While on a camping trip, Ted Kerasote met a dog—a Labrador mix—who was living on his own in the wild. They became attached to each other, and Kerasote decided to name the dog Merle and bring him home. There, he realized that Merle’s native intelligence would be diminished by living exclusively in the human world. He put a dog door in his house so Merle could live both outside and in. A deeply … deeply touching portrait of a remarkable dog and his relationship with the author, Merle’s Door explores the issues that all animals and their human companions face as their lives intertwine, bringing to bear the latest research into animal consciousness and behavior as well as insights into the origins and evolution of the human-dog partnership. Merle showed Kerasote how dogs might live if they were allowed to make more of their own decisions, and Kerasote suggests how these lessons can be applied universally.
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I was expecting a little more story and a little less historical data
OK, I’m a dog lover. But one does not need to be, to enjoy this book. It is a testimonial to raising a dog with as much freedom as possible. The author is aware that Merle, his adopted dog, is an exceptional animal, having been out in the wild probably the entire first 6 months of his life. The story revolves around Ted, the author and how he and …
I loved it!! I have already recommended it to several friends! I’m an avid reader, but I lost sleep over this one because I couldn’t put it down and turn off the light!
Heartwarming story. Merle is a highly intelligent dog who teaches his man a lot about life and dogs. Ted, the author and dog partner, uses his adventures with Merle to teach us some lessons about respecting dogs, nature and people. I learned many details about wolves and coyotes and their relationship to modern domesticated dogs as well as some …
The dog stories were what I liked. I skipped some of the informative parts
Any Dog lover would want to read this book.
As an animal lover, especially of dogs, I found this book very interesting. It combines the base story with real scientific information that moves the book along and gives the reader phenomenal insight into the mind of a dog as interpreted by its human. An easy read with well developed characters any animal lover can relate to.
What Neil de Grasse Tyson is to astrophysics, Ted Kerasote is to dogs, yet Merle’s Door is also a human-dog partnership story. A beautifully written story combining scientific canine facts with a story as compelling as Racing in the Rain. With hundreds of scientific references, Kerasote explains the behavioral science of dogs in a manner as …
Excellent
I personally loved this book. I’m all about anything that includes animals, but particularly dogs. All dogs have my heart and Merle is one of my favorites. This story is very heartwarming and was easy to visualize as I read it. If you love dogs you will enjoy Merels Door.
I loved it!!!
Wow!
This is one of the most interesting and heart warming books I have ever read. Merle has become my imaginary friend and a surrogate for my two long gone Siberian Huskies. I found many of the well researched facts in this book fascinating. I loved this story and was very sorry when it was over. I truly believe that dogs are a person’s best …
The author opens your mind to how you read your dog (or other animals) and build a more positive and fulfilling relationship with that animal.
Great read, especially if you enjoy animals and green living.
Love dogs? You must read this book. It touches your heart, provides information that helps you understand your furry companion, and leads you on a journey we dog lovers cra e. Don’t pass this book by.
What a great book! You will love Merle and his human buddy. Besides the story of Merle, there is a lot of animal behavioral information, as well as historical info on dogs in general.
At first the author was so into lecturing about the origin of the domesticated dog that I began to feel he didn’t really have enough story to tell about Merle his extraordinary dog. I decided to stay with the book and found that the two were really about learning from each other. From that point of view, it did turn into a story worthy of the …
Such a wonderful story about the relationship between a man and his dog along with lots of information about the history of dogs’ attachment to humans, brain development and psychology. It was a truly original approach and fascinating.
I think I had a better relationship with my dogs because of this book. Plus, it’s great reading.
I do like the author’s writing style, and am totally envious that he lives the life I always wanted to live when I moved to Wyoming, but had a hard-scrabble existence. I now live in Alaska where dogs can be allowed to be a bit more free, but wild animals and the huge amount of firearms can cause issues with free-roaming dogs. All the research …