Recently I was given the opportunity to review the book “Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You To Know” by Hy Conrad and Jeff Johnson. I’m a fan of the TV show “Monk”, and Hy Conrad was one of the original writers and eventually one of the executive producers of the show, so I looked forward to reading this book. And as it turns out, the book was totally my type of humor, and I loved it. I quickly became attached to the various characters. The book is a compilation of 115 short essays written by eleven different dogs. It’s best to start at the beginning of the book because although each essay can stand on its own, the characters are revealed throughout the book in the order of the essays. There’s Axelrod, the Yellow Lab who lives in the suburbs, Orson the always-hungry Bulldog, Sarge the German Shepherd who can't seem to hold a job, and my favorite, Charlie the Miniature Schnauzer who was adopted by a shelter worker, lives with six other dogs and considers his current situation foster care.
The dogs are eager to share their secrets, such as what they dream about, why they beg for food, and in Axelrod's case, why he ate the sofa! (click on the image to enlarge)
