Official Review: Dog Dreams by Ron Cook

[Leecedar]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dog Dreams" by Ron Cook.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Before reading Dog Dreams: Fact & Fantasy by Ron Cook, PsyD, I would suggest that you completely empty your bladder and have set aside a large chunk of time. Cook's humor is outstanding. I probably laughed out loud an average of every other page. He finds very amusing ways to express things, such as the most trusting and relaxed position a canine friend can assume, the UDD, or “upside-down dog.” When referring to the two funding sources for the fictional research project in this story, their acronyms are BUTT SNIFF. Whether cheesy, witty, or outrageous, his humor doesn't quit. In addition, the premise of the book, a research project to try to visualize dog dreams and see their emotions, is an engaging topic that makes the reader eager to turn each page and get to the next part of the story.

The story, in which the author is the main character, is about the above-referenced research project. It starts with two basic questions: (1) Do dogs dream, and (2) Do dogs love? He prefaces the story with a detailed description of the neurotransmitters and hormones that correspond to human emotions and observes that dogs have those same chemicals in their brains. While some technology for this project has not yet been invented, it is conceivable that some of it will be available in the not-too-distant future. Cook's first problem was to get grant funding for the project. Then, he had to assemble his team. That team turns out to be a group of brilliant, although markedly eccentric scientists, each with their own specialty. Then they get their test subjects. These are dogs whose owners have previously taken them to Dr. Cook for counseling. There is a wonderful assortment of breeds, canine personalities, and canine neuroses. After getting all of these things together, Dr. Cook's team starts the sessions and wonderful things happen.

Cook tells this story from the first-person point of view. His writing flows naturally, and he even makes technical jargon easy to understand so that the reader can be comfortable. He acknowledges in the story that he has “dumbed-down” terminology so that non-experts (the prospective grantors) can understand it. We as readers are the less-confused beneficiaries of that simplification. I love the premise of the project. The idea of being able to see into our pets' dreams is exciting. I can only imagine what it would be like to see human dreams. It would be an astounding experience. It might also be a bit frightening. His personification of the dogs' personalities, while keeping them fully canine, was a wonderful idea. Not only did he capitalize on the dogs' personalities, but he managed to get the most out of the secondary characters in the book. His story kept me going, and I finished this book in one multi-hour session.

There is a bit of profanity, and so I would recommend this book to be read by teens and above. My only real criticism of this book is that it needs more editing. If errors were eliminated, the work would feel more polished, and I would give the book full marks. As it stands, I give it three out of four stars.

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Dog Dreams
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[Tablito]

Visualizing a dog's dream would be exciting to doglovers if this is even possible in the first place

[antilochos]

I am a little intrigued by the manner the reviewer described how humorous Cook is, but dogs aren't really my thing.

[Ryka]

This sounds pretty cool! As he owner of a dog myself, I wonder what my dogs dreams are like... Does he dream of me? Sounds like a great book for doglovers

[Harty Muli]

This is an interesting book I would want to read because of the unique research involving dogs and the humor. Nice review.

[Merix]

Lovely, dog dreams is part of the best for me. I must say that this story is almust relating to human state of living with characters. Is good to trust someone and some times wrong to take unneccessary risk like this. Dog dreams, i totally love it.

[difu]

I enjoyed reading this review, it was very lucid and straightforward. I would definitely love to find out if dogs dream and love.

[Menace Crypto]

I would very much like to read this book, it seems fairly okay minus the errors. I'll add this to my bookshelves later. Thanks for the review.

[AsukaMi]

The book is great! lovely story. It's a nice choice for dog lovers like me.