Books I did not enjoy reading (these are followed by a short explanation
of why and are kept separate at the bottom of each section)* Books I highly recommend (these are the books I enjoyed reading the most and will likely re-read at some point)
Books I did not enjoy reading (these are followed by a short explanation
of why and are kept separate at the bottom of each section)
Roger Abrantes: Dog Language: An Encyclopedia of Canine
Behavior
Margaret H. Bonham: Introduction to Dog Agility
* Stanley Coren: How Dogs Think
Stanley Coren: The Modern Dog: How Dogs Fit into Our Society, Culture, and Our Personal and Emotional Lives
* Stanley Coren: Why We Love the Dogs We Do
* Suzanne Clothier: Bones Would Rain From the Sky
* Pamela S. Dennison: Bringing Light to Shadow: A Dog Trainer's Diary
Jean Donaldson: The Culture Clash
Nicholas Dodman: The Dog Who Loved Too Much: Tales, Treatments, and the
Psychology of Dogs
* Alexandra Horowitz: Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
Caroline Knapp: Pack of Two
* Patricia McConnell: The Other End of the Leash
* Patricia McConnell: For the Love of a Dog
Patricia McConnell: Tales of Two Species
* Pat Miller: Play With Your Dog
* Pat Miller: The Power of Positive Dog Training
Sharon Sakson: Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs
Cheryl S. Smith: The Rosetta Bone: The Key to Communication Between
Humans and Canines
Victoria Stilwell: It's Me or the Dog
Jack and Wendy Volhard: The Canine Good Citizen: Every Dog Can Be One
Raymond Coppinger: Dogs: A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin,
Behavior, and Evolution (some good stuff,
but once he got to describing pets as parasites
and service dogs as slaves, he lost me)
Cesar Millan: Cesar's Way: The Natural Everyday Guide to Understanding
and Correcting Dog Problems (grossly
misinformed about dogs and their psychology, based off
debunked dominance theories, too contradictory to be of much
use to anyone)
The Monks of New Skete: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic
Training Manual for Dog Owners (also based
on debunked dominance theories, too many harsh
punishments...there are much better books out there than this one)
Memoirs
* Mark Doty: Dog Years: A Memoir
* Dan
Dye and Mark Beckloff: Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale
Lisa Duffy-Korpics: Tales From a Dog Catcher
Ken Foster: The Dogs I have Met and People they Found
Ken Foster: The Dogs Who Found Me: What I've Learned
from Pets Who Were Left Behind
Randy Grim: Miracle Dog: How Quentin Survived the Gas
Chamber to Speak for Animals on Death Row
John Grogan: Marley & Me: Life and Love with the
World's Worst Dog
Barrie Hawkins: Tea and Dog Biscuits: Our First Topsy-Turvy Year Fostering
Orphan Dogs
Thomas Healy: I Have Heard You Calling in the Night
James Herriot: James Herriot's Dog Stories
Jon Katz: A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who
Changed My Life
Jon Katz: A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me
Jon Katz: The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep,
Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me
* Jon Katz: Izzy & Lenore
Jon Katz: The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family
* David Kennard: A Shepherd's Watch: Through the seasons with one man and his
dogs
* David Kennard: The Dogs of Windcutter Down: One Shepherd's Struggle for
Survival
Jay Kopelman
Kristen Von Kreisler: For Bea: The Story of the Beagle Who
Changed my Life
Mike Lingenfelter and
David Frei
* Laurie Bogart Morrow: The Hardscrabble Chronicles
Farley Mowat: The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
Anna Quindlan: Good Dog. Stay.
Robert Rodi: Dogged Pursuit: My Year of Competing Dusty, the World's Least
Likely Agility Dog
*
Melinda
Roth: The Man Who Talks to Dogs
Sharon Sakson and Neil Plakcy: Paws & Effect: Exploring the Bond
Between Gay Men and their Dogs
Karen Shanley: Dogs of Dreamtime
* Robert T. Sharp: No Dogs in Heaven?: Scenes from the Life
of a Country Veternarian
Patti Sherlock: A Dog For All Seasons: A Memoir
Martha
Sherrill: Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway
Mountain
John Steinbeck: Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Roy Saunders: Sheepdog Glory: the story of a working Border
Collie
Dr. Nick Trout: : Tell me Where it Hurts: A Day of Humor,
Healing and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon
* Emily Yoffe: What the Dog Did: Tales from a Formerly
Reluctant Dog Owner
Cindy Adams: The Gift of Jazzy (too much
name-dropping, not enough dog)
Mary A. Fischer: Stealing Love: Confessions of a Dognapper
(this was mostly about the author's life with little reference to dogs at
all)
Stephen Foster: Walking Ollie (a guy who did
everything wrong, from walking a lurcher off-leash to not ever bonding with his dog
and who
insults rescue dogs, the people who love them,
and those who don't want to deal with his rude off-leash dog barreling over
theirs)
Mark R. Levin: Rescuing Sprite (nice idea for a
book, but once he started dropping Rush Limbaugh's name I lost interest...
personal bias there...I didn't expect a psycho-conservative
fundie talk show host to be writing about his dog)
Cleveland Amory: Ranch of Dreams: The Heartwarming Story
of America's Most Unusual Animal Sanctuary
* Terri Crisp: Out of Harm's Way
Deborah Eades: Every Rescued Dog has a Tale: Stories
from the Dog Rescue Railroad
* Samatha Glen: Best Friends: The True Story of the
World's Most Beloved Animal Sanctuary
Bonnie Silva: Fifteen Legs: When All That Stands
Between Death and Freedom is a Ride
Shelter dogs books
Joan Banks and Betsy Saul: Second Chances: Inspiring Stories of Dog
Adoption (petfinder.com's book)
Karen Derrico & Susan Chernak McElroy: Unforgettable Mutts: Pure of Heart; Not
of Breed
Elizabeth Hess: Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats, and Everyday Heroes at a County
Animal Shelter
Peg Kehret and Greg Farrar (photographer): Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted
Strays
Diane Leigh and
Marilee Geyer: One at a Time: A Week in an American
Animal Shelters
Elise Lufkin: Found Dogs: Tales of Strays Who Landed on
their Feet
Florence Petheram: Word: A Real Dog Locked in a Shelter Cage
for Eight Years Until...
Peggy Schaefer (editor): Stories of Dogs and the Lives They Touch
Steve Swanbeck: Disposable Dogs: Heartwarming, True
Stories of Courage and Compassion
Breed books
Juliette Cunliff: Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier: Kennel Club Dog
Breed Series
Brian Kilcommins: Mutts: America's Dogs
* Donald McCaig: The Dog Wars: How the Border Collie
Battled the American Kennel Club
Barbara Sykes: Understanding Border Collies
Non-Fiction Wolf books
Paulle Clark: Wolf Song: A Love Story
* Jim and Jamie Dutcher: Wolves at Our Door: The Extraordinary
Story of the Couple Who Lived with Wolves
Robert Franklin Leslie: In the Shadow of a Rainbow: The True
Story of a Friendship Between Man and Wolf
* Farley Mowatt: Never Cry Wolf : Amazing True Story of
Life Among Arctic Wolves
Allen Silverstein: The Red Wolf (Endangered in America)
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul
A Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers: Stories
That Celebrate Love, Loyalty, and Companionship
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader: Dog Lover's
Companion
Dogs are Smarter Than Jack: 91 Amazing
True Dog Stories (the stories were too short and most were trite)
Other non-fiction books
The Bark (editors): Dog is My Co-Pilot: Great Writers on the
World's Oldest Friendship
The Bark (editors): Howl: A Collection of the Best
Contemporary Dog Wit
Susan Bertrand: Almost Perfect: Disabled Pets and the People Who
Love Them
Vicky Croke and Sarah Wilson: Dogology: What Your Relationship With Your Dog
Reveals About You
* Karen Delise: The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths, and Politics of Canine
Aggression
Doug Gelbert and Andrew Chesworth: Doggin' The Finger Lakes: The 50 Best
Places to Hike With Your Dog
Temple Grandin: Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
Phyllis Hobe (editor): Second Chances (Listening to the Animals series)
* James Thurber: Thurber's Dogs
Judith Watt and Peter Dyer: Men and Dogs: A Personal
History from Bogart to Bowie
Allen and Linda Anderson: Angel Dogs: Divine Messengers of Love
(the stories were cute, but the cheesy religious questions
at the end of each chapter put me off a bit)
Ken Foster (editor): Dog Culture: Writers on the Character of
Canines (this book did not celebrate the bond between
people and their dogs...it was mostly writings by
people who disliked dogs learning to deal with their presence in their lives.)
Donald McCaig: A Useful Dog (stories were not
really about the working dogs, misleading title and advertisements; read his
other
books insead)
* Richard Adams: The Plague Dogs
Carol Lea Benjamin: This Dog For Hire
* Donna Ball: Rapid Fire (Raine Stockton Dog Mysteries)
* Donna Ball: Gun Shy (Raine Stockton Dog Mysteries)
* Donna Ball: Smoky Mountain Tracks (Raine Stockton Dog
Mysteries)
Laurien Berenson: A Pedigree To Die For (Melanie Travis
Mysteries)
Laurien Berenson: Underdog
Melissa Cleary: A Tail of Two Murders (A Dog Lover's Mystery)
Susan Conant: A New Leash on Death (A Dog Lover's Mystery)
Susan Conant: Dead and Doggone (A Dog Lover's Mystery)
Susan Conant: A Bite of Death (A Dog Lover's Mystery)
Susan Conant: Paws Before Dying (A Dog Lover's Mystery)
Susan Conant: Bloodlines (A Dog Lover's Mystery)
Geneveive Fried: Memoirs of a Papillon: The Canine Guide
to Living with Humans without Going Mad
Valerie Hobbs: Sheep
* Pam Houston: Sight Hound
Diane Jessup: The Dog Who Spoke With Gods
Dean Koontz: The Darkest Evening of the Year
Betty Levin: Look Back, Moss
Betty Levin: That'll Do, Moss
Annie Mack: The Lost Dogs of Shoretown: A Koko the Canine
Detective Mystery
* Merrill Markoe: Walking in Circles Before Lying Down
* Merrill Markoe: Nose Down, Eyes Up
* Ann M. Martin: A Dog's Life: An Autobiography of a Stray
* Donald McCaig: Nop's Trials
Donald McCaig: Nop's Hopes
Sharon Northrup: Tam: A Border Collie
Barbara O'Connor: How to Steal a Dog
* Leslie O'Kane: Play Dead (Allie Babcock
Mysteries)
* Leslie O'Kane: Ruff Way to Go (Allie Babcock Mysteries)
* Leslie O'Kane: Give the Dog a Bone (Allie Babcock
Mysteries)
Margaret Marshall Saunders: Beautiful Joe
* Garth Stein: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Karen Ann Wilson: Copy Cat Crimes
Karen Ann Wilson: Circle of Wolves
Lee Charles Kelley: Like a Dog With a Bone (too confusing...there
were too many people and too many plots, plus
the narrator was exceedingly arrogant and obnoxious)
Wolf fiction
Marion Dane Bauer: Runt
Nicholas Evans: The Loop
* Dorothy Hearst: Promise of the Wolves
* Jean Craighead George: Julie of the Wolves
Jean Craighead George: Julie
Jean Craighead George: Julie's Wolf Pack
Sterling North: The Wolfling: A Documentary Novel of the
Eighteen-Seventies
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View these books organized by the featured dog breeds