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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Katz, whose books A Dog Year and Running to the Mountain earned him many faithful, dog-loving readers, here channels James Herriott's brand of agricultural humanism. It's a classic setup for amusing anecdotes: a 50-something "suburban rookie" buys a farm in upstate New York, stocking it with three border collies and a small herd of sheep. His skeptical wife agrees to the plan, but wisely forbids firearms, farm machinery and long trips in the pickup. This leaves plenty of latitude for adventures—lost sheep, horrible weather, the dramas of dog training and lamb birthing. Soon, the introspective author realizes that his interactions with dogs are about "trying to become a better human." After all, his dogs have unfailingly high expectations of him. The troublesome pup, Orson, becomes the great test of Katz's emotional maturity, requiring consistent discipline and love in the face of awful misbehavior (one of Orson's habits is eating sheep feces). "If we herd sheep for another decade or so," Katz writes, "I might make it: I might become a patient man." While there's no deeply surprising insight into human nature nor any particularly revealing information about canine behavior, these stories offer readers a potent stew of triumphs and failures, all tied together by the constancy of complicated, joyful, lovable dogs.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–In a book that is similar to his A Dog Year (Random, 2002), Katz now recounts the year in which he trained his border collies and farmed. No longer in Pennsylvania, he faced lambing season during an extremely harsh northern New York winter. Although he discusses the training of the dogs to herd sheep, his primary purpose is to show that dogs are a reflection of their owners: that his improved attitude and behavior improved the behavior of his dogs. Sometimes funny, as when the sheep and donkeys misbehaved, sometimes sad, as when he gave away one of the dogs, the story always has the ring of truth. Readers feel Katz's frustration, joy, and triumphs. An enticing way for students in cities to learn what life is like on a simple farm, where life can be hard, but where neighbors help one another.–Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (63 customer reviews)
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Woof, Woof, Jan 7 2005
By Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (Hardcover)
Jon Katz is a late middle aged man with a restless disposition, a tendency to be irritable, a dysfunctional childhood, and--oh yes--an obsession with dogs. In this book he has just moved to a 40 acre farm in upstate New York, leaving his wife behind in the city. And, in the process, acquires a small herd of sheep and two donkeys. You see, he is now obsessed with Border Collies, and they are obsessed with herding sheep.Training the dogs to work as a team and herd sheep is not easy, in fact it is almost beyond Katz's abilities except on those rare occasions when he can keep quiet and trust the dogs' judgment. He comes to the insight that in order to train these dogs he will have to be a better human. And that is his project through the rest of the book, a devilishly hard winter, and all the misadventures that could possibly happen to a rookie farmer who hasn't a clue.
Fortunately, his neighbors and townspeople take him under their collective wings and help him muddle through. If they regard him as a silly "flatlander" who has no business attempting this adventure, they are kind enough not to say so.
Author Jon Katz has written a number of books. He is fluent and elegant writer, who offers a wealth of interesting observations about rural life, sheep, donkeys, dogs, "dog people" (who only relate to other people through their dogs), and human nature. The book is easy reading and entertaining, if a little superficial. The only real drawback, for me, was author Katz's excessive preoccupation with himself and his inner conflicts. I would have liked to learn more about the animals. Still, the book works, and I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
46 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
For the Love of Dogs, Dec 30 2004
By prisrob "pris," - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (Hardcover)
At first glance, Jon Katz seems to be a man out of his mind. First he buys a border collie that herds garbage trucks and buses in the city- then he spends the next year training this dog, and finally realizing he needs to move out of the city. So, he packs up his bags, says good-bye to his wife and daughter and off he goes with three dogs and along the way collects two donkeys and sixteen sheep. A sane man- maybe not, but a very smart one. Jon Katz has found the way- or a religion so to speak.Jon Katz is a writer and a lover of dogs. This story centers around one year of his life. A year spent on a farm in upstate New York, a very difficult year, but one he would do again in a New York minute. He has a small cabin, but realizes he needs more room and with his wife's permission he buys an old farm. He is lucky to have wonderful neighbors who come to his rescue when he needs them the most. Andy is a Vermont carpenter and adds safety and room to Jon's life. He helps to resurrect the barn and other small buildings. John has decided he must have some sheep for his dogs to herd. Along with the sixteen sheep comes a donkey-and then later on another small donkey at the recommendation of The Donkey lady. His sheep and one ram, of course, make babies and in the middle of the worst winter in New York State; 17 baby sheep are born. Jon narrates his harrowing times and what he has learned from the winter. He knows and now understands fully that you must have neighbors who understand what you are up against. He never would have made it without them. Most of his neighbors and townspeople love his dogs and love watching the dogs herd sheep. Most of these people are farmers without much money, and they look at Jon as a curious neighbor, but they too grow to respect him. The admiration is mutual and the stories of the townspeople help us to understand what it takes to live in upper New York State in stark winter. Another reason that Jon may not be entirely sane!
Jon Katz dispenses sage wisdom from his work with dogs. The dogs have changed his life and how he thinks about himself. He builds a new relationship with his long lost sister. He is finally able to understand what his miserable childhood has done to him, and how the dogs can help him mend. He firmly believes that all dogs must be trained to be dogs. Dogs are not people and we need to able to show them how to live in our people world. Good truth and wisdom from this book. Jon Katz has a way about him that envelops us, and we learn to care about him and his dogs. Tears and laughter abound throughout this book. Highly recommended. prisrob
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disgusted, Oct 1 2011
By M. Clark "urban folkie" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me (Paperback)
If you are a true dog lover, stay away from this book. Putting the writing aside - which is perfectly fine, if a bit mediocre and repetitive - I could barely contain my shock as I read a passage in which he describes the reasons why it is better to "buy" a dog from a breeder than to rescue one from a shelter. This guy is supposed to be a dog expert?? I looked up some of his other writing and apparently this is a great big lie that he perpetuates throughout his work. Lest you think I am a zealot, listen to this: Katz is asked by a neighbor (who believes him to be an expert on dogs) whether he should get a husky/shepherd mix puppy at the local shelter to be his "ride along dog", a dog who will essentially hang out with him all day in the car and be a companion animal. Without going to see the puppy, Katz says to stay away from the dog. Never mind that shelters routinely misclassify puppies, or that mixed breeds do not necessarily reflect the traditional traits of their breeds. He then "calls around" to his vet friends, who all agree that the guy should get a lab. Katz then seeks out a lab from a breeder, and "generously" lies to the neighbor about the dog's price and pays the difference in order to get him to buy the expensive dog. No mention is made of whether the maligned, unseen husky/shepherd pup is euthanized, of course. He even compares the impulse to buy a purebred dog to the inclination for people to have their own children instead of adopting the children of others!! I'm not kidding, it's that ridiculous.As the proud owner of many shepherd mix mutts that have had amazingly calm and even temperaments (and the friend of many people who have bought insane, inbred labs) I can't believe how completely shallow and uninformed Katz is about dogs. I'm horrified that so many people read his books and could use his "expertise" to confirm their uninformed prejudices about shelter dogs (25% of whom are purebred, by the way)
If you are looking for a puppy with a particular temperament, there are approved behavioral tests you can easily give a puppy in a shelter environment. If you are looking for a particular type of working dog, then by all means go to a breeder - but for a companion animal, please please rescue a shelter dog! 3-4 million cats and dogs are euthanized EVERY YEAR. That's half the dogs and cats sent to a shelter in this country.
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