My Dog Doesn't Like Me

My Dog Ugly

by Elizabeth Fensham

A heartwarming book that teaches the importance of responsibility and love for a pet
 
Eric was given a dog for his eighth birthday—that was nearly a year ago. The dog, named Ugly (because he is just that), settles into Eric’s family but is not attached to Eric in any way. In fact, Ugly prefers everyone else in the family! Eric has several crazy ideas to make Ugly love him, but Ugly is not swayed. Eric slowly comes to realize that in order to win over Ugly, he has to put in time, effort, and most importantly, show him love and affection. A life lesson wrapped up in a beautifully told story that will resonate with kids and parents—and pet lovers.

Genres: Childrens

132 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Elizabeth Fensham is an Australian writer and school teacher. She grew up in Sydney and now lives in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges. Her first novel, Helicopter Man, won the Australian Children's Book Council's Book of the Year for Younger Readers in 2006. Miss McAllister's Ghost achieved a CBCA Notable Award in 2009. Her third novel, Goodbye Jamie Boyd, which deals with the sensitive issue of a teenager's schizophrenia, was shortlisted for the Bologna Book Fair's White Raven Award in 2009.

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. I’ve actually had a re-think and changed my rating on this one. Eric’s dog doesn’t like him and in his view his family doesn’t appreciate him so Eric decides it run away. This is a cute story filled with some useful advice in dog training that manages to help children understand the responsibilities having a pet involves. Over all I thought it was a lot of fun and think that children would enjoy it. I loved the cute cover pic and it’s an easy read. The voice of the young Eric comes across well.I liked the way grandad and Eric’s friends tried to help him out with his problem. But I thought it was a shame the relationship with the older sister was portrayed so negatively. Would have been nice to see a more positive relationship and the reaction from the mother and her words to Eric on page 26 troubled me. They sounded more like a child than an adult. Those two negatives aside I think a lot of children will enjoy this story and at the same time learn a lot about the responsibilities of dog ownership.

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric has received pretty much the desire of his heart for his birthday. A dog. Named Ugly.

Awesome. Or at least it should be.

The problem is that Ugly adores Eccle's mum. What should have been the most wonderful birthday present - a puppy of his own - has turned out to be a mutt with attitude. Ugly is outright hostile towards him. Even his obnoxious, acid-tongued sister Gretchen rates higher in the dog's estimation and affection scale than Eccle does.

His life is so miserable he decides to run away from home.

But that doesn't work too well either. Only his grandpa looking out for him makes him feel the slightest bit better.

After a sustained bout of misery, frustration and self-pity, Eccles gets some hints from Grandpa hints on the nature of the problem: the dog might be Eric's but he so often forgets to feed, water, wash and walk him that Ugly mightn't know whose he is. Mum does Eric's chores more often than he does - especially when it comes to Ugly.

Could it be that Eric isn't 'leading' in the way he should? Could it be that the problem is not Ugly but Eric himself?

When Ugly starts growing faster than expected and getting aggressive, it's touch-and-go whether Eric will be able to save him from being returned to the pound.

I agree with Dale Harcombe's comment in her review about the mother and this has seriously influenced my rating.

[Adele Broadbent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric is packing. He is running away because nobody believes him. He told his family his own dog doesn’t like him, so he’s leaving. But time in the park alone, with strangers coming and going and dark falling, Eric decides to go home.

After a ‘family chat’ and being sent to his room for being rude to his older sister, Eric decides to write down his ‘sad and angry’ story.

Eric got a new dog (Ugly) for his 8th birthday and he can’t figure out why Ugly hangs out with and listens more to Mum (and everyone else in the family) than him.
He tries all sorts of things to get Ugly to be ‘his’ dog, like he is supposed to be, but with varying degrees of success.
His mates help him research the problem, but still it doesn’t help. Ugly is growing and proving to be a problem in their full, busy household. Is it better for Ugly to live somewhere else?

A funny story for new puppy owners or any animal lover. Responsibility is a key theme.

[Rosanne Hawke · Rating 4 out of 5]

In My Dog doesn't like Me by Elizabeth Fensham we certainly get a good look at Eric's character with all its flaws (which he can't see). He can only see his dog, Ugly's flaws. It takes him a long time to work out why his dog has flaws. For the duration of this novel for younger readers I felt part of Eric's family, and I felt a sympathy for him too as I'd been in a similar situation, except I didn't have a grandfather like Eric's to spend time to help me with my dog and my dog died. This is a how-to book written by Eric in his own style about how to train your dog.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I was expecting a little more from Fensham and this alluring title, I still enjoyed it immensely. Kids and pets and kids and pets behaving badly and having issues with each other can't help but make for compelling reading. As a dog-loving, animal crazy 9 year old, I probably would have rated this much higher. It is bristling with tongue in cheek humour and useful facts and suggestions about doggie care and doggie psychi. However as an adult reader (for whom it is not intended for of course) I felt a little removed from Eric's character now and then and that I was being fed a little too much information. That said, this is a book to be applauded for highlighting the positive benefits of positive reinforcement with regards not only to training animals but their 'trainers' as well. 8 + year olds and dog lovers everywhere will soak this up and be able to relate to Eric's disappointments, reluctance to help with the more mundane aspects of pet care, and desperation to connect with his mutt, Ugly.

[Anna Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous story with themes of responsibility, resilience and the bond between humans and animals.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric, the protagonist of this book, is really unhappy about the dog that he got for his eighths birthday. He has meant for the dog to love and obey him, but the dog, Ugly, doesn't even consider Eric as a friend. Ugly always runs after cats on walks, causing Eric's arm to be sore and painful for the leash. Ugly also eats and damages stuff. On top of that, Eric is always blamed for the mistakes that Ugly make. Eric is really fed up he even thought of running away. In the end, his granddad got a professional dog trainer to train Eric how to control his dog. After that, the dog likes him.

I think that this story is very unique. I think it's kinda stupid for a person to get so fed up about a dog. Guess it's just because I've never had a dog before. I like that Eric has tried his best to let the dog like him, but I still think he should'nt have ran away.

So I give this book a 3 out of 5, because I think it was written pretty well but it wasn't so interesting.

By Aaron

[Julee T · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all get caught up in the drama of popularity and occasionally we miss that being liked is also about being available- likeable. This is a sweet little book about doing your bit and caring for others. Every pet owner and family member should read this book. Even if you love your dog/ family, you'll love them more once you've read it. Eric and his family are good relatable characters and Ugly is a charming dog. The language transition as Eric learns to care and appreciate Ugly is subtle and heartwarming.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noah gave this 5 stars and I gave it 3, so it averages out at 4 stars. I thought this book got better as it went on. There is one scene on page 26 where the mother completely over reacts with her son and I really didn't think that the way it was written was appropriate for this book. Luckily, I had read about this scene before reading it to Noah, so I just left this bit out. It was really silly and spoilt an otherwise engaging and interesting story.

[Junseo Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cool. This book is kind of based on dogs (again!). I thought this book was quite comedy-like, but this book had some serious parts in the story. If you are fan of dogs(?) You might want to read this book or if you just want to read a short and easy fiction book, this is your book. But sadly, there is no pictures :(

[Barbara Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really nice book that ticks lots of boxes for me. Central character is a nearly 9 year old boy, humorous animal story that teaches some gentle lessons about responsibility and problem solving. Highly recommended

[David Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

About a dog who doesn't like his owner.

[ISLN (Int'l School Library Network) Singapore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book ticks a lot of boxes for me. The central character is a nearly 9 year old boy. It is a humorous animal story that teaches gentle lessons in responsibility and co-operation

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to put in the hands of primary students who are thinking about getting a pet dog.