Crazy Bitch: Living with canine compulsive disorder: Book Review

I suppose you could say I'm indulging in some mischief by posting a book review with a giveaway today.  

However, if you read  Crazy Bitch - Living with canine compulsive disorder by Peggy Tibbetts, you'll see that it is a book filled with mischief:  genetic mischief and human mischief. 


A dog with mental illness and bullying neighbors create a perfect storm in this compelling non-fiction dog tale.

Yes, you read that correctly:  mental illness, not behavior problems.  I want to be very clear about that.

This book is about a dog with mental illness.  It is also about a dog lover who adopted that dog when she was still a pup, did everything she possibly could to make sure that dog had a good life, yet faced bullying by neighbors who made that dog's life a living hell.

Venus ©Peggy Tibbetts

From the book jacket:

"Mental illness is still a taboo subject in our society.  No one likes to admit someone in their family is "crazy."  What does one say when the crazy one is a dog?

"Meet Venus, a beautiful white mixed breed.  Part Akbash, part Lab, part clown, part escape artist, part guard dog, part wild dog... she had more personalities than Sybil, the most famous psychiatric patient in the world.  Meet Zeus, the kind and gentle Alaskan Malamute who was the love of her life.  Venus and Zeus loved hiking and skijoring in the mountains.  They enjoyed swimming and boating together.  They shared a life most dogs dream of - until everything changed.

"With a diagnosis of canine compulsive disorder as her singular clue, Peggy Tibbetts embarked on an investigation into every detail of Venus's life as it unraveled.  What began as a case study of her dog's mental disease led to a hard lesson in the golden rule of dog behaviorists.  There are no bad dogs, only bad people.  Crazy Bitch is a complex love story between two big dogs.  Venus and Zeus will make you laugh while they break your heart."

Zeus and Venus  ©Peggy Tibbetts

I almost did not read this book. It sounded heartbreaking and, truth be told, I'm not good with animal stories.

Actually, this is a heartbreaking story.  Once I began reading, I couldn't put it down.  

Crazy Bitch is not just another warm fuzzy tribute to a dog memoir.  Tibbetts takes us on a journey of love and beyond-the-norm commitment to a dog. She looks for solutions until they simply run out.  Along the way, she consults veterinarians, dog trainers, dog friends and does exhaustive research to rehabilitate her dog, Venus.

Going the extra mile turns into miles and miles, especially when neighbors - involved with the Tibbetts in town politics conflict - decide to take out their frustrations on the dog.  

You see, Tibbetts blogged about her experiences with Venus.  The neighbors, reading the blog, knew just how to target Venus in their efforts to bully the Tibbetts family.

Like OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) in humans, Canine Compulsive Disorder (CCD) is a medical condition.  A dog with CCD does normal canine things in an abnormally repetitive, frenzied destructive way, sometimes to the point of self mutilation.  Think barking, tail chasing, spinning, digging, scratching, licking, pacing, fence running.

In January 2010, the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts Medical school and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, identified the canine gene 'chromosome 7 locus' as an indicator of susceptibility to compulsive disorder, in breeds carrying that gene.  Breeds at risk for CCD include German Shepherds, Dobermans, Border collies, Jack Russell Terriers, Great Danes, Retrievers and English Bull Terriers.

As author, Tibbetts, points out: minus any complications such as physical illness or aggression, CCD is treatable with prescription drugs and behavior modification.  CCD does not have to be a death sentence.

Crazy Bitch is a great read.  Not only is it an excellent look into the world of canine mental illness, but also in coping with bully behavior. Tibbetts writes in a style that draws you in, as if you're a friend.  Within a few pages, you'll find yourself caring more than perhaps you'd like to about Venus and cheering on the author in her quest to provide her dog with the best life possible.

Peggy Tibbetts has graciously offered to give away a copy of Crazy Bitch to one very lucky Talking Dogs reader. Use the rafflecopter below to enter now! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Peggy Tibbetts is the author of five other books: Carly's Ghost, The Road to Wierd, Rumors of War, PFC Liberty Stryker and Letters to Juniper, a 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist.  She was managing editor and columnist at Writing-World.com.  She has also worked as an associate producer of educational videos for Upper Midwest Films, contributing editor for Children's Magic Window magazine, and Children's Writing Resource Editor at Inkspot.com.  She lives with her family in silt, Colorado, where she enjoys hiking and skiing with her dogs in the Rocky Mountains.  Peggy blogs at Advice from a Caterpillar, From the Styx, and YA Authors You've Never Heard of.

Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and wherever ebooks are sold.

* I received one copy of Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder from the author, Peggy Tibbetts, in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Alfie’s Blog, and My Brown Newfies for hosting Monday Mischief!   

We've also linked up with the weekly Fido’s Freebie Friday bloghop. Thanks to  Dog Tipper,  Doggies and Stuff and All Things Dog Blog you’ll find lots of pet-related giveaways below (and, if you have a blog, be sure to link up your giveaways, too!)  

Crazy Bitch Dog Book Giveaway Winner

Drum roll, please.  We have a winner!

Congratulations to

JoAnn Stancer

She's won a copy of Crazy Bitch - Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder

 by Peggy Tibbetts!

Missed our book review and want to know more?

Click here!

Didn't win, but would like to purchase your own copy?

Crazy Bitch - Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder is available for purchase on Amazon,  Barnes and Noble, and wherever ebooks are sold. 

Follow-up Friday: Senior Dogs, Book Giveaway, Rooting Puppy

I'm happy to be joining Heart Like a Dog in the follow-up Friday blog hop this week.  This is the blog hop that lets you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.  Hosted by FUF creator, Jodi at Heart Like a Dog and co-hosted this week by Flea from Jones Natural Chews. 

First of all, I have a confession to make about the Apple Cheddar Cheese Scone recipe:  the dogs love them.  In fact, they pretty much go crazy with much excited panting and a bit of high pitched keening (that would be Jeffie), begging for these scones.  Since none are allergic to any of the ingredients and none have a weight problem, we indulge them.

Thank you to everyone who left such lovely comments about Jeffie this past Wednesday.  He actually answers to "my beautiful boy."   And though he still adores Rita, he was thrilled with the flirtatious comment from Harper Lee.

All the charts and calculations to determine when a dog is a senior kind of amuse me.  A few years ago I wrote a blog post about Tucker and Lucy and their ages.  According to one chart that factored in breed and size, they both should have been dead.  Instead, they were approaching their 14th and 13th birthdays.

I don't need a chart to know how much joy my beautiful, soulful boy brings to my life! 

A reminder about  Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder Book Review - If you haven't already read my review of this nonfiction book about canine mental illness and bullying, you should.  Plus, author Peggy Tibbetts has graciously offered to giveaway one copy to a lucky Talking Dogs blog reader.  Enter now!

Remember all the puppy photos of Rosie with dirt on her nose and when I shared the video of Rosie vole hunting with Rudy's assistance?  Well, my little black piglet continues to root around in the dirt, hunting for voles.  Not a good thing with the monsoons of rain and flash flooding we had last week.  The vet confirmed a spot of fungal infection on her snoot yesterday.  It will be pretty interesting to see if we can keep the salve on enough of the time to ditch the cooties!

And, finally, if I can get it together to scan some old photos, next week I'm hoping to share another farm story.  In honor of Flea's first FUF co-hosting gig, I'm thinking I'll tell you why it's not a good idea to turn your windshield wipers on when you're taking geese to the pond for a swim.  Good idea?

Follow-up Friday: Cooties, Adoptable Pets, Christmas, Farm Stories

I'm happy to be joining Heart Like a Dog in the follow-up Friday blog hop this week.  This is the blog hop that lets you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.  Hosted by FUF creator, Jodi at Heart Like a Dog and co-hosted this week by JoAnn at Sand Spring Chesapeakes.

Rosie's nose fungus is improving according to our vet.  She's very tired of having her "cootie" treated and I'm tired of not being able to kiss her snoot.  I think she's developing a complex, since every time her nose gets near us, we pull back.  Poor thing!
 

Nope, no cooties, but an awfully good Rosie-nose-shot!

Thanks to my For Love of a Dog jewelry business, I've already been thinking about Christmas for quite some time and I'm excited about two different "blogville" events.  This year I'll be participating in Kolchak's Advent Calendar for Dog Lovers and The Lazy Pitbull's Holiday Gift Guide.
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If you missed last week's Dog Song Saturday, you really should fetch it now. Old Dogs is an original dog song by Larry Garrett.  Read the lyrics and take a little walk down memory lane because you'll be thinking about your own sweet best friend.  Tomorrow's dog music video is a great official music video featuring an original dog song, I've Got a Dog by Sandra Boynton.

Adoptable pets - This week I featured both a beautiful black cat, Bagheera, and a gorgeous black Pitbull, Barkley, in the Tuesday's Tails blog hop.  If you haven't already shared them... please do!

Currently in foster care, Wanda the Bloodhound is looking for love.

And be sure to check out our adoptable dog this Sunday.  Wanda is a Bloodhound dog pulled from an animal shelter and on her way to a rescue in CT, Bandit's Place, where she'll be waiting to find her perfect forever home. Don't miss this post - great photos!  (And yes, it will be linked to Tuesday's Tails blog hop.)

We have a book giveaway winner - Congratulations to JoAnn!  She was selected via Random.org as the winner of a copy of Crazy Bitch - Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder by Peggy Tibbetts.

Mrs and Mr Peeper gave up motorized transportation due to trauma.

Chauffeuring Mr and Mrs Peeper, my most recent farm story provoked a lot of comments and I did pretty well - at first - responding to them.  
Emma, no one was hurt!  However, this incident gives you a good idea of why my glasses always need repair/adjusting.  
Yup, we got pictures, Pam... which is exactly what caused this chaos!  
I hooted at Dawn's comment:  Too bad they don't make seat belts for geese. 
Jackie, I wish I had some photos of all of us keeping cool down at the big pond.  Better yet, video footage of my tripawd Bennie, rolling off his float to chomp, chomp, chomp after the geese. 
Linda is right!  If only I could invent a gigantic windshield wiper thingy that parks and gold courses could use to discourage geese.  Just think of the money!

I have rough drafts or outlines of other farm stories:  my heart horse's foaling, raising my cattle herd from day old bottle calves, haying with the draft horses, plus some dogs-on-the-farm stories.  Preferences, anyone?