Stop and smell the fire hydrant

By Tracey Weiss

Editor

Dog behavioralist publishes a book about giving dogs room to just be dogs

When you take your dog for a walk, let them sniff the grass, stare at squirrels, and enjoy their time. That’s the message dog behavioralist Debbie Sheridan wants dog owners to know.

“People need to understand where a dog is coming from,” she said. “I train humans. My job is to help you with your dog’s behavior. You need to understand what they are trying to tell us. We don’t want people to fix dogs. We want people to understand dogs.”

Debbie Sheridan and her niece, Cora Nair, hang out with Sally the dog, the star of their newly-published book, “Sally Decides.” Photo by Tracey Weiss

The town resident has taken her message and published it in a colorful book that also serves as a tribute to her own dog, Sally.

“Sally Decides” offers a simple and fun story about how to let your dog make choices, treat them with respect and better understand their behavior. It’s made for children ages 3-9, and in addition to Sally’s story, includes an activity section and some tips for taking care of your canine.

“It’s a great book for kids and adults,” Sheridan said, “for anybody who has a heart that’s partly paws. Everybody feels better if they have a choice.”

One reviewer on Amazon said, “Sally Decides is a beautifully expressed book that explores dog emotion and how we can be more sensitive to it, and why it is right to treat dogs with kindness and understanding. Written for children it should have a far wider audience because the lessons it explores are as valid for adults as they are for children. The illustrations are fun and appealing, and the message is one we all need to hear. Kindness Only!!”

“We’ve become a society that expects a dog to be a certain way,” Sheridan said. “We want people to say, what does the dog need? With children we love them for who they are. With dogs, people want to change things.”

Sheridan gives credit to her niece, Cora Nair, 13, with whom she is very close, for helping her craft the book. “Cora said we should write this book, but it was a lot,” she added. “it was truly a joint effort. We spend a lot of time together. She has a wonderful heart.”

“I said, ‘let’s do it,’” Cora added. “We need to get the message out there. Dogs are the ultimate people pleasers, and we need to think about what’s best for the dog, not what’s best for me.

“We did research and learned we could publish it through Kindle Direct Publishing.

Laying out the book was harder than they thought, but the day it finally went through was also the day Sheridan’s other dog, Fitzy, passed away.

“We were so sorry about Fitzy, but we got published. We were excited,” Cora said.

Fitzy was one of the reasons Sheridan, who had counseled adolescents and adults with substance dependency, started her business, Debbie’s 4 Dogs several years ago. She has a certification in family dog mediation from the University of Washington; she is also an end-of-life doula for companion animals through her education at the University of Vermont; and a certified dog bite prevention educator with Dognostics (a career and training center for professionals and pet owners. She is on the board of Living The Dream Dog Rescue and certified in emotional CPR. She’s currently working on her Pet Loss Group Specialist certificate through UVM after losing Fitzy in February.

Fitzy, she said, changed her life 11 years ago, with a call from one of Sheridan’s daughters, with a plea to go get a puppy, a husky mix, at a shelter in Vermont.

“I drove 3.5 hours to get this dog, who was malnourished, and had a compromised immune system, among other issues,” she said. “Then we learned he had a sister. We came home with two puppies.”

Fitzy and Stella became part of the family, but it wasn’t easy. “Fitzy screamed if someone wasn’t with him” and he has always had issues, she said. “I hired a trainer and I wasn’t happy. I read books. I didn’t like the advice.” So, she ventured out on her own to find the answers, and in the process, it has turned into her passion, to help others understand their dogs.

Sadly, Stella passed away at a young age, and adopting Sally was a great move for Fitzy, as a companion, and for Sheridan’s family. She is a loving and happy dog.

“Sally loves the book,” Sheridan said. “She wants everybody to have choices. She spent her first two years on a chain and she had no choices.”

Sheridan will be donating copies of the book to area libraries. It is also available for purchase on Amazon.

And both Sheridan and Cora are planning their next project—a book about Fitzy. WHL