| The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me | 
 enlarge | Author: Jon Katz
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  49 reviews
Sales Rank: 18198
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 0812972503
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.700974751
EAN: 9780812972504
ASIN: 0812972503
Publication Date: September 13, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
“Dogs are blameless, devoid of calculation, neither blessed nor cursed with human motives. They can’t really be held responsible for what they do. But we can.”
–from The Dogs of Bedlam Farm
When Jon Katz adopted a border collie named Orson, his whole world changed. Gone were the two yellow Labs he wrote about in A Dog Year, as was the mountaintop cabin they loved. Katz moved into an old farmhouse on forty-two acres of pasture and woods with a menagerie: a ram named Nesbitt, fifteen ewes, a lonely donkey named Carol, a baby donkey named Fanny, and three border collies.
Training Orson was a demanding project. But a perceptive dog trainer and friend told Katz: “If you want to have a better dog, you will just have to be a better goddamned human.” It was a lesson Katz took to heart. He now sees his dogs as a reflection of his willingness to improve, as well as a critical reminder of his shortcomings. Katz shows us that dogs are often what we make them: They may have their own traits and personalities, but in the end, they are mirrors of our own lives–living, breathing testaments to our strengths and frustrations, our families and our pasts.
The Dogs of Bedlam Farm recounts a harrowing winter Katz spent on a remote, windswept hillside in upstate New York with a few life-saving friends, ugly ghosts from the past, and more livestock than any novice should attempt to manage. Heartwarming, and full of drama, insight, and hard-won wisdom, it is the story of his several dogs forced Katz to confront his sense of humanity, and how he learned the places a dog could lead him and the ways a doge could change him.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 44 more reviews...
I'm glad it was recommended to me November 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I can understand some of the criticisms of this book, but not the one made by the person who said Katz made locals appear stupid. I noted admiration & gratitude for the support of his neighbors. I think the dedication to his animals is admirable as well. Yes, he does dwell on his own foibles but in a grounded way that recognizes both weaknesses and strengths. I think parts of this book are even profound (mainly the satisfaction from the hard work his farm requires through the winter & how much he loves being a part of it) I did find the references to his past that were not a part of the writing of this book made me wonder what had happened, but not enough to want to read the previous books. I think the dark past and scars eluded to are things that he has dealt with, and what I enjoy reading about are the lessons he is learning at this stage in his life. I found my library has an audio recording of the next book he wrote about his farm. I hoping that it is an equally enjoyable 'read'.
 good book May 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
it is a shame for him to start out with a good dog and a good book and then turn himself into real jackass -- he should have stuck with his labs - they are suited more to him - fat and lazy - hope no one buys anymore of his books - and maybe he will have to get a real job instead of making money off of a dog he killed!!!!!
 The Dogs of Bedlam Farm May 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is one of the best books about dogs I have read. Jon Katz has a way of writing that makes you feel the laughter and the pain. There are times when reading this book that you will literally be laughing out loud. HE is a very descriptive writer. I would (and have) recommend this book to friends. It is a must read for not just dog lovers but anyone who just needs a good book.
A Fun Book April 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found this book to be a fun, enjoyable, quick read. If you love animals, you will love this book. It has dogs, sheep, a ram and donkeys. The best part of this book is the parts that deal with the dogs. I recommend it.
--Gerard Zemek, husband of author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"
 Not necessarily a dog person March 7, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
The reviewer comments on the back cover of this book say "An inspiring portrait of the human-animal bond...". "Funny, touching, and insightful...". "Rewarding memoir...". I might have said as much about other books on humans and animals, but not this one.
Jon Katz tells us straight out that his goal in taking on the care of three border collies, a herd of sheep, and two donkeys is to better himself, to "become a better human being". It's an admirable goal - but at what sacrifice? When does it seem a good idea to experiment on animals for your own so-called personal growth? What kind of growth is that really?
Obviously I am in a different camp from Katz. Long ago I concluded that there is no animal on this earth who is safe from humans. I also concluded that human destruction of much of the natural world means that some animals, including cats and dogs, no longer have a natural habitat, that in fact their natural habitat now is with us, in our homes. A corollary: it is our responsibility to care for homeless dogs and cats humanely (which does not mean killing them); we created this situation and we are responsible for them. I offer this paragraph as a disclosure that explains part of the reason I take issue with the way Katz approaches the animals he takes on.
Katz sells his mountain hideaway (the subject of previous books) and purchases a run-down farm in upper New York state. He brings his three dogs there and accepts delivery of 15 sheep and the first donkey. Later he travels to the farm of a self-described "donkey lady" and purchases another, younger donkey as companion for the first. He works with his dogs, trying to train them to herd the sheep, and he spends much of each day cleaning, repairing, doing the chores associated with this life. He also spends part of his day writing about it and appears to spend nearly 100% of his waking hours trying to figure it all out. By which I mean he sorts through his relationship with the different animals and comes to conclusions about himself, those animals, and other people and their animals. Forcing himself to be responsible for all of these animals is supposed to make him a better person.
What others have characterized as "introspection" I see as justification. Katz spends endless paragraphs justifying actions that he suspects others may see as wrong somehow. He tells us honestly what trainers have told him (that, for example, he needs to stop yelling at his dogs) and that he bemoans his failures as a human being, and then he obstinately reverts to pattern (keeps yelling at his dogs). It is as if he wants to become a better person but retain all of his prejudices and habits in the process.
Again and again he describes occasions when he has gone against the advice of people he trusts, only to find out that their advice was good. A trusted trainer said don't bring another puppy into the mix until you have resolved the issues with Homer. Katz wants a new puppy so he gets it anyway, only to find out after much work with all of the dogs that perhaps that wasn't such a swell idea. I can't help but conclude that he is going after what Jon wants rather than what the dogs want or need.
When Katz wants a new dog he heads for the breeder. He chooses a breed and a specific puppy for its characteristics. He wants a border collie to herd sheep. He wants a labrador for companionship. He snipes at those who frown on obtaining dogs from breeders with this argument: some people adopt babies but most of us want one of our own. Is that a fair comparison, though? The comparison fails on more than one level:
*When Katz goes to a breeder it's like he's going to an adoption agency, not "having his own". He also deludes himself by assuming he can specify exactly the dog he wants. Even when you choose a puppy of a breed that tends to have certain characteristics, there is no guarantee that the puppy will grow up to be the dog you expect. Katz's own experiences with different border collies are testament to this variability in dogs. All dogs. (not to mention all people)
*Even the best breeders produce dogs that are "not acceptable": dogs they can't sell. These dogs are a result of the breeding process. Even the champion dogs tend to have physical or mental issues that are genetic, a result of the breeding process. The best breeders will claim that they find homes for all of their dogs, whether or not they are "perfect". But every time a breeder's dog goes out the door the people who take that dog do not instead take another dog that needs a home. Thus breeders contribute to pet overpopulation and contribute as well to the population of genetic misfits.
*Approximately 40% of the dogs in shelters are purebred dogs. Many breeder dogs do not come to good ends.
*Katz ignores statistics because he wants his own chosen dogs, not some "rescue", even though he has rescued dogs in the past, from inappropriate homes. Therefore he justifies his decision.
When Katz takes out his rifle and shoots a feral cat it is at the end of many paragraphs explaining he never thought he'd ever shoot anything and his dogs were being attacked and he did not have a choice. Actually, he did have a choice, but it would have taken more work of the kind he chooses not to do. It would also have labeled him some kind of bleeding heart there in the country, and we can't have that. He desperately wants (maybe needs) approval from the old-time "real" farmers and ranchers. Katz is no lazy person. He simply makes his choices for his own comfort and supposed better-personhood rather than for animals.
Katz does come to the conclusion that he cannot provide the kind of home needed by his sweet Homer. After agonizing and justifying this decision - a justification not needed, believe me - he places Homer with a family that can give him what he needs. In this Katz has done the right thing. He wears the hair shirt, however, over and over expressing distress that it was his own bad training practices that complicated life for Homer and made it necessary for him to go to another home. Enough already. He protests too much.
I have come to the odd conclusion that perhaps Katz is not the dog person he says he is.
He would say he's not a "Dog Person" too, but his definition of "Dog Person" is not what I mean. He describes his sister and others he has met as dog persons, and what he means is people who actively rescue "unadoptable" dogs, who care for them with every last scrap of their incomes, who let them overrun their lives in every respect, shutting out people - except other "Dog People" who meet the same definition. This type dog person is a small subset of the whole, the dog people I know personally.
Katz is not afraid to reveal what he sees are the problems in his own personality: a lack of patience, a tendency toward anger, especially quick anger. He refers frequently to a childhood of chaos where he learned these ways of keeping other people at bay. He obviously truly wants to find and keep a genuine long-lasting closeness to those who matter to him, and does not want to continue to alienate friends and family with his bursts of anger or silence.
He finds his salvation in the animals. Through them he learns patience especially. Through them he harnesses his will toward the care of others. Through them he finds a connection to his sister that had been lost. Clearly this is the message of the book. Animal people will all tell you that animals change you, make you better than you were. I have no argument with that. What concerned me throughout this book was the total me-ness of it. It was always about Katz and what he wanted and needed from the animals. Even though he went on various trips to find out what the animals needed, the need of the donkey to find her "inner donkeyness", for example, ultimately he did these things because they would make him a better person. There is something backwards about this approach that simply bothered me the whole time I read this book.
At the end of the book Katz is laying in supplies and readying the farm for another winter. We are expected to believe that he has found his place at last. I for one doubt it. It was good enough for one book but the adventure will not be enough for many more.
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