This is unlike other books regarding how to communication with and train your dog. It is exceptionally well written and informative, yet not pedantic in nature.

Those of us who lost a pet, can deeply relate to the last chapters. So often, it feels futile to explain how grief feels, and how it punches us in the stomach till we topple over with tears. Yet, this author insightfully, beautifully is able to transcend all the trite phrases and clearly outline how and why we embrace the love we continue to feel long after our beloved pet has transitioned to a pain free life.

I lost Simon, my 12 year old Sheltie, in February. I still remember the morning of finding her so very ill. Seconds/minutes ticked away after 9:15 when we knew she was very sick until 11:00 when we said our brave good byes.

Now, bravely opening my heart to another Sheltie, seven months later, I watch as Lilly runs through the grass, leaping to grasp her toy while gleefully anticipating that we will continue the dance of throwing and fetching. As I see her sable colored coat sparkle as the sun gleans, I instantly remember Simon and all the joy he brought.

Comparing and contrasting is inevitable, the same as the joy and the sorrow of grief. And, it is very true that the loss of Simon is a blessing of the keen need to grasp every second of joy and hold it in our hearts.

This book is a song to dogs and to the unique, wonderful companions and soul mates they are.

Highly recommended.

Five Stars. ( )

I love this book! I also really like Ivan's tapes on Obedience without Conflict. They are sort of spendy but worth every penny and apply if you are doing AKC OB or Schutzhund.
robinb

Suzanne Clothier's Bones Would Rain from the Sky was a wonderful book. It should be required reading for any dog owner.

It is not really a training manual for dogs. It's more of an exploration of life with dogs, and trying to understand the world from their point of view. If anything it should teach dog owners to have more patience with their canine companions. The dog afterall is having to learn a whole new language that he/she is incapable of speaking.

Clothier does give some training tips. The main thrust is that each dog is an individual, just as people are. What works for one dog, may not work with another. There are no exact recipes as she puts it. It's up to the owners and trainers to find out what works for each individual dog. It appears a daunting task, but if we love our dogs as much as we profess, shouldn't we try?

Hanky warning: The last two chapters deal with the loss of a pet. They aren't easy reading, as she vividly brings the emotions of grief to life. They're important though in that they teach us much of how to deal with the grief of losing our pets.

Some may fault her prose as being long winded, but I enjoyed the various antedotes of dealing with troubled individuals. ( )

The book that has most increased my own joyous sense of relationship with dogs is tBones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs, by Suzanne Clothier. The title is based on a Turkish proverb, "If a dog's prayers were answered, bones would rain from the sky."

I began reading the first chapter in a bookstore one day. The author is telling of being a child, under her family's dining table, pretending to be a dog. The first sentence is "My only mistake was licking her knee."

My immediate surroundings fell away, and I was under the table too. Of course, I bought the book, and as I drove home, I was in a reverie about my own childhood love of dogs, with its intense yearnings and joys. In the next few days, I devoured the book. I felt like I was in the presence of a zestful and compassionate friend who also happened to be a good storyteller. The chapters range around all things related to dogs. It's not a how-to book, but lots of how-to ideas came to me as I read.

It's a book to read slowly and reflectively, really, and so it has stayed by my bedside, where I can pick it up and read a bit. Clothier writes so beautifully and so much from her heart that as a writer I am jealous. And as a person who loves connecting with dogs, I am inspired. ( )

This is a fantastic book, it is one that I know I will read again as it is one of those books that when you are done you just go..wow. Although this book does center around relationships with dogs, it really can apply to any relationship. There are parts that made me laugh out loud and parts that made me cry (which I had never done because of a book). ( )