Rating: 
Summary: the best I've seen and very different!
Review: "Dog Works" offers original insights. By expressing a new slant on the profound mutuality shared between we humans and our canine companions the book takes us further in the quest for understanding. You will enjoy Vicki Mathison's "Dog Works" again and again as you explore this charming blend of images and text. Most attractively produced in an elegant format, superb photographs complement the engagingly provocative commentary.
Rating: 
Summary: Different and delightful
Review: "Dogworks" is different. "Dogworks" is delightful. For me, "Dogworks" was love at first sight.Any dog owner who suspects their canine has an artistic bent or was maybe, a builder in a past life, should read this book. The mystery may be resolved. "Dogworks" has to be the most delightful "Doggy" book I have ever read. It has given me a whole new insight into the canine mind. This is a book that will be enjoyed by all who love and care for their canine friends. But, what......... no Min Pins! A truly great read and the photography is just superb. A must on every "Doggie" person's bookshelf and another copy for the coffee table.
Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING!
Review: A border collie who builds pyramids out of raincoats at sunset on stormy wet days? A dalmatian who fills tire holes with vegetables? A staffordshire bull terrier who arranges cow bones into circles? A beagle who hangs socks on a fence? A vizsla who organizes leaves into seperate color piles in the shape of a cross? What explanation could there BE for these strange and eerie phenomena? Delve deep into these creepy and odd canine mysteries with Penelope Winters, a spiritualist and diviner, and Dr. Raymond Blake, a canine cultural heritage researcher. They give you conflicting views on each of 25 absolutely AMAZING stories. BOTH sides make a lot of sense; who do you believe for each one? Towards the end, you can see Blake and Winters getting snippy at each other. On the last story of two Schipperke who build driftwood triangles on the beach, they actually respond to each other's theories with comments that are obviously FORCED to be polite. All in all, this is an EXCELLENT book. Any dog lover or owner interested in the minds of animals NEEDS this book. It's got loads of color pictures, and it's thorough without being long. I recommend it; BUY IT. The reviews of people who think it's "fake" are fake themselves. Man I hate closed minds! What are THEIR explanations? I resent the comments about JK Rowling's Harry Potter books, which I love, and magic being somehow "funny." New Age and magic things are not fake. This book is no hoax. I can only hope my little maltese and my great dane can build such intriguing things.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny, but was it intended to be, or just to make money?
Review: I don't have much of a sense of humor for hoaxes, but I did have a few laughs with the people I showed this book to. The most interesting thing about the book is that it does not have the immediate appearance of being a joke. The sense of humor is so very dry that the tone seems utterly sincere throughout, and the book did fool one professional reviewer at Dog World magazine who should have known better. What I find odd is that there are people who actually believe the New Age sort of nonsense that is the foundation of this hoax - thought transference, star music, racial memory, and so on - and I have to wonder if the author is poking fun at them or is one of them who uses this nonsense to try to make a hoax that will be believable to at least some poor souls. This reminded me of the humor of J. K. Rowling in the Harry Potter books, where there is an overt tongue-in-cheek poking fun at "magic," but where there seems to be a deeper layer of actual occult belief. The author of "Dog Works" does seem to know her stuff. Anyway, now I see why Ms. Rowling finds "magic" funny. This book is funny in the same way.
Rating:
Summary: Equal time for cats!
Review: I enjoyed this book and have bought it as a gift. It's a fun book and I don't care if the dogs really built the works listed or if someone decided it would be fun to pretend that they did. As a dog owner, I know that dogs can do some funny little things, like lining up chew toys in a special order and it piqued my imagination that perhaps the little things I've seen mine do mean that dogs are not too far off from creating something bigger that has meaning to them. Don't let the issue of hoax vs real keep you from enjoying this book.
Rating:
Summary: It's just fun
Review: I enjoyed this book and have bought it as a gift. It's a fun book and I don't care if the dogs really built the works listed or if someone decided it would be fun to pretend that they did. As a dog owner, I know that dogs can do some funny little things, like lining up chew toys in a special order and it piqued my imagination that perhaps the little things I've seen mine do mean that dogs are not too far off from creating something bigger that has meaning to them. Don't let the issue of hoax vs real keep you from enjoying this book.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Stunning
Review: I found this book to be a truly stunning example of combining text and photos in a smooth and enjoyable storyline. The text was a combination of enjoyable stories told with a slight "tongue in cheek" attitude. When accompanied by the high quality of photographs it makes a book that would sit well in any home and would create a conversation if displayed in a prominent position. Very enjoyabe .....I would recommend this book to all people - whether they are dog-lovers or not - it has elements for all to appreciate.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent parody
Review: If you have ever seen the works of Scottish "nature artist" Andy Goldsworthy, or if you have seen the recent documentary about his work, "Rivers and Tides," you should have this book. I recently was given "Dog Works" for my birthday, from someone who'd seen that film and knew that I'd seen it. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew the book was a parody, so I was surprised when I read the reviews here, since so many people apparently took this book seriously or, worse yet, thought it was a hoax. But the parody is subtly done, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. I suggest those people do a search online for Goldsworthy's works, or check out the book "Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration With Nature" (1990), available on amazon.com. Or go to see the documentary film "Rivers and Tides," showing Scottish artist Goldsworthy at work, using materials found in natural settings to create works of art in those same settings. The title of the film refers to the settings for many of the artist's works - so similar to the settings of the canine constructions in "Dog Works."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent parody
Review: If you have ever seen the works of Scottish "nature artist" Andy Goldsworthy, or if you have seen the recent documentary about his work, "Rivers and Tides," you should have this book. I recently was given "Dog Works" for my birthday, from someone who'd seen that film and knew that I'd seen it. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew the book was a parody, so I was surprised when I read the reviews here, since so many people apparently took this book seriously or, worse yet, thought it was a hoax. But the parody is subtly done, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. I suggest those people do a search online for Goldsworthy's works, or check out the book "Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration With Nature" (1990), available on amazon.com. Or go to see the documentary film "Rivers and Tides," showing Scottish artist Goldsworthy at work, using materials found in natural settings to create works of art in those same settings. The title of the film refers to the settings for many of the artist's works - so similar to the settings of the canine constructions in "Dog Works."
Rating:
Summary: Have a little faith !
Review: So many disbelievers out there! I feel so sorry for you: no magic left in your dull and predictable worlds? Of course this book is on the level. While my dog Ernestine does not build art pieces as such, she's a pretty good cook and a crack shot. So why not dog artists? The review of dog art is a little species-centric, however. Most of the dog artists I know use faecies or urine to construct art, or engage in performance pieces: "Rooting The Leg"; and "Licking The Balls" spring to mind. Dog culture can be appreciated by humans but is not the SAME as human cuture. So a little less chauvanism please Ms Mathison!
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