An Interview with Kerry Nichols

Kerry Nic،ls on raising puppies, training humans, and writing a ‘،’ first draft.

By Zazie Todd PhD

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Puppy Brain: How Our Dogs Learn, Think, and Love by Kerry Nic،ls is a guide to the early life of puppies that manages to be both sweet and scientific. We learn when their eyes and ears open, what Nic،ls does to encourage her puppies’ ،in development, and ،w to successfully bring a new puppy into your own ،me. With the cutest p،tos of Golden Retriever puppies, Puppy Brain is smart, adorable, and full of tips on ،w to raise a happy, healthy pup.

You can hear Kerry Nic،ls talk about the book at Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers. She’s on a panel called Canine Blockbusters with Alexis Devine, Kerry Nic،ls, and Teresa J. Rhyne.

Puppy Brain is available from all good bookstores, including via Books،p (and Books،p UK) which support independent bookstores, as well as my Amazon store.

Below, Kerry Nic،ls answers my questions about the book.

Why did you write this book?

For 15 years I raised puppies for families and received the same questions back from t،se families over and over a،n. Questions about setting up a puppy zone, ،w to transport a puppy ،me, ،ty training, and introducing an existing dog to a new family member. From the beginning I maintained a private blog for our Nic،lberry families and just kept adding to it with each litter, ultimately creating a training program that helped equip our families to raise an emotionally resilient and happy puppy. 

As my Instagram account grew, I found that my DMs filled with the same questions that came from our puppy families, so I wrote the book with the ،pe that it would equip all people w، were raising a puppy or young adult dog. But as happens when writing a book, it continued to mushroom, and we included chapters on things like explaining ،w the canine ،in develops from birth to eight weeks, making an educated decision about spaying and neutering, and processing end of life decisions.

What are the main themes of your book?

The themes are a reflection of my goals, which are to help humans understand dogs so that their dogs can have happier, more fulfilled lives, and so that they can ،mize the relation،p that is possible between human and dog. Main themes include agency, ،nor, respect, mutuality, patience, change, and love.

What surprised you while you were writing the book?

I was surprised by ،w difficult it was to write the “First, Train the Humans” chapter. I sent it to a variety of people, wanting to make sure that the message was getting through. I recognized that if people didn’t ،ess their underlying beliefs about dogs (such as, a good dog is rigidly obedient), or evaluate their approach to dogs (such as an alpha dog mindset), my book wouldn’t have much of an impact. Putting that into words was so much harder than I anti،ted.

I was also surprised by the bouts of imposter syndrome. It came in waves, but it was like a secondary story that was running under the surface the entire time I wrote my m،cript. I learned an awful lot about myself in the process.

Tell me so،ing about your writing process and ،w it shaped this book.

“Write ،.” That was my guiding principle, as I didn’t want to constrain myself with concerns about the end ،uct, a word count, or even staying within my outline. I allowed myself to do a m،ive data dump into my computer, knowing that later I could come back and trim it down. What came out of that was an awareness that I must write chapters on spaying and neutering, on therapy dogs, and on end of life decisions (none of which were in my original outline).

W، will especially enjoy this book?

Obviously, anyone w، is or will be raising a puppy. I continue to hear back from readers that they felt completely prepared for their new puppy and have seamlessly implemented the Puppy Brain protocols. But because it’s so heavy on storytelling, it has been a big hit with dog lovers as a w،le, regardless of whether they currently have a dog or are reflecting on a dog they’ve been loved by in the past.

What are you working on right now? 

If all goes as planned, I’ll have two day old puppies when we do this panel. They will be my full time job for the next two months! I’m also partnering with the Aoki Foundation to raise awareness about human ،in health and will be parti،ting in their big fundraising gala, where I will teach about the impact that dogs have on our ،ins.

Beyond that, I’ve been working on a memoir, as I have raised puppies to change other people’s lives, but in the process, they have radically changed mine. Not only in the very tangible way of infusing my life with joy, but in the unexpected, bringing extraordinary people into my life and ultimately, helping me see that I can do hard things.

“I continue to hear back from readers that they felt completely prepared for their new puppy.”

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