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| Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog | 
 enlarge | Author: Ted Kerasote
Publisher: Harcourt
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $4.49
You Save: $20.51 (82%)
New (57) Used (51) Collectible (5) from $2.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  152 reviews
Sales Rank: 1920
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6
ISBN: 0151012709
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.7092
EAN: 9780151012701
ASIN: 0151012709
Publication Date: July 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog January 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found this book just a few months after having a dog "put down". The entire content of the book touched me...a book about a dog, a book about a man, a book about nature and it's inhabitants. This book is for anyone who has ever thought they wanted an animal in their lives. It is a book for anyone who thinks about the environment. It is a book for anyone who longs or is an outdoor activist. Most of all, it is a book everyone, who has ever loved, should read.
Merle's Door, a book written with true first hand contents January 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The author of this book, has written the contents so that you will feel like you are walking in his footsteps. It is young reader safe, so that means no sexual inserts. It was written in a first person way, that allows the reader to feel that you would have liked to have been part of the true story. The contents will take you on a true journey from laughter to tears of sorrow.
For dog lovers this is a MUST READ !!! book. I being one to only read non-fiction books have put this at the top of all of the books that I have read in the past 60 years plus. Being a professional dog handler, I feel that the contents are a must read for other handlers.
 lucky author and dog January 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I grew up on farms in Nebraska. Our many dogs were never leashed. Some lived short lives, some lived longer ones. I lived in Sheridan, Wyoming for a couple of years. I had a semi-free ranging dog. He dissapeared. I moved to very rural Eagle River, Alaska. I had a golden retriever who was second in command among the many dogs which roamed freely. One night half dozen of them went for a night walk. Only one returned, badly beat up. An elder surmised that the rest, including my dear Sam, were killed by wolves. I moved to rural Wisconsin and had another golden for a few years. He was sitting on my property when a young motorcyclist lost control and struck my dog who was killed instantly. A few years ago I moved deeper into Wisconsin's wilds. A couple years ago, I got a half Lab/ half Golden Retriever named Walks Far. Like Merle, given the choice, he would chase the coyotes in the woods behind my land in a second. I don't let him. I keep him inside the house during Deer Hunting season. He is allowed to roam as long as I am home, and even then I keep an occasional eye on him. I and my dogs have lived as remotely as the author and Merle. We were not as fortunate. I, like Ted, have fallen in love with a dog and I will be overly protective with him (the dog not Ted) in order to protect my own heart.
The book was great Ted. Walks Far licked tears from my cheeks as I finished it.
Beautifully written! January 16, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A wonderfully written dog book that will have you laughing and crying from beginning to end. I have a 2 year old yellow lab so I can relate to many of the stories Ted tells. I loved the way he would talk for Merle because if you're an animal owner we do the "little" speaking voice for our pets as well. I know I do! Many of the times Ted would talk for Merle, it had me thinking that's probably what my dog says too :-)
I liked the way he wrote about the facts regarding wild and domesticated animals; it sort of gives the reader an insight on the subject and makes you think differently. Maybe if more of us can train our dog like this (some of us can't because we don't live in such a rural area) our dogs would act in a different way.
I give this book 5 stars and recommend to all dog lovers!
Oh, Merle. January 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Merle's Door is about the life and death of Ted Kerasote's dog. It's also packed with research that combines with Kerasote's experiences with Merle to form a perspective unique from the prevailing ones about dog behavior and sociology that say dogs require submission to an alpha figure in order to be satisfied. Kerasote believes that the independence Merle was allowed made him a smarter, happier dog with greater logical ability than most domesticated dogs and a more distinct personality. The many studies he quotes seem to back that up.
It's easy for a dog book to be sappy and maudlin, but Kerasote never once falls into that trap even when describing Merle's final weeks. He's fantastic at translating Merle's actions into speech and emotion, and it rarely comes across as anthropomorphism.
The account of Merle's death (and that of his best dog friend, Brower) is absolutely heart-crushing. I bawled as if he were my own. The research alone is reason enough to own this book and refer to it frequently, but ultimately Merle's Door is a great biography of a great dog. It shows what potential every dog has and opens a new way to think about our relationships with them. Very highly recommended.
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