# The Best Books on Dogs



## Stela12 (Mar 1, 2012)

What is the best/most useful book you've read on dogs?

For me, the first place takes the book that was recommended here on this forum, called:

On Talking Terms With Dogs - Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas

I learned so much about dog body language reading that book.


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

Will have a look for that one, Sasha, sounds interesting. I have heard it mentioned before on here, so worth a look. Thanks for the recommendation.


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

I think a lot of us have found 'The perfect puppy' by Gwen Bailey a really good book to start with, at the moment I am reading Dog behaviour explained by Peter Neville which is pretty good.


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

Yes, Dawn, couldn't have done without Gwen Bailey in the early stages. It was brilliant, and I have recommended it on here too. I think the Turgad Rugaas goes into dog behaviour more deeply - it would be interesting to find out what he has to say about body language etc. It may help to avoid problems when meeting other dogs whose motivation is unknown. My worst nightmare would be for Teddy to be attacked when he is just being his normal friendly self. I know it has happened to others, and it must have been terrifying for them.
I am always looking to expand my knowledge of dog behaviour, as Teddy is our first dog and it has been a steep, but enjoyable, learning curve. Now that I am in the dog owners category I find that I want to know more. It took a long time for me to get here, mind you. Could never understand what was the attraction of the whole dog thing before! How little I knew.....


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## Von (Nov 1, 2012)

'On talking terms with dogs' by Turid Rugaas is probably the most helpful book I have read, and gave us loads of ideas and things to look for when Jenna and Meadow were settling in. Her knowledge on dog communication is internationally recognised and I believe informs most current training in this field.

I have to be honest, and say that 'The Perfect Puppy' didn't work for us, much as I enjoyed reading it. It is a good book full of sound practice, but there was not enough for us on what to do when personal experience wasn't matching that of the book. A bit like those illustrated computer books which show you how to do things, then you press a wrong button, a new screen appears not in the book and you haven't a clue where you are, how to get back to the original, or what to do next


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## Stela12 (Mar 1, 2012)

Yes, Von - I think you had recommended that book in one of the threads. I got it on my Kindle and really learned a lot!!
I just wish I had found this forum and read more good quality books before we got her or at least during Stela's puppy hood. When I look back I know I've done some wrong things with raising her. She is my first dog and when we first got her I just borrowed bunch of books from the library, watched every Dog Whisperer show not even suspecting there would be so much conflicting advice in most of them... When I had my kids I just followed my instincts ... and I think I did a fairly good job....but somehow I had no instinct to follow in raising a dog.


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## Von (Nov 1, 2012)

Sasha, I think there would be very few who could with their hand on their heart say that they got everything right, we certainly made more than our fair share of mistakes!

Fortunately, none of them were irredeemable with effort and a bit more knowledge, and we now have two happy 'poos who enjoy each others company. Meadow still occasionally pushes her boundaries with Jenna, and we know to let J put her in her place. Turid's book was a lifesaver for us, we had misread so much of what was going on before and consequently some of our actions were inappropriate. Once we realised our mistakes it was much easier. 

I'm glad you enjoyed the book too, we continued our interest in dog communication and have just finished a course with our trainers, along with eight other dogs and their owners. It was fascinating, and made us realise just how much there is still to learn!


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## Stela12 (Mar 1, 2012)

Another book that has helped me understand dogs better is :
The Other End of Leash by Patricia McConnell


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## Von (Nov 1, 2012)

Just googled it, and it looks really interesting. Now trying to work out how to get an ebook edition onto my Kindle


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