Bad Dog

A Love Story

By: Martin Kihn

Narrated by: David Drummond

Meet Hola. She’s a nightmare, but it’s not her fault if she tackles strangers and chews on furniture, or if she runs after buses and fried chicken containers and drug dealers. No one ever told her not to. Worse yet, she scares her family. Hola may be the most beautiful Bernese mountain dog in the world, but she’s never been trained - at least, not by anyone who knew what he was doing.

Hola’s supposed master, Marty, is a high-functioning alcoholic. A TV writer turned management consultant, Marty’s in debt and out of shape; he’s about to lose his job, and one day he emerges from a haze of peach-flavored vodka to find he’s on the verge of losing his wife, Gloria, too, if he can’t get his life - and his dog - under control.

Desperately trying to save his marriage, Marty throws himself headlong into the world of competitive dog training. Unfortunately, he knows even less than Hola, the only dog ever to be expelled from her puppy preschool twice. Somehow, together, they need to get through the American Kennel Club’s rigorous Canine Good Citizen test. Of course, Hola first needs to learn how to sit. It won’t be easy. It certainly won’t be pretty. But maybe, just maybe, there will be cheesecake.

©2011 Martin Kihn (P)2012 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"This wry memoir of the human-dog bond is one that eschews the usual treacly sentimentality in favor of a raw, deeply sincere, and self-aware homage to this powerful bond." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Poignant. . . . a surefire heartbreaking bestseller along the lines of Marley and Me" ( Minneapolis Star Tribune)

"This tale of a man who forgot he was a man and the dog who ultimately reminded him is the most touching, original buddy story I've come across in ages. Sit. Stay. Read." (Walter Kirn, author of Up in the Air)

Inspirational for dogs and humans

Where does Bad Dog rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Its right up there different from most dog inspired books I've listened to

What did you like best about this story?

Martin overcoming his alcoholism and Hola overcoming her bad behavior!!!!!

Which scene was your favorite?

CGC test

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Bad dog gone good

Any additional comments?

Shocking stories about alcoholism just blows my mind how the disease can a overtake a persons life,,,

Good book. Owner and dog have big problems.

If you could sum up Bad Dog in three words, what would they be?

He learned to love his dog more than alcohol.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bad Dog?

When he found out how important his dog was

What about David Drummond’s performance did you like?

He made alcoholic Martin believable.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some laughs. Martin.Kihn is very funny.

Any additional comments?

I think he wants readers not to overlook their dogs' feelings..

Not what I expected

I had read Kihn's other book and found it to be hilarious. I bought this one figuring that it would be similar. While there were moments that were funny, the overall tone in Bad Dog is more somber. If you love pets you will probably appreciate aspects of this one. Mr Kihn is a gifted writer and I would recommend his other book on Audible more than this one.

Lola to the rescue

Did Bad Dog inspire you to do anything?

I've already been working diligently with my dogs on getting them to master basic obedience, I am inspired to try the American Kennel Good Citizen test after reading this book.

Any additional comments?

Humorous read about the woes of dog training for those of us who are human and not the superheros you see on Animal Planet. Lola is a lovable dog and Martin writes about her well. Dog lovers will enjoy this book. My favorite part was the narrative between Lola and the cat! Hilarious.

Good Dog!

Not quite up to Koontz's Trixie or One Good Dog but a darn good story. Not sure how much was fictionalized but based on the author's Bernese Mountain Dog Hola. The narrator was spot-on with his timing and Hola's thoughts are loud out loud fun! A little draggy (for me) on some of the dog training philosophy otherwise would give it 5 stars

Not as I expected

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I was expecting a story more focused on the dog. This book had too much focus on alcoholism and troubled marriage. I did not like the author "talking" for the dog. This was a little goofy.

Would you ever listen to anything by Martin Kihn again?

Probably not.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator was really boring and terribly flat. I had to increase my audio speed to 2x to get through it.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I did learn a little about Bernese Mountain Dogs and a little about Citizenship dog training for dogs. I guess their is some insight into the life of a high functioning alcoholic as well.

Any additional comments?

I really hate to give 1 star ratings, but in the interest of my fellow audible listeners who hate wasting money and credits, I have to on this one.