Synopses & Reviews
The Trail Houndand#8217;s Handbook aims to turn children on to nature and hiking by introducing them to the highly skilled, naturally enthusiastic trail guide that is the family dog. The book reinvents the hiking guidebook as a pet-focused, outdoor activity guide for children and their families. With a lighthearted voice and a slew of fun facts, the format provides immediate pay-off to the curious hiking novice and dog-loving kid, as well as valuable, common-sense skills to support a lifetime of outdoor adventure. The bookand#8217;s companion website, KidsHikeDogsHike.com invites young trail hounds to share their own dog-powered adventures with the world. Like the book, the website aims to keep the topic fun and dynamic, offering select news, and useful resource links, as well as fun, related videos and activities.
Review
"Pack this book with you before you hit the trails with Rover." and#151;
The Dog Dish, May 2012
"Ellen Eastwood adresses how to make hiking with your dog a safe and fun activity in The Trail Hound's Handbook." and#151; The Observer-Dispatch, April 2012
"A great, easy-read packed with information for anyone who has a dog and loves hiking!" and#151; Seattle Backpackers Magazine, April 2012
"Get active, enjoy the great outdoors with your human and canine buddies. To enhance your enjoyment of a dog-powered adventure, author Ellen Eastwood offers planning tips, fun facts, wildlife info and ways to make the hiking experience more fun, safe and interesting for all." and#151; Albuquerque Journal, April 2012
Synopsis
The lure of playing outside used to get kids up and moving. Today, however, mesmerized youth are plugged in to technology and connected by the web. They are as good as strapped to their chairs.
Not to despair. The effort to roll Americas youth off of the couch and back outside, launched by the White House in 2010, now takes on all the authority of a kids own best friendthe family dog. The Trail Hounds Handbook: A Best Friends Guide To Hiking With Dogs, aims to turn kids on to nature and hiking by introducing them to the highly skilled, naturally enthusiastic trail guide that is the family dog. The book encourages kids 8-15 years old to venture out, whatever their level of hiking experience, empowering them with:
Tips for planning dog-powered hikes
Basic hiking etiquette, safe practices, and rules
An appreciation for every dogs unique wilderness skills
Clues to recognizing wildlife along the trail
Assorted text "kibble and bits" to make hiking with dogs simple and fun
Employing full color photos, whimsical but easy-to-read typefaces, and succinct copy, The Trail Hounds Handbook reinvents the hiking guidebook as a pet-focused, outdoor activity guide for kids and their families. With a lighthearted voice and a slew of fun facts, the format provides immediate pay-off to the curious hiking novice and dog-loving kid, as well as valuable, common-sense skills to support a lifetime of outdoor adventure.
The books companion website, KidsHikeDogsHike.com invites young trail hounds to share their own dog-powered adventures with the world. Like the book, the website aims to keep the topic fun and dynamic, offering select news, and useful resource links, as well as fun, related videos and activities.
Synopsis
Truly Great Adventures Begin with a Best Friend at Your Side
It's a great big wonderful world out there--so big that most young hikers, experienced or not, would do well to enlist the help of a capable guide. Enter the family dog. Husky or half-pint, lapdog or Labrador, your dog was born a highly skilled wilderness guide. Employing his or her acute senses of smell, hearing, and vision, your dog can point you to countless signs of life on the trail, turning the average walk in the woods into an exciting wilderness adventure. The Trail Hound's Handbook by Ellen Eastwood is your best source for planning dog-powered hikes, basic hiking etiquette and safe practices, clues to spotting wildlife along the trail, and assorted tips to make hiking with dogs simple and fun. Learn to recognize your dog's unique wilderness skills, and find a new way to bond with your family's best friend.
Synopsis
This comprehensive guide contains tips for planning dog-powered hikes
About the Author
Most of the self-confidence I had as a young teen,” says author
Ellen Eastwood, I picked up along a hiking trail. The rest probably came from the slobbering affections of the family dog.”
Its no surprise then, that a lifetime of dog-ownership and miles of wilderness trails led Ellen to create The Trail Hounds Handbook. Having earned a journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ellen has more than 15 years of advertising and newsletter copywriting and design experience. Years in the classroom with preschool and school-age children, and her current position as mother of four (two children, two dogs) further prepared her for writing this book.
Ellen and her pack currently reside in Westlake Village, California, surrounded by the rugged Santa Monica Mountains. When shes not outside with her dogs, Ellen is volunteering at her kids schools, working on her new website, KidsHikeDogsHike.com, or playing basketball in a local womens league.