What's Your Book About?

Keep reading for a special announcement below...

With over 80 million dog owners in North America alone, it's no surprise there are tons of people reading about dogs. Whether you are a traditional 'sit-down with a paper book in your hands', a 'listen to an audiobook on a drive' or a 'read in bed on a kindle' kind of person, everyone needs books in their lives.

Dog lovers of all ages enjoy relatable, feel-good dog stories to help them connect to other dog people, raise their spirits or maybe even get them through difficult times. Dog owners and professionals alike rely on information-based dog books to help them better understand and/or teach their canine friends or clients. With thousands of books to choose from, the question becomes, where do you start? 

As an avid reader of dog books myself, I have found a few very helpful resources to steer me in the right direction. 

Dogwise: https://www.dogwise.com/?aff=570

Dogwise is a mega-power player in the world of canine-related publications and resource materials. They are an online store selling curated books, audiobooks, DVD's & CD's, ebooks and videos. They are responsible publishers who are dedicated to the enrichment of the lives of people and their pets. "Dogwise brings you the largest selection of cutting-edge information on living, loving, and working with dogs available anywhere." 

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/dog

This is an excellent resource for all readers to find popular titles, read reviews, rate books you've read and even create a 'want to read' list. You can ask questions, connect with other readers, make recommendations and even purchase books all in one place.  There are many other features that I'm just not yet familiar with, but I do suggest you check out this site. 

Association of Pet Dog Trainers (ADPT): https://apdt.com/resource-center/recommended-reading/

For anyone looking to learn more about dogs on a deeper 'non-fiction' level, I suggest you check out this list of recommended readings. Particularly if you are a dog professional or aspiring dog professional, this is a great list to find quality, curated resources.  

Now I have a very special announcement to share with everyone.... 

<drum roll>

I have written a book! Yes, after 15 years of talking about it, I've finally taken the plunge and tried my hand at contributing to the literary dog world. So far it has been an incredible process.  And, it turns out, I LOVE writing!

After much research, I can say that there is apparently no 'right' way to write a book, so all I can share with you is the process that worked for me. I started by first identifying what I did not want my book to 'be'. With so many excellent dog training guides available (all of which you can find through the above links), I knew that this was not the direction I wanted to take. Knowing how difficult it is for people to find time today to either read for education or leisure, I wanted my book to be both entertaining and educational, a quick read (under 50,000 words) and digestible in small chapter-by-chapter chunks. 

So, what is your book about you ask? 

My book is called Behave like a Dog: Reframing What We Think We Know About Dogs. This book is about relating to and understanding our canine counterparts through real-life human and dog stories. 

 Much like how I approach my work with my clients, I wanted my book to speak to the reader on an intrinsic and relatable level. I wanted to approach larger concepts of learning laws and principles through real-life entertaining stories that readers could connect with on a raw emotional and animalistic level.

It took three months to produce this 40,000-word draft manuscript and I've enjoyed every minute. I have had the editing help of a few close friends and family members as I moved through writing section by section. At chapter 9 (of 12), I hit a bit of a wall and needed to take a few days to organize my thoughts and remind myself of the concept I was trying to impart. With feedback from my behind-the-scenes team, I was able to get back on track.

The last few months of focused writing (between sessions with my clients and managing the daily business operations of Pet Intel. & JWalker) have been therapeutic, vulnerable and inspiring for me as a new author.  I have shared my personal stories and thoughts, some of them funny and some traumatic, all delivered from a place of true authenticity. From my unfortunate (and comical) tendency to get bugs caught in my 'big' hair to my experiences birthing babies, I compare my real-life human stories to those of dogs.

Throughout the book, I've introduced individual dogs, a few of my own and some belonging to others. I use dog-human analogies to highlight learning principles and theories that challenge the reader to reconsider what they think they know about man's best friend. I am very proud of what I have created to date and am eager to experience its evolution as I ready it for the public. I can't wait to share with all of you the finished product. 

Stay tuned and follow my writing journey! Click here 

Don't forget to keep reading and learning from the thousands of amazing books already published and available through the above links! 

Jessica Eden O'Neill- Canine Behaviour Specialist, Inventor... and Author