Take the Lead: How To Look After Your Dog – A Fun & Practical Guide

Gr 3-6–Browne offers a wonderful guide to becoming a responsible dog owner. She connects with readers by sharing stories about her own dog, Rogue, throughout the book. Covering a wide range of topics, the text begins with how to choose a dog and prepare its new home. The text then explains how to train and groom a pet dog as well as how to communicate and bond with the animal. Readers are encouraged to treat a dog as a member of the family. She cautions, “Never do anything to a dog that you would not like done to you.” The text uses a conversational style that young readers will find easy to understand. “Did you know?” and “Doggie sense” sections appear in colorful boxes. The well-organized pages feature colored headings, bullet points in the shape of dog bones and paw prints, and bright backgrounds. Every page contains illustrations or photographs to accompany the text. Browne is Irish, so American readers may notice a few different terms. For example, a leash is called a “lead.” However, these different terms are not abundant and do not interfere with the content.