Book ~ "The Power of Dog" (2018) Andrew G. Marshall

From Goodreads ~ On the eve of the millenium, the life of therapist and best-selling self-help author, Andrew Marshall, was in a dark place. Despite trying three different therapists, had not shifted the grief from the death of his much-loved partner. His career as a journalist had reached a dead end. He was struggling with low-level depression and his polite but distant relationship with his mother had left them both tip-toeing around each other. 

His solution? To get Flash, a collie cross puppy – perhaps not the best choice for someone who’d never owned a dog, or even lived with one, before. In this funny and moving memoir, Marshall chronicles not only the ups and downs of training an excitable puppy but how slowly but surely, Flash taught Marshall to laugh again and helped to heal old wounds. 

I love reading books about animals so that's why this one caught my eye ... plus how could I resist the picture of the dog on the cover?

At the end of 1999, Andrew was a struggling 40ish journalist, grieving over the loss of his partner who had passed away almost three years prior.  He was lonely and wanting to make some changes in his life.  Growing up he was never allowed to have a dog so decided to get a finally get one.  So he adopted a puppy and named him Flash.  This is Andrew's diary of getting Flash and his life with him (travelling, training classes, interactions with his friends, etc.).

I thought this book was okay ... Flash sounded like an amazing dog and it's obvious they had a strong bond.

I found the author kind of mopey and desperate for love, though.  As such, I find it ironic that on his website he calls himself "the U.K.'s best-known marital therapist".  When Flash was older, he was prepared to leave Flash with various people so he could spend a month in Edinburgh with his new partner.  A couple nights here and there are fine but month is a long time to be away.  I didn't find his new partner overly likable or sympathetic when Flash was nearing the end.

I found it odd that as strict as he was about training Flash (they went through training together), he allowed his dog to eat as much garbage as he did ... cigarette butts, cigar butts, plastic food wrappers. poop, etc.

Growing up, he had a fear of wolves and I found he spent a lot of time going on about this.  So glad he finally overcame it.

I know the copy I read was not the final version.  But Andrew is a journalist and an author and there were an amazing amount of typos and grammatical errors.