At a glance
First published2003
AudienceAdult
ISBN0793821096
The Simple Guide to Getting Active With Your Dog
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for: Dog owners who want to do more with their dog than daily walks but aren't sure which activity — agility, flyball, freestyle, or others — suits their lifestyle and their dog's temperament, and who want a single accessible starting point written by a genuinely experienced canine competitor.
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The Simple Guide to Getting Active With Your Dog is a practical, activity-matching handbook by sled dog racer and Dog Writers Association Best Breed Book Award winner Margaret H. Bonham, surveying pursuits from flyball and agility to canine freestyle to help owners find the right fit for both their lifestyle and their dog's temperament. Its greatest strength is its accessible, participatory energy — grounded in Bonham's genuine competitive experience rather than dry research — making it an ideal gateway for motivated owners who aren't sure where to start. The key caveat: published in 2003, competition regulations, governing-body contacts, and equipment standards across all disciplines will need verification through current sources before use as a competition preparation tool.
- Is it worth reading?
- For the motivated but direction-seeking dog owner — someone who wants to do more with their dog than daily walks but isn't sure which activity suits them — LuvemBooks considers the guide a worthwhile starting point. Bonham's activity-matching framework and her credentialed, participatory background as a sled dog racer and award-winning dog writer give the book genuine practical authority. The meaningful caveat is its age: published in 2003, any competition regulations, governing-body contacts, or equipment standards in the guide will need to be verified through current sources before acting on them.
- Who should read this?
- The guide's clearest audience is what LuvemBooks calls the "motivated but somewhat-at-a-loss" dog owner: someone who wants to go beyond daily walks but is uncertain which organized activity suits their dog and lifestyle. The activity-matching framework at the book's core makes it especially useful as an entry point for owners new to canine sports. Those already competing seriously in a single discipline — agility, freestyle, or flyball — may find the broad coverage too introductory and would benefit more from a sport-specific supplementary volume.
- About Margaret H. Bonham
- According to LuvemBooks' verified author records, Margaret Bonham (1913–1991) was a British short-story writer born in London. No further verified biographical details are available in LuvemBooks' records at this time.
- Similar books
- Readers who enjoyed the activity-and-relationship focus of this guide may find several complementary titles on the LuvemBooks catalogue. The Other End of the Leash by Patricia B. McConnell takes a deep, science-grounded look at the human-canine relationship that pairs well with Bonham's bond-focused framing. Zak George's Dog Training Revolution by Zak George and Dina Roth Port offers a contemporary, positive-reinforcement foundation for owners ready to act on the activities Bonham surveys. The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete provides a foundational perspective on building the kind of relationship that makes canine sports accessible. For readers specifically keen on competitive dog sports training, Dog Sports Skills: Building Drives and Motivation by Deborah Jones and Judy Keller — while not currently in the LuvemBooks catalogue — is a frequently recommended companion volume.
- Why trust this author on dog sports?
- Bonham's authority is grounded in direct competitive participation, not desk research. She is a sled dog racer based in Colorado and a recipient of the Dog Writers Association's Best Breed Book Award — credentials confirmed across multiple bookseller records, as LuvemBooks' review notes. Her byline spans national pet publications including Dog Fancy, Dog World, Dog and Kennel, Pet Life, PetView, Natural Pet, and Mushing Magazine, and she has served as a columnist and contributing editor at Dog and Kennel and PetView. The Amazon UK product description for the guide states explicitly that Bonham draws on her experiences training, working, and playing with dogs, meaning the book reflects first-person participation across multiple disciplines.
- How outdated is the information?
- Published in January 2003, the guide is now more than two decades old, and the canine sports landscape has continued to evolve since — new organizations, updated rulebooks, and expanded competition formats have emerged across disciplines including agility and freestyle. LuvemBooks' review identifies this as a meaningful practical limitation for anyone using the book as a direct competition preparation tool. However, the foundational guidance on activity selection and training principles is described as less time-sensitive than regulatory specifics, meaning the core framework for matching an owner and dog to the right activity retains practical value even as the rule-specific details age.
- Does it focus on the owner-dog bond?
- Yes — the human-canine bond is explicitly framed as a central purpose of the guide, not a side benefit. The Amazon UK product description, cited in LuvemBooks' review, states the guide is designed to help owners improve the health and well-being of both themselves and their dog while enhancing their relationship and having fun at the same time. This dual focus on shared fitness and a strengthened bond gives the book a slightly broader purpose than a sport-specific manual, positioning physical activity as a vehicle for a closer relationship rather than purely an athletic goal.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
About Margaret H. Bonham
Why trust this author on dog sports?
How outdated is the information?
Does it focus on the owner-dog bond?
Summarize this book
Published in January 2003 by TFH Publications, The Simple Guide to Getting Active With Your Dog is a concise, broad-scope reference guide by Margaret H. Bonham that walks dog owners through a wide range of organized canine activities — including flyball, agility, and canine freestyle — with the dual goal of improving the health and well-being of both owner and dog while strengthening the human-canine bond. Rather than serving as a deep-dive manual for any single sport, the guide is organized around an activity-selection framework, helping owners identify the right pursuit for their individual dog's temperament, physical capability, and their own lifestyle. Bonham draws on her hands-on experience as a sled dog racer in Colorado and a multi-discipline competitor, giving the book a participatory energy that distinguishes it from purely research-based references.
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Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
Skip if you are looking for deep, sport-specific instruction on a single canine discipline such as agility or flyball.
Editorial Review
Published by TFH Publications in 2003, The Simple Guide to Getting Active With Your Dog is a practical how-to guide by Margaret H. "Maggie" Bonham — a Dog Writers Association Best Breed Book Award winner and experienced sled dog racer — designed to help dog owners improve the health and well-being of both themselves and their dogs while deepening the human-canine bond.…
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