GIVEAWAY and Guest Post - "Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You to Know"

"Things Your Dog 

Doesn't Want You to Know"

By: Hy Conrad & Jeff Johnson

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Dear Human:

Your dog probably puzzles you. Most of us do that. And most of us would like to keep things as they are: humans in the dark, dogs with the upper hand. 

But we dogs are about to let you in a little secret. Okay, a lot of secrets. We graduated first in our obedience class three times. This should tell you something. Puppies know that they're being cute. They're using you. We don't sound anything like those silly voices you use to imitate us. We hate those ridiculous names you give some of us. Moonbeam is not a dignified name for a mutt. You might want to check your herb garden for fertilizer. We are only wearing this stupid birthday hat so we can get some cake. No self-respecting dog cares about his birthday. We are not spoiled, certainly not in comparison to teenage girls. We are in charge of the house. We let you pretend that you are. 

We'd be lost without you. We love you. 

It's all in our new book, Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You To Know, as told to humans Hy Conrad and Jeff Johnson. Even Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin) raves about us Inside you'll find revelations such as the reason we at the sofa (leather tastes very similar to rawhide), and what we really think of the costumes you dress us up in. 

I'm not alone. Ten other courageous canines have stepped forward to tell you what your dog won't - every last dirty, hairy bit of it. If you have dogs, love dogs, or have ever been baffled by a dog, this book is a must-have.

See my post from yesterday for how much I LOVED this book. 

I was lucky enough that author Hy Conrad took a minute to answer some of the questions I had. 

Thank you Mr. Conrad!!

A word with Hy Conrad:

The Brunette Librarian - - I simply love the book, "Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You to Know," when you were writing it, did you have a favorite dog? Gabby and Sophie are mine!

HY

I think writers, being naturally lazy, love characters that are easy to write for. From that viewpoint, Axelrod and Tinkberbell are total favorites. With Axelrod, we got to write a lot of dumb dog jokes. And Tinkerbell turned out to be the snottiest, most superior animal on the planet, which somehow came easy to us, too.

When we wanted to get sentimental and take the long view about what dogs and humans mean to each other, we turned to Sophie, our old soul. Gabby was a late addition to the pack, when we found we were missing the young voice of a self-obsessed girl.

The Brunette Librarian - - What was your inspiration?

HY

Jeff and I had wanted to do a project together for years. One night we were watching an infomercial for a book, “Things the Banks Don’t Want You to Know.” Two seconds later the title for a new book came to us as a joke. Ten seconds after that we realized we had a great book idea. We started it as a blog, which is now our website (thingsyourdog.com). Before we knew what was happening, we had a book deal and a mandate to write 115 of these suckers.

The Brunette Librarian - - How did you come up with your secrets? Were they secrets you found out in life?

HY

The first 60 were fairly easy: Why do dogs love to stick their heads out of car windows? Why do dogs dig holes in the backyard? We would do a little research then see what made us laugh.

We discovered that half the fun was in creating the 11 distinct characters and having each one take us on a little journey. For instance, we started with one story for Sarge, our working dog. At the end he loses his job. The idea quickly came that every story would be about him getting a new job then losing it: drug-sniffing dog; junk-yard dog; service dog. When Sarge finally gets adopted by a regular family, he still thinks it’s a job. But it’s a job he likes, if he can just figure out it is.

To get back on topic, I think the one secret we discovered is that everyone makes up stories about what their dog is thinking. But the great fun of dogs is that you can never really know.

The Brunette Librarian - - Have you seen the new blog  http://dog-shaming.com/ yet? What do you think about it?

HY

We have mixed feelings about that website. On the one hand, yes, it’s hilarious. On the other hand, we want you to buy our book. It’s similar to how TV writers feel about reality shows. Yes, “Jersey Shore” is entertaining. But wouldn’t you rather watch a comedy or drama written by trained professionals with years of experience who have mortgage payments to make? I guess the short answer is “Buy our book!”

The Brunette Librarian - - Do you have any dogs now that live with you?

HY

We both had dogs as kids. As an adult, I discovered I’d become allergic to most breeds. Miniature schnauzers, I found, are hypo-allergenic, don’t shed and are wonderfully adventurous. We are now on our third generation of schnauzers, Charlie and Nelson. The others are buried at the top of our hill in Vermont. Nelson loves to pee on the marker, for some reason.

The Brunette Librarian - - Finally, do you have a funny dog story of your own to share?

HY
We once had a dog who’d lost some of the use of his hindquarters. One day, I was carrying him through the lobby of a hotel and stopped to talk to the manager. A few seconds later, I realized Jake had just pooped in my hand. I continued standing there, talking and pretending that nothing had happened. Then we went right up to the room and both had a bath.

Want to win a copy of 

"Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You To Know"

I'm lucky enough to have a copy to giveaway. 

Simply leave a comment with your e-mail, so we can contact you. 

Giveaway is open until September 29th! 

Good luck, you know you're gonna love this hilarious and creative book

This is my Daisy Jane - Getting ready to tell me something I didn't want to know!