| I'm a dog lover so when I saw the title, "Fun Facts About Dogs", by Richard Torregrossa I knew I had to read the book. I needed something fun and light to read and this book did the trick. Fun Facts, sheds an informative light on why dogs behave the way they do. Do you ever wonder why dogs eat their food so fast? Why poodles love to be bathed and groomed? Or even why dogs howl? This book will answer all of these questions and a lot more. From as far back as I can remember all the dogs I have owned have gobbled down their food in record speed and always begged for yours if you ate in front of them. According to Torregrossa's book, when dogs were wild (before they became domesticated), food was gobbled down in a hurry because wild dogs, did not know when their next meal would arrive; and worst yet, the food could be stolen by rivals such as the hyena. It's a "habit which was left over from the wild". I guess it's pretty safe to say enjoying a bath is not a habit left over from the wild. When I was a little girl, my older sister Shirley, had a poodle who loved to take a bath. His name was "Shalong". Amazed at how he would just sit there in a tub of water, I often wondered why he enjoyed the bath. Other dogs would scramble to get out of the water. Well it turns out, poodles were originally bred in England, "to hunt ducks and geese in muddy swaps". That would make them use to the water. I'm guessing all that getting muddy, smelly and dirty was even too much for a dog so when it came time to get cleaned up the dog couldn't wait. Another habit left over from the wild is the "howl". In the wild the howl was used for dogs to gather together in the pack so they could "face impending danger together". Today if your dog howls he's lonely. Could he be alerting the "pack" for company? Torregrossa's book, in paperback, includes over 70 known facts about loveable pooches. Each fact/story (most running no more than two pages) is illustrated with humorous black and white drawings of man's best friend. A perfect commute read, the book can easily be read under an hour. It's a perfect gift for dog lovers or just anyone who wants to learn more about dogs. There's even a sprinkling of real life stories which show why dogs are so loyal. For example, there's a story about a dog (this incident took place over 100 years ago in England) whose owner died. Everyday for the next 15 years the dog faithfully sat by the owner's grave. Wow! Talk about missing someone. |