My Life in Dog Years is a pretty lighthearted book. Still, Paulsen and his dogs are outdoorsy types, and the natural world can be a violent place. We watch Paulsen hunt and kill animals and see dogs face off against vicious predators (including, hilariously, an electric fence). Also, Mother Nature almost kills Paulsen twice—once when he falls through some thin ice and another time when a poisonous snake tries to attack him.
We also see lots of man-made violence, including a country ravaged by World War II, a pet who got hit by a car, a veteran who lost the use of his legs in a war, and a human who shot a dog for no reason. Are these acts all just part of the same giant circle of life? Or is there something unnatural about the way humans hurt each other and other animals?
Questions About Violence
- There are a few places in the book where Paulsen mentions that he was in the army. Does he seem to have a positive or negative attitude toward the military?
- Paulsen is an avid hunter. Does his attitude about shooting ducks and other animals seem at odds with his love for dogs?
- Describe an act of senseless violence in the book.
Chew on This
The natural world is brutal. All violence—including people's violence against other people—is part of the natural order.
In My Life in Dog Years, Paulsen draws a sharp line between violence in the natural world (like hunting) and human-on-human violence (like wars).