The Trouble With Dogs!: winning Dad over!
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Dad reckons the trouble with dogs is that they take over your life.
But really Dad is just as much in love with Rosie and Dave as the rest of the family.
Rosie and Dave were brought home from the animal shelter in Let's Get a Pup (also by Bob Graham). Since then Rosie has cemented her place on the couch but Dave just keeps getting wilder.
One day Dave steals a cupcake and that is the last straw - the family gets help - an animal trainer is called in. He's a Brigadier and trains Dave like he is in the army. The trouble is, Dave loses his some of his spirit which the family loves.
So they determine to tell the Brigadier that they don't need any more lessons. But when the Brigadier arrives Dave wins him over too and soon the Brigadier is agreeing with Kate that "shouting hurts Dave's feelings and we should always be polite to our dogs."
In the end Dad says that the real trouble with dogs is that: "their ears are so silky."
One of the great joys of Bob Graham's books - aside from the fresh and funny story lines - is the fun of scouring the pages for characters from other books hidden in the pages. In this book the family from 'Oscar's Half Birthday' - makes an appearance.
This book is about animals and loving them of course, but it's also about family time - there are picnics and walks in the park - and about family compromises - Dad has to move his chair to keep everyone happy.
The Trouble With Dogs! was written and illustrated by Bob Graham
If you enjoyed this post, we also highly recommend Oscar's Half Birthday - another picture book by Bob Graham.Names in this book: Kate, Rosy, Dave
