Dexter and Friends: New Zealand’s Wonderful World of Dogs
Mark Leishman and Jim Mora
Shoal Bay Press, $29.95,
ISBN 1 908704 46 1
Dogs are man’s best friends. Dexter and Friends backs up this age-old saying. This book is informative, fun to read and perfect for soon-to-be dog-owners. It tells the truth about the good and the bad side to different breeds of dog. Dexter also has funny and amusing quotes from different poems and stories to suit the breed of dog.
Our father owns a labrador/border collie cross so we can relate quite well to these kinds of books. Pen is just as a labrador is described in Dexter. He loves food, and adores our Dad, like he’s a god or something. He gets on with other people very well too.
We think the photography in this book has caught it all, especially the cute moments between Dexter and Kohi, the guide dog-to-be. We think it’s funny that Dexter feels somewhat threatened by Kohi and that the day that Kohi left, Dexter celebrated!!!!!!
We also have two cats, Becca and Meg. We know that dogs are better than cats in some ways because cats wouldn’t stop a burglar (although some dogs wouldn’t either!). Cats would just rub up against their legs and purr as if they wanted something to eat. Our cats would do that.
The ideas from breeders and dog owners are good inputs into the book as well, because you need to know what it’s like to own a dog from a person who has owned one, so you can get a sort of preview of what it could be like. It’s a good experience for prospective dog owners.
We also think that the “Dexter files” are a good idea, to tell you how big the dogs could be, what they enjoy doing and what they enjoy eating. Finding a dog can be very hard! They are either too big or too small, too grumpy or they shed too much fur! But this book will definitely save you time and trouble looking for the right doggy-mate.
Dogs’ diets are important. Some dogs you can feed anything and everything, but others you can’t. You have to keep them on a very special diet or they will get much too fat. Dexter tells you how to put your dog on a proper diet, for all different kinds of dogs.
Dexter is the perfect book to buy if you want to get a dog. Or if you want to find out about your present dog, it also has many helpful health tips to make your dog happy and healthy. There is a dog for everyone in this book.
It also has health tips and a list of people who breed dogs on the back page. On the whole we think that this is a wonderfully illustrated and written book, with its funny, interesting and enjoyable bits. We all wish that Dexter will lead a happy doggy life, and that Mark Leishman and Jim Mora will lead happy doggy lives too.
Philippa (14), Octavia (12) and Laura (10) Horgan are young Wellington dog — and cat — lovers.