Woof-Man:
A Woman's Guide to her
Man's Inner Canine
By Kim Gordon
with Illustrations by Jillian Slater

Kim Gordon has written this humorous guide meant to help women understand the men in their lives by making comparisons to breeds of dogs. The book often has the reader saying "yes, that's right!" or "I know that dog - er, man!"

For example: Meet the Sheepdog. He is the sure thing, a guarantee. Gordon finds there are only two stages to the Sheepdog; one is the "at rest" mode and the other is "puttering". If you do not find him sleeping or relaxing you will find him meandering around just looking to see what is going on and get into something.

His human counterpart is actually very talented with his puttering; he can create art or fix things but just as a hobby. He will never want to do anything like this as a profession. After all, he is just puttering.

The sheepdog is wonderful with puppies and children and is not the least bit concerned when the chaos level gets too high. Sound like anyone you know?

Or take The Dingo. Here is a dog very close to his wolf roots. Ms. Gordon finds that Dingoes are all attractive in a bad boy, James Dean sort of way. He can turn on the charm and become a sweet lovable lap dog one minute and the next minute he's out there checking out the neighborhood to see what else is around.

He's never going to be domesticated and can't stand the feel of a collar or leash. Now this must sound like someone you know.

There are many other examples including The Dachshund, Golden Retriever, Bulldog and even the Bichon Frische.

It's a fun book and Jillian Slater's illustrations make it even more fun. Take time to laugh at the male-female "situation" and you may find it's not as bad as you think. At least not once you can identify the dogs in your life.

Reviewed by Peggy Gordon

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