoc, Scrag, Shark, Fats, Batman and Night.

His first dog Maesy was one of the top agility dogs of the ‘90s, with a number of places in major finals crowned by winning the Pedigree Agility Stakes at Olympia in 1995. He and Jo were in the winning Wallingford Gold team at Crufts 2000 with Madoc and Scrag. They have both reached Advanced level, and Jo is well on the way to getting Shark there as well. Emily and Bill both compete successfully at Junior level with Night and Batman (who they have trained themselves) and Matilda has now taken her first steps round the ring.

In 2000, Iain and Jo set up Crazymaesy Agility which is now one of the top clubs in the UK as measured by the Agility Eye performance tables. Increasingly their focus is on training others both inside and outside the UK and Iain is thinking about giving up the day job in IT so they can do this full time!

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