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people often ask me about relevant literature for dog behaviour and training. as i kept sending out the same emails to different people i decided to put my favorite books onto the blog.
there are three books that i think every one should read. i could talk about each one in lenght and say why i find them so amazing, but please read them yourselves.
*1* Calming signals by turid rugaas
a real must for everyone owning or interacting with dogs. those little signal show us so much about the dog's internal state and dog-dog interactions. little booklet, but sooooo valuable information.
*2* The Culture Clash by jean donaldson
fantastic book about the dog and human culture and why they so often clash.
*3* Dominance, Fact or Fiction ? by barry eaton
instead of explaining most dog behaviour by dominance barry (and myself) put it all down to learning what works and what does not. great little booklet, quick read.
actually, to me all the following ones are equally as important. let's start with dog training:
* Don't shoot the Dog ! by Karen Pryor
a classic, don't miss out on this one.
* The idiot's guide to Positive Dog Training by Pam Dennison
great reference book, great for newcomers to dog training without 'badies'.
* The only dog Tricks Book you'll ever need by Gerilyn Bielakiewicz
very concise introduction to why use positive dog training, great tricks
* The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller
Great dog training book with a training plan
* Verstehe Deinen Hund by Viviane Theby
I was amazed by that book, if you speak german, read it. great modern thinking.
* How to behave so your dog behaves by Sophia Yin
the title says it, a dog's behaviour depends greatly on what its human does and conveys.
* Click to Calm by Emma Parsons
great for reactive dogs and how to 'cure' them step by step.
* Living with Kids and Dogs without losing your Mind by Colleen Pelar
great book that highlights many issues and is well structured
* Who moved my bone ? by Theresa Mancuso
nice book on the multi-dog household, though i don't agree fully with some of the author's view on dog-dog interactions and 'pack behaviour'.
* Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
fantastic, humongous, easy nice read. i heard her speak while reading the book. specially interesting if you interact with both animals and (borderline-) autistic people.
* Dogs by Coppinger and Coppinger
fantastic book on dogs with a very objective biological slant to it. great chapter on the evolution of dogs. not many authors reasearch dogs, many are trainers or dog owners.
*Dog behaviour, evolution, and cognition by Adam Miklosi (OUP)
not read it yet, sounds very promising, though possibly a little scientific. this hungarian research group uses the dog as a model to reconstruct 'human domestication'.
*Behavioural Biology of Dogs by Per Jensen (Ed.) CABI
bought it but only very briefly looked at it. many interesting chapters
that's by far not it. this is just a selection of what was in my cupboard, or let's say a selection of those that i have actually read. there are also many great books on dog aggression, a topic i have not tapped into yet.
HAPPY READING !!
