Changes

Driving through northern California Steve Duno found a puppy by the side of the road. He was flea-bitten, tic infested, emaciated and suffering from an infection. His father was a Rottweiler and his mother a German Shepherd - both were guard dogs at the local marijuana farm. When Steve whistled the dog came to him and it's no exaggeration to say that in that moment his life changed. He'd always wanted a dog, but hadn't been able to have one as a child. There was a moment's indecision at the side of the road – and then Lou became Steve's dog.

If you think that this is going to be a slushy story of a pampered dog and his adoring owner, then forget it. I was in tears of laughter as Steve fought to cope with Lou's destructive tendencies (not least because I had a similar learning curve with a Rhodesian Ridgeback) and recognised his realisation that he would not only have to train Lou and exercise him physically, he would also have to exercise him mentally. The stories of how he did this are inspirational. It's a very positive book too – despite it being fairly obvious that a lot of the problems with the aggressive dogs were the fault of their owners there's no culture of blame. The emphasis is always on what can be done for the dogs and how the owners can be helped to achieve this.