Watchdog and the Coyotes

by Bill Wallace, David Slonim (Illustrator)

Some dogs have a bark bigger than their bite. But Sweetie, The Great Dane, can't afford to bark -- or bite.
After three little nips and three masters, the next stop is the pound. So when the burglar comes calling, he waves his tail. When coyotes come prowling, he tries to make peace -- as they howl in scorn. They promise they'll return -- to eat his food, his friends, Red the Irish Setter, Poky the Beagle, and Sweetie for dessert!
If Sweetie can't protect them they'll all perish! How can he outfox twelve hungry coyotes?

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Humor, Kids, Literature, Young Adult

104 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Bill Wallace was an American teacher and later an author of children's books. He started writing to quiet down his fourth grade students, who loved his stories and encouraged him to make “real” books.

Bill Wallace grew up in Oklahoma. Along with riding their horses, he and his friends enjoyed campouts and fishing trips. Toasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories to scare one another, and catching fish was always fun.

Bill Wallace has won numerous children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.

Bill Wallace died from Lung cancer on January 30, 2012.

Former elementary school teacher; West Elementary School, Chickasha, OK, principal, since 1977, and physical education teacher. Speaker at schools and universities in various states, including State University of New York and University of South Florida.

AWARDS:

Bluebonnet Award from Texas Association of School Librarians and Children's Round Table and Sequoyah Children's Book Award from Oklahoma State Department of Education, both 1983, Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Nebraska Golden Sowers Award from Nebraska Library Association, 1985, all for A Dog Called Kitty; Central Missouri State University Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1984, and Pine Tree Book Award, 1985, both for Trapped in Death Cave.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read this when I was young. The last few years it kept coming back to me so I decided to revisit it. I'm glad I did. I adore this book. Very cute. Recommend for dog lovers.

[Ker Malkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was totally rad! Yeah, it's a children's book but dang, the humor in this one. Ha-ha. We follow the story of this Great Dane, Sweetie, who had some unfortunate experiences being a watchdog. He's now on his 3rd master and he'd lost the ability to smell the difference between fear and the "sneaky" fear. It's a dog thing. xD

I really liked David Slonim's illustrations in the book. It reminded me of a few cartoon dog movies back in the 80s and 90s. Screw my nostalgic switch; it's quite painful. But anyway, Sweetie, along the way, came to find some new friends, Red and Poky. And together, they find themselves trying to fight against these coyotes who'd come scavenging their meals every night. Red's too old and Poky's too small which leaves us to Sweetie who, in retrospect, lost the wits to bite and hurt others. And so they had started coming up with a plan.

There were a couple of heart-whelming moments in this book and again, the humor. It mostly came from Red. Old people/dogs are just funny. LOL. Overall, it was a quick and fun read. I wonder if that's what really dogs think about humans -- stupid creatures. Ha-ha.

[Candice Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids’ reactions to the book earned it the five star rating. I loved how much they got into it, sometimes worried and sometimes laughing, often asking me to read “just one more chapter.” This is such a cute book and I’m glad I got to share it with them.

[Megan (ReadingRover) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book!!! It was so cute!!! If you aren’t already aware I might as well tell you that basically any book told from the dogs POV is a win for me. Even if it ends up being a crappy book that alone starts it off on the positive side of things. Anyway that’s not the case here. This is a totally great book!!! It’s super comical and fun. The three dogs have really distinctive characteristics and personalities. You can’t go wrong with a big, softie of a Great Dane, an old, wise Irish setter and a tough, little beagle. They’re such an endearing little group of friends. Unfortunately for Sweetie the Great Dane the good old days don’t last long because coyotes start coming around stealing food and shelter from this motley trio. Red and Poky want to fight back but Sweetie is basically a wuss and won’t. Ok no-that sounds mean. Things run so much deeper than that for Sweetie in this fine piece of middle grade fiction. It’s basically a psychoanalytical journey starting back at his birth until the present trying to help him figure out why he won’t growl, bite, fight or stand up for himself. That Red though! He won’t let up and he keeps the talk therapy going. He has Sweetie tell them about everything from puppyhood on. Going into extra depth with his previous two masters and what led to this inability to defend himself and his friends. Thank god Sweetie gets to the bottom of things because if he hadn’t all three of those poor dogs would have been cold, hungry and maybe even dead because of the coyotes.
Ok so yes I’m making this whole thing sound much more sophisticated than it actually is. If a kid reads the book it’s going to be all about when to stand up for yourself and your friends and when to bite your tongue but thinking back there is totally more going on!!! So much deeper meaning. There’s all this talk about different types of fear, analyzing the situation before acting, and talking things out vs fighting. Deep stuff for a fun middle grade book told from the POV of dogs. There is also some snarky humor thrown in. Can’t go wrong with that!
I don’t know how this short book got such a lengthy and in depth review out of me but it did! Its also 2am and I’ve probably spent more time writing the review than I did reading the short book. Bottom line- it was a super cute fun book! I enjoyed it and wanted to pet all the dogs in it. Not the coyotes. Just the dogs. The coyotes were mean.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this cute little story out loud to my 8-9 year old boys and we loved it! Such a great message about doing the right thing, even if it's the hard thing. It was also fun to see the perspective of the dogs.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book. I should talk about how it teaches kids to stand up for themselves and be strong, but I just want to gush about how cute it was.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has a better message than many adult books that are out there.
Might have teared up, but you can't prove it...

[Thistle · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I got this book, I hadn't realized how young readers it was intended for. Grades 4-6. It took me just over an hour to read.

Positives: I believed the dogs as dogs. The people were reasonable and believable, too. I liked what little worldbuilding there was.

Negatives: Really only one. I'm not sure about the message this is sending kids who read it.

The story followed a Great Dane puppy. Even for a Great Dane he's big. Due to stuff in his past, he's careful not to hurt others, especially to not bite anyone.

He knows he's a watchdog, so when a burglar breaks in, he watches. Because he's a watchdog. So he watches. (That part was very cute.)

As the story goes on, a pack of coyotes (basically bullies) harass the puppy and his dog-friends. The pup has to learn that sometimes it's okay to fight.

That was my question/issue. ARE there times when you must fight? (Maybe? That's not a rhetorical question.) If I had a kid, I'd be okay with them believing it's okay to never fight.

Taken just as a story, I liked this book. The lesson left me feeling uneasy though, so rating it an okay instead of a liked.

[Emily Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kindergartener randomly picked this book out at our church’s library… solely based on the cover having dogs on it. I did not have high expectations and even doubted if we’d read it since we hadn’t read any chapter books with him yet. But our family loved it! My husband and I took turns reading a chapter to him each night and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it. It was suspenseful and funny, and bonus it had good lessons in it too. And maybe best of all, the chapters were perfectly short enough to allow us to read for just a few minutes and still have time for a few picture books before bed that he still enjoys reading with his little brother. This book set the bar pretty high for us!

[Heidi W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember reading this book when I was in like, fourth grade because a friend told me I should. It was pretty good for a kids book. The main character was likable and you rooted for him. I also remember dog character talking about coyotes eating them, not sure if that is a great writing for kids, showing they can handle adult subjects, like your pet getting murdered and eaten, or just bad. Well, I loved this book when I was a little kid and read a ton of the authors other books, so if you have kids at home, maybe give this one a shot.

[Haley Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember very little of this book but I came across the cover and vividly remember how much I loved it as a young kid. Bill Wallace was the first author whose work I really truly loved that I wasn't eased into by a parent.

I remember feeling like this was a great mystery book. There were all these characters who came in and out all the time, and they had big personalities. I was especially fond of the Irish Setter?

Maybe I will reread these books sometime soon

[Jessica Sloane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Wallace was my favorite childhood author. Now, as a 30-year-old, rereading some of my old favorites and reading some I never got around to, I remember why. There is always humor, an excellent element of friendship, and an adventure! I loved his books then and I still love them now.

[Carleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, how many times did I check this out of the library in 5th grade. At least five. I loved it and I still love it. It's so clever and sweet and funny.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book and can count as fantasy



Readddddddddddddddddd

[James Sanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot of fun reading this again. It was one of my favorites when I was in elementary school. Simple but fun story from a dog's POV learning to become a true watchdog.

[Lana Kamennof-sine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read for the young folk with plenty of solid content covered e.g. pacifism v bullying, clarity of expectations...

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! Used to read it as a kid all the time

[Kylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book about working together and becoming stronger!

[Truman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked that the watchdog didn't know how to attack a burglar. He only watched.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute!

[Dustin]

Read as a kid

[Angela Manchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to reading more by this author, with several adventure stories on the list. 5 star for Ari. 3.5 for me

[Cal Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

🐕‍🦺🦮🐕🐩🐶-Uriel

[KT Ell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read with my elementary and middle school aged kids! Cute story about a group of dogs, their friendship, and finding their strength while protecting their neighborhood.

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun chapter book to read with the kiddo. She really enjoyed the story.

[Kimberley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cutest little children's book. Sweetie prevails with humor and a tender heart.

[Rusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delightfully funny book that children who enjoy dogs would love. It was a most enjoyable read for me as an adult, too.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loooved this book when I got it as a kid. Read it over and over again.

I'm home for the holidays (2016), and there it was, on the bookshelf in my childhood bedroom. Decided to give it another read. I think it actually holds up pretty well! I like how much Wallace's dog characters feel like dogs - always doing stuff with their tails and ears, being aware of smells, and so on.

The illustrations, which I'd remembered fondly, are also fun, though I now realize that whoever did the internal illustrations seems to have no idea of what a coyote actually looks like. The dogs look great, though.

[Maritza Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this back in the 4th and 5th grade. I loved the story and the illustrations so much, I would draw the illustrations of the book onto the back of my homework. This book is wonderfully written from the dog's POV. You can't help but feel Sweetie's helplessness at the conflict of being a "good dog," a "watchdog," and truly being able to defend himself and his friends, Red and Poky, from imminent peril. I love his transformation, with the help of his friends, into being the dog he needs to be.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweetie the Great Dane has dreams of becoming a watchdog, but he is against biting, growling, and any type of bad behavior. After letting a burglar into his masters’ house he meets his neighbors; an older Irish setter named Red and a spunky little beagle named Poky. They soon become close friends and find out the history and the reasons why Sweetie refuses to bite, dig, growl, or bark. When some bully coyotes show up and decide to take over Pokys’ yard; dog house, food and his favorite bone with threats to eat the dogs if they do not get their way, the three friends decide that something must be done!
My favorite quote from the book is by Red on page 69, “You’re scared that you might get sent to the pound. But even if it’s dangerous-even if your people might not understand- you still have to do what’s right. Doing the right thing isn't easy, sometimes. But if you don’t do anything, if you just think being a good watchdog means doing nothing but sitting and watching…well, you still got in trouble with your master, remember. It’s much better to do what’s right, even if you get in trouble, then do nothing at all.” It’s this discussion that convinces Sweetie to revolt against the coyotes and he is able to finally understand what being a true guard dog is all about.


How I would use this book with students:
I would definitely use this book as a read-aloud. I would also place it in the classroom library for the students to read for enjoyment. The morals in this story are amazing; friendship, bravery, loyalty, knowing the difference between right and wrong, etc. This is also a book that I would choose to have the students to a report on because; it could hold the attention of both boys and girls, there are many different things that could be written about, such as; “if put in Sweeties’ paws, what would you have done when….etc.”