Book Review: Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy by Zazie Todd
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As much as I wanted to absolutely love the book Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy, I just didn’t.
While there were many portions of the book that I enjoyed or found helpful for new pet parents, other parts made me cringe.
My overall reading experience was “meh” for me with a hefty dose of recognizing that I don’t think I’m author Zazie Todd’s target audience.
At least not for her book.
I will continue to read her Companion Animal Psychology blog because the information she shares there has more consistent value for me.
Todd has been on numerous podcasts within the dog world, so listening to her over several months promoting her book has been fascinating.
She’s a delight! Truly personable and passionate.
When hosts get her chatting about treats and positive reinforcement, she shines.
As an example, within her chapter on canine enrichment, Todd highlights the idea of taking your dog on sniffaris, an idea that podcast hosts have embraced. I’m pretty certain that every podcast I’ve listened to about the book Wag, Todd and the host have discussed the benefits of sniffaris.
I like Todd, so writing a “meh” book review on her book gives me no pleasure, which is why I’m going to try to be as specific as possible with what didn’t work for me, and who I think could benefit from reading Wag.
What was my disconnect with my reading experience for Wag?
Expectations.
Unfortunately, listening to her on several podcasts discussing her book gave me the impression that her book was more focused on canine enrichment and positive training. I was expecting numerous actionable tips of how I could improve the lives of my two dogs. I was pumped to read this bad boy!
When I went to Amazon to purchase my copy of Wag, the book description told a different story. Part of the book summary reads:
“Whether you are training a new puppy, considering adopting a dog, researching dog breeds, or simply curious about your own dog's happiness and behavior, Wag has all the answers––and then some. Respected dog trainer and social psychologist, Zazie Todd, demystifies the inner life of canines and shares recommendations from leading veterinarians, researchers, and trainers to help you cultivate a rewarding and respectful relationship with your dog―which offers many benefits for you, your family, and your four-legged friend.”
Immediately, I recognized that this book actually covers the life cycle of a dog, which is a huge undertaking. HUGE! However, since so many notable professionals in the dog world endorsed this book, I decided I’d give it a try. I was sure I would still learn some valuable tips. Sigh.
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What content is covered in Wag?
The Table of Contents includes 16 chapters, a checklist for a happy dog, and end notes citing the various studies Todd shares in each chapter.
Happy Dogs
Getting a Dog
How Dogs Learn
Motivation and Technique
The Vet and Grooming
The Social Dog
Dogs and their People
Dogs and Children
Time for Walkies!
Enrichment
Food and Treats
Sleeping Dogs
Fear and Other Problems
Seniors and Dogs with Special Needs
The End of Life
Safe Dogs, Happy Dogs
Each chapter has plenty of sub-headings, so the content has logical breaking points throughout. Additionally, most chapters end with a section called “How to apply the science at home” where Todd gives a bulleted list of ideas and suggestions for improving the life of your dog.
The organization of this book is logical and easy to read. However, sigh…
Not much is new here…
I found a total of two suggestions within the “How to apply the science at home” sections that were new pieces of information to me.
In chapter 6: The Social Dog, Todd shares research on how well cats and dogs get along. Based on a study in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, Todd suggests getting a cat first if you can.
Later in chapter 13: Fear and Other Problems, she suggests reducing the stress for pregnant dogs by maintaining a routine, which improves the behavioral health of the puppies. I don’t plan on breeding dogs, so my knowledge about pregnant dogs is definitely limited.
Just for some contrast, in chapter 3: How Dogs Learn, her last idea for adult dogs is to take them to a class. She suggests trying obedience, tricks, nose works, or any fun class. In chapter 12: Sleeping Dogs, she promotes the idea that your dog should have a comfortable bed to sleep in.
I could keep listing the advice I’m already implementing, but that would be too much. And then there are some ideas that don’t apply to me. As an example of what no longer applies to my situation, her entire chapter on Getting a Dog offers no new perspective.
I already did my research on what kind of dog would fit with the lifestyle my husband and I have. Every suggestion listed I knew from doing my due diligence with my husband (I don’t want to leave him out of the process) before we took on the responsibility of caring for another life.
Did you like anything about this book?
As the dog parent of a reactive dog, I will give Todd many many props for trying to help us and our dogs out.
“No words are more likely to strike fear into the heart of the owner of a reactive dog than ‘He’s friendly!’ It means someone is about to let their dog run right up to yours, even though you are trying hard to stay at a safe distance.”
Yes! Her advice that “Insisting that your dog meet theirs or offering unwanted training advice will not be welcome or helpful.”
True statements.
We work closely with more than one dog trainer. We’re consistently training Lizzie and trying to find opportunities to help her interact with the world more comfortably. It’s an on-going process, and we have the people we need giving us training tips and encouragement.
Letting other dog parents know that not all dogs want to meet one another is incredibly valuable information. Spreading the word that some dogs over react to stimulus is helpful. Gentle reminders that the way you raise your dog may differ than the way others raise theirs keeps perspective in line.
What about the science? Didn’t you like all the science-based studies?
Of course, I loved the science, but her presentation of the science was inconsistent.
For some of the studies, she would share sample size, or the length of the study to give better context for how significant the study results might be. Sometimes she would share email replies from the scientists who she contacted to ask clarifying questions of.
Whenever she gave this fuller picture of a study, I got more excited. While I was familiar with several of the studies she included, some were new to me. Others I didn’t know the full framework for how the scientists asked the dogs to perform a given task. Reading those nitty gritty details was pretty interesting, and more importantly, informative.
Sadly, though, Todd picks and chooses which studies she details more completely. Many of the studies she mentions, she’s doing just that. Mentioning them with little context to how significant or recent the study may be.
My rational brain understands why she can’t delve into the details of every study. She’s made the choice to cover the entire life span of a dog in her book. Therefore, she’s got less than 300 pages of space to pack in as much information as she can.
In her final chapter she does share this thought that I completely agree with:
“In particular, it would be nice to see more studies with a larger number of participating dogs, longitudinal studies to track differences over time, and a good balance between experimental and naturalistic studies.”
Some information shared made me twitch a little…
Some of her dog training advice seemed almost contradictory to me.
In chapter 9: Time for Walkies!, Todd encourages dog owners to use appropriate gear and mentions a no-pull harness. And only a no-pull harness.
Then she states that owners should teach their dog polite loose-leash walking. While using a no-pull harness is not contradictory to teaching a dog how to walk politely on a leash, I also see plenty of people allowing their dog to pull them with that no-pull harness.
Clearly, the advantage of a no-pull harness is the dog not choking or getting tangled in a leash if its behavior is that unpredictable. Using a no-pull harness is also a much better technique than using a prong collar, which Todd also makes clear.
But using a slip lead or Martingale collar could probably serve just as well as a communication tool between dog and handler. Neither is specifically mentioned. Todd does reference a study that compared walking a dog on a harness versus a regular neck collar, but no mention of any other types of training equipment that might be considered acceptable.
Her chapter with advice for vet visits seemed curiously light.
She spends most of this section focused on reducing stress during vet visits, which is great. I don’t disagree with anything here. Fear-free is the way to go.
Then she touches on whether or not dog owners should spay or neuter their dog. She does specify that this science is evolving, and states “while it’s clear spaying and neutering leads to fewer unwanted dogs, the cost-benefit decision for individual dog owners is more complicated.”
Okay, but what about vaccines? That’s another area of dog care that I would consider just as important as spaying and neutering where the science is also evolving. Many dog parents have no idea that they can request titer testing from their vet and that titers are increasingly more affordable.
These two examples are prime illustrations of how trying to do too much with your book’s content means you could be leaving out important information for your reader. A point that really hit home for me when I started reading the chapter on Food and Treats.
Her section on nutrition made me cringe!
I’ve been increasingly concerned with what we feed our two dogs, so I was curious about what research she would include in her chapter about Food and Treats.
I was incredibly disappointed to read how home-cooked dog food recipes lack ingredients and that a “raw diet is also hard to get right from a nutritional perspective.”
There’s no mention of how this area of dog care is also evolving.
Anyone who follows Dr. Karen Becker or Rodney Habib has heard about Dog Risk, an independent university-based research group through the University of Helsinki focused on dog nutrition and diseases. These are scientists who are not subject to the greedy clutches of corporate kibble cooks.
And the information warning about kibble is out there. There’s an entire book about the pet food recall of 2007 involving kibble and melamine.
Within her Food and Treats chapter, Todd also shares a list of human foods that are not safe for dogs, which includes avocado.
Todd cites the ASPCA for this information, which cracks me up because Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib specifically dispel the avocado myth and call out large organizations like the AKC and ASPCA for perpetuating the myth that avocados are toxic for dogs.
Please take the time to watch this 2018 Facebook video from Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib where they walk you through the science of avocado studies involving dogs. Skip the first two minutes where they’re waiting for people to answer their Yes or No prompt.
Who could benefit from reading this book?
Probably not you, dear reader. I am not even kidding. If you’re here on my blog reading this far into a book review, you clicked here from somewhere. My guess is that you probably click on many articles about dog care, dog training, and dog mom or dad life!
You actively seek the best and most relevant information about dogs to improve the quality of life for your pup. You regularly read dog blogs, quite possibly including Zazie Todd’s Companion Animal Psychology, which I very much enjoy. You’re a member of dog groups either professionally or more informally, like being a member of an informative no drama Facebook group like Shay Kelly’s Canine Enrichment. You listen to podcasts on maybe one specific dog topic that you have a passion for or several podcasts covering a variety of dog care topics.
Whoever you are, you’re probably not author Zazie Todd’s target audience either because her book just tries too hard to cover too many topics.
The information she shares in Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy probably won’t make you happy. If you really want to read it, I would highly suggest borrowing it from your public library.
So really? Who should read this book?
In her first chapter, Todd includes a quote from Dr. Sam Gaines, head of the Companion Animals Department at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the UK. This quote pinpoints Todd’s audience, in my opinion:
People who should read Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy
People who have had dogs their entire life and proudly brag about how they’ve learned everything they need to know about dogs from raising dogs. I’m not sure how many of these people would be open to reading about how scientific studies are helping us better understand dogs, but professionals within the dog world can certainly try recommending this book to them.
Brand new dog parents. I’m talking spanking brand new, never had a dog, dog parents. This book would make a great gift for them since it offers an overview of topics that will introduce them to the main concepts of caring for a puppy or dog.
Dog lovers who want to help knock out from the best seller lists other incredibly popular nonfiction dog books that offer outdated training techniques. This group of people may not learn much from reading Wag, but they’ll have the satisfaction of potentially boosting the sales of this book that does offer (on the whole) much better advice for dog owners.
That last bit is what makes me truly sad. Zazie Todd goes through some scary statistics about dog ownership. Stats like “between 18 and 39 percent of dog owners do no research at all before getting a dog.”
No wonder dog professionals got excited about this book. My interpretation of their endorsements is that they see a genuine need to educate the average dog owner about the latest information about dogs because people are not taking on that responsibility themselves.
Any books that you do recommend for better informed dog lovers?
If you’re looking for a science-based book with many actionable tips to help your dog live his best doggy life, then please check out my book review for Canine Enrichment for the Real World.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
