Training and Behavior

Dog Talk by John Ross and Barbara McKinney
John gives good, solid information in a straightforward way. Not only will you learn why dogs do what they do, but how to teach lots of behaviors. He also knows that a well-trained dog is one who has been trained using a balanced approach. I highly recommend it.

New puppy in the family? This DVD will help make training a snap.

Two of my very favorite canine professionals have put together a fantastic DVD for new puppy owners. Packed with lots of great information (and a whole pile of cute puppies), "My Smart Puppy" will help get your relationship with your new pup off to a great start.

Brian Kilcommons and wife Sarah Wilson have been training for many years. Brian has appeared on numerous TV news shows and their articles have been featured in several publications, including Parade magazine and Time magazine. They are the authors of some of my favorite books, too.

Their expertise shines through in this well-produced video that no puppy owner should be without.

Order My Smart Puppy!

Good Owners, Great Dogs by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson
Brian and Sarah have 45 years of experience between them, and it shows. They give clear, common-sense instructions for training and their advice is simple and successful. Their insights and approach have helped shaped my philosophy for years. This is a book no dog owner should be without, regardless of the age or breed of dog they have. Lots of pictures and anecdotal experience helps make it my top referral. Buy it locally in Atlanta at the Atlanta Humane Society.

Metrodog by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson
Like the above, but geared towards dogs who live in the city proper (i.e., in apartments vs. suburban houses). Technically, all dogs should know what city dogs have to know: how to urinate and defecate when there isn't much grass (and how to do it on leash); proper leash etiquette on crowded sidewalks; elevator and taxicab etiquette; and the best way to housetrain when you live 10 stories up, to name a few. All dogs and owners can benefit from the information, and even if you never plan to live in New York City, you never know when you might need it. Plus, their stuff makes so much sense, and is easy (and fun) to read.

Childproofing Your Dog by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson
This is the best book out there for dog owners who are about to add a child to the family. It will teach you how to prepare your dog so that all of you can live happily ever after. If you are pregnant, or thinking about it, this book is a MUST.

The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs by Patricia McConnell, Ph.D.
Dr. McConnell is a Certified Animal Behaviorist, and this insightful book is less about training techniques than paying attention to how we inadvertently signal our dogs with our behavior. It is an amusing look at our relationship with our canine friends, and full of information you can really use.

The Dogs of Bedlam Farm, The New Work of Dogs, and A Dog Year by Jon Katz
All of these are engaging and heartfelt. The first is Jon's latest, and shows how he has matured since A Dog Year. The second packs many good messages about why we humans have dogs and whether we rely on them too much for emotional support. It will definitely make you think! The latter is the story of a relationship with a very frustrating dog. Enjoy!

Dogs by Ray and Lorna Coppinger
This scientific tome sheds new light on the origins and evolution of dogs, and will dispel many myths in the process. It isn't written to be gripping, and the authors don't pull any punches.

Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
This book dispels the myths that surround dog behavior ("my dog chewed my stuff because he's mad at me"), and though I don't agree with all of it, it makes an interesting read.

Understanding "Dog Mind": Guide to Bringing Out The Best In Your Dog by Bonnie Bergin
Bonita Bergin developed the concept of the service dog, and founded the organization Canine Companions for Independence. She is firm, gentle, and fair. This book gives some great advice on selecting the right dog based on personality traits, and why. Her training ideas and techniques are universally applicable to service dogs and the family pet. Easy to read with photos and anecdotes.

All Dogs Need Some Training by Liz Palika
Liz is very easy to read, and no-nonsense. This is an easily portable book and a quick read to get you started.

The Chosen Puppy by Carol Lea Benjamin
Carol Lea Benjamin is a trainer with over 20 years experience and many books to her credit. This book focuses on choosing a shelter puppy and its subsequent care. She takes into account many of the characteristics of shelter pups, and her advice is right on the money.

Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence by Carol Lea Benjamin
For that "oh-so-fun" time in every dog's life, when, just like kids, they start rebelling. Despite the fact that Benjamin doesn't believe in using training treats, this is a good book.

So Your Dog's Not Lassie by Betty Fisher and Suzanne Delzio
Fisher and Delzio have worked with some of the most independent breeds out there, such as Bulldogs and Huskies, and they know their stuff. This is a good resource for those with more complicated dogs.

How To Speak Dog by Stanley Coren
I loved this book! I learned a bunch about dogs and how they communicate, and Coren is a fascinating read. Understanding how our dogs "talk" is valuable to anybody who ever comes in contact with one.

Catch Your Dog Doing Something Right by Krista Cantrell
An easy-to-read, easy-to-do training manual that is also quite portable. One of my favorite things about it is the exercises you can do to determine what type of learner your dog is.

Dog's Best Friend by Mark Derr
This no-nonsense look at how man has molded and shaped the dog to his own needs will surprise you and upset you. I particularly enjoyed his take on the AKC (American Kennel Club) and dog shows, and his hands-on approach elicits more credibility than most theory books. There are things in here that people might not want you to know...

The Truth About Dogs by Stephen Budiansky
Another thought-provoking take on man's best friend in the vein of Derr's and Coren's books. It's less about training methods, and more about the whys of behavior.

Selecting a Dog

Paws To Consider by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson
A MUST for anyone interested in obtaining a purebred dog, this helpful tome covers basic characteristics of popular breeds so you can decide if your choice would work for your family. The authors "tell it like it is," too, with possible drawbacks of each breed as well as health problems prone to each. They also give you great advice about finding a reputable breeder and the questions you should ask. Do NOT seek out a purebred puppy before consulting this invaluable book. Recommend it to anyone contemplating adding a dog to their household.

Successful Dog Adoptions by Sue Sternberg
Sue is a highly-respected shelter owner and tireless advocate for dogs in shelters. She has developed different temperament tests for shelters to use in determining the adoptability of the dogs they take in, and has modified these tests for you, the potential dog adopter. Don't go to the shelter to adopt without reading this book.

Complete Guide To Dogs by the ASPCA, 1999
Just a good, all-around dog book, with lots of full-color photos and breed characteristics and some good basic training information. Perfect for the first-time dog owner.

Just For Fun

Winterdance by Gary Paulsen
Paulsen has been writing books for young adults for years, and they are quite good. This tome for adults chronicles his first running of the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska, and it is a fascinating, compelling journey.

Max Makes a Million; Max in Hollywood; Ooh-La-La, Max in Love; Swami on Rye: Max in India; and Smartypants: Pete in School written and illustrated by Maira Kalman
Kalman is my very favorite children's book author. Some say her work is too advanced for kids, with its great vocabulary and tongue-in-cheek humor, and that may be so. The kid in me loves the stuff, though. Max is a poet and a dreamer who just happens to be a dog. Don't wait for the kids; check these wonderful books out.

My Dog's Brain by Stephen Huneck
The foreward in this wonderful book will make you cry, and the book, which is mostly pictures, will make you laugh out loud. This man is amazing, and he has several art galleries in different states, plus an actual dog chapel in Vermont. www.huneck.com

Pack of Two by Carolyn Knapp
A poignant memoir of a woman and her dog, with keen insight as to why we women love our dogs so much. A very good read, and now bittersweet as she died of cancer in May, 2002.

Tales From the Bark Side by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson
Hilarious true stories from 2 of my favorite canine professionals.

Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters From Obedience School by Mark Teague

Ike is an unrepentant terrier whose owner ships him off to be rehabilitated, and these are his letters to her pleading for his release. Clever, cute, and comical, this book will be a hit with adults and kids alike.

A Few Unrelated Extras:

NOVELS:

Watership Down by Richard Adams (a novel about rabbits...sounds like a dumb concept, but I keep re-reading it because it is so good)

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells (oh, how this book made me laugh and cry and think...better than the movie)

White Oleander by Janet Fitch (the story is engrossing, but it is Fitch's delicious prose that makes this a standout)

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher (it looks like a romance novel, but isn't, and has excellent character development); if you like it, read the sequel, September

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb (a sweeping novel that will suck you in). His first book, She's Come Undone, was also good.

The Harry Potter series (Despite all the hype, these books are engaging and fun to read for nearly all ages.)

NONFICTION:

The Everyday Work of Art by Eric Booth (How can you resist a book that begins, " Art, like sex, is too important to leave to professionals"? This could help you connect with your creative side. Take the plunge!)

The Alchemy of Mind by Diane Ackerman (the author writes surprisingly poignantly about the brain...doesn't sound scintillating, but her prose is delightful)

Truth and Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett (this true tale of the enduring friendship between the author and her friend Lucy Grealy is a revelation...I really enjoyed it)

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (I laughed, I learned; what more is there?)

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann (what happens when all the fossil fuels disappear?)

Darkness Visible by William Styron (nonfiction about the famous author's struggle with depression; short and poignant; helped me (a non-sufferer so far) to understand the disease.)

The Conversations With God series by Neale Donald Walsch (Very, very interesting reading, and the antithesis of preachy dogma.)

If Life is a Game; These Are the Rules by Cherie Carter-Scott (she takes the usual self-help claptrap and boils it down to the bare bones)

A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson (a hilarious and thought-provoking travelogue about the author's adventures hiking the Appalachian Trail)

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker (learn to trust your intuition)

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman (there's more to our smarts than meets the I.Q...ha ha)

Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer (a self-help book that actually makes sense. Though a bit dated now, it worked to rid me of my genetic tendency to worry and feel guilt), and Real Magic, another of his best.

Libertarianism in One Lesson by David Bergland (available from http://www.self-gov.org/)

The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert (a truly remarkable memoir about a modern-day woodsman and survivalist who is pretty much a narcissistic jerk, but Gilbert redeems him)

An Unknown Woman by Alice Koller (a true account of one woman's search for self) and her follow-up, The Stations of Solitude

Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton (one year in the life of a creative woman)

HUMOROUS:

Amphigorey; Amphigorey II; and Amphigorey Also by Edward Gorey (the man was a brilliant satirist with a lovely dark sense of the absurd)

Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz (a lovely retrospective of the best of his work)

Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and Naked by David Sedaris (biting and hysterical musings from a brilliant, cynical wit)

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love and God Bless the Sweet Potato Queens by Jill Connor Browne (it's Ya-Ya Sisterhood with more bite...and funny as all get out, as long as you are not easily offended. Both books contain some very eloquent kernels of wisdom, too.)

For cheap used books, in Atlanta check out the Book Nook on N. Druid Hills Rd. (at Clairmont) or Half.com.