A running list of books I recommend to dog lovers
Titles that have shaped my pet ownership philosophy, taught me about nonhuman animal cognition, and encouraged me when times were tough
I originally published this roundup back in 2022 on the very first iteration of the Paws and Reflect blog. I’ve added to it a few times since—but wow, we were due for a larger overhaul! Consider it up to date as of February 2026. As always, thank you for reading. And go play with your dog if you’re able!
Some of these books are explicitly about dogs. Some are about the larger nonhuman animal kingdom—and our species’ complicated interactions with creatures beyond our anthropocentric lens. Some are directed solely at people. But all have impacted my dog ownership philosophy, relationship with Scout, and approach to love in general.
So here’s a running collection of books I recommend to dog lovers, listed in no particular order.1
You can also find specific excerpts and annotations from a smattering of these titles in my Books, Books 2, Books 3, Books 4, and Books 5 story highlights2 on Instagram—as well as a longer list of titles I’ve read (including ones I don’t necessarily recommend) here if you want to compare notes.
Why do I believe in reading so much, anyway?
I’ve learned a lot about emotional intelligence and the complexity of creatures, relationships, and the larger world from books. Getting into a character’s head is an excellent exercise in empathy! Growing up, my favorite titles were novels that bounced back and forth between different points of view. Those stories let me practice looking at situations from several perspectives with the luxury of mental distance (because I wasn’t directly involved in the story situations myself, I could set aside my own biases more easily).
As I’ve gotten older and gravitated toward nonfiction, I love the opportunity to build nuanced opinions based on multiple data points instead of just what I myself have gone through. I was once told to “be careful basing opinions off books instead of life experience,” and I’ve gotta say: I’ve scarcely disagreed with someone’s take more. The value of external perspectives and personal anecdotes are not mutually exclusive—and a true effort to make sense of the world requires more than any one being’s experiences.
So one of my favorite ways to both 1) acquire anecdotes beyond my own (what I find in a lot of fiction and memoir) and 2) put those in context with larger sets of data (yay for research-grounded nonfiction) is reading!
Dog-specific books I recommend
Dog is Love: Why and How Our Dogs Love Us by Clive Wynne
Wynne’s practical approach to understanding our dogs’ affection for us echoed some of the traits I love in Frans de Waal (my all-time favorite animal author; more on him soon). Full of research made accessible!
I wasn’t thrilled with the way the author talked about dog training tools at the very end—dismissing anything commonly considered “aversive” out of hand without nuance—but I recognize 1) he isn’t a professional dog trainer so in-depth discussions of those topics are beyond the scope of his book, 2) we’re aligned on all the important things, 3) in works for wide audiences it can be helpful (and less potentially harmful) to focus on “force free” training, and 4) his discussion on the Training Without Conflict podcast was more measured.
The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter than You Think by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods
I loved Woods and Hare’s encouragement of skepticism and sharing differing perspectives, particularly in infant fields of research like canine cognition. The Genius of Dogs overlapped a fair amount with Dog is Love. If you’ve got time for both, they’re each worthwhile!
Dog Smart: Life-changing Lessons in Canine Intelligence by Jennifer Holland
Dog Smart pairs well with The Genius of Dogs if you’re most interested in canine cognition. It’s modern (came out in 2024) with a combination of research and narratives.
I was also fortunate enough to interview Jennifer shortly after the release of Dog Smart for The Juniper Podcast! She’s lovely.
Inside of a Dog: What Does See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz
Make sure to read the updated version. This book is all about the canine umwelt: our dogs’ unique experiences of their surrounding world. It naturally delves into canine cognition too, making it a nice title to read alongside The Genius of Dogs and Dog Smart.
Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey
Canine and human history, breed-specific legislation, nature and nurture, and more. You can read some of my initial Pit Bull takeaways in this old Instagram post and see my full-length review article here!
Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets by Carol Mithers
Rethinking Rescue is one of the most important books I’ve read in the last couple years. It’s nuanced, thoughtful, and grounded in one story—that of Downtown Dog Rescue in Los Angeles—while speaking to larger concepts critical to the animal rescue movement. The book’s focus on community and the relationship between human and animal welfare pairs well with Pit Bull.
For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend by Patricia McConnell
Despite being nearly two decades old, For the Love of a Dog is still a great read. While some of the specifics are a little outdated (just in the sense that we’ve learned more about nonhuman animal emotions in the last twenty years) McConnell beautifully touches on two of my biggest passions: 1) avoiding unproductive anthropomorphism while embracing our shared traits / coevolution / similarities, and 2) balancing accepting who our dogs are with helping them grow.
While we’re talking about McConnell: The Other End of the Leash is another oldie-but-goodie helping explain some common miscommunications between canines and humans.
Bones Would Rain From the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs by Suzanne Clothier
Great emotional insights on seeing our dogs as more than just “robots”. You can read my initial reflections in this Instagram post. What I loved most? All the passages on living well with our dogs and the exploration of how deeply we can connect with another species!
The Happiest Dog on the Block: Canine Enrichment Activities to Keep Your Pet Young and Healthy by Taylor Finton
An accessible conversation on our dogs’ enrichment that I think works especially well as an introductory guide for people new to the idea. (Plus Taylor is a true gem of a human! You might know her as @bindisbucketlist on social media.)
A Dog’s History of the World: Canines and the Domestication of Humans by Laura Hobgood-Oster
I read this book in one sitting. It’s a lovely dive into the history of dogs and people, together, featuring fascinating mythology and more. If you’re looking for direct insight into modern dogs (say, you’re really trying to improve your training game right now) it’s not going to be as impactful as other titles on this list—but I think reorienting ourselves in our ancient canine-human bond is always prudent.
Animal-specific books I recommend
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal
My favorite book of all time. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Frans de Waal changed my life. Although he was first and foremost a primatologist, his ideas have strengthened my relationship with my sensitive cattle dog and rekindled my childhood fascination with the animal kingdom in general. De Waal gave me permission to see myself in nonhuman animals—and, maybe more importantly, to see them in me, too. Because of him I am a better dog owner and trainer. Because of him I am more empathetic across species lines. Because of him I am able to fully embrace the magic of the canine-human bond without dissolving into folk nonsense.
In particular, this book encouraged me to push past strict behaviorism to see the animals around me less as a mere product of reinforcement or punishment and more as fellow creatures. You can read an Instagram post I wrote right after finishing it here as well this article that dives deeper into my three favorite De Waal books for dog owners.
The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters by Christine Webb
Oh, what to say about The Arrogant Ape?! My love for Are We Smart Enough is rivaled only by this more recent book—which was, not-so-conincidentally, penned by de Waal’s student Christine Webb. Please, please, please read it with an open mind and heart.
Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves by Frans de Waal
Also by Frans de Waal, a nuanced conversation about both human and animal emotions.
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong
This book has many themes in common with Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are, with a more specific focus on nonhuman animal senses. If you’re only going to read one? I recommend Frans de Waal. But in a perfect world? Read both!
Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals by Hal Herzog
A philosophical read without as many direct applications to day-to-day dog ownership as other books here—but it really got me thinking about my relationships with nonhuman animals overall. You can read my full reflections on Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat in this blog plus some higher level thoughts on Instagram.
Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire
Pests is like a more modern deep dive into the “some we hate” section of Herzog’s above book. Well researched, well written, well worth a read!
Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself by David Toomey
Play has been my obsession for many years now. (It’s the single most important piece of Scout’s reactivity training and our relationship growth.) So I naturally felt like this book was written just for me… and also kind of wished I’d written it myself 😉
Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter by E.B. Bartels
This can be a heavy read—it is, after all, about losing the animals we love—but as long as you’re ready for that when you pick it up, I think you’ll love the heartfelt exploration into so many different ways people memorialize their pets. Society often takes pet grief less seriously than human loss, and it helps to know we aren’t alone.
Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats by Courtney Gustafson
This book is ostensibly about cats—but really it’s about care. You might feel like concepts centered on feral cats don’t apply to domestic dogs. You would be wrong. Poets Square will make you reflect on themes relevant to our relationships with all creatures!
Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin
You can read my full book review of Animals Make Us Human in this article. The conceptual framework of blue ribbon emotions was particularly enlightening for me as I started addressing Scout’s fear-based dog reactivity more holistically. My initial reflection Instagram post is also linked here.
Human-directed books I recommend
Psych: The Story of the Human Mind by Paul Bloom
I felt that Bloom was unfair to nonhuman animals at points (please tell me why an author in 2023 would cite a study from 1998 about chimps not having theory of mind when there have been other studies since suggesting more nuanced results??) but still find Psych worth recommending. The book leaves us with two attitudes about psychology that apply well to many other things, too: humility and optimism. It’s accessibly written, sometimes funny, nuanced, and well intentioned.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
Perhaps the vulnerability conversation is overdone at this point, but Brené Brown’s work helped me develop more confidence and become a steadier guardian for Scout. I found her “square squad” idea and marble jar analogy particularly useful in my earlier (read: much, much, much harder) days with my sensitive dog’s fear reactivity.
The New Behaviorism by John Staddon
This is a lengthy, textbook-esque foray into the foundations of behavioral science. It’s not light reading. I wouldn’t recommend it across the board to every dog owner! But depending on your interest level in science, particularly operant conditioning, it can be interesting to at least skim.
John Staddon was also a guest on Ivan Balabanov’s Training Without Conflict podcast.
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (podcast dive)
Okay, huge disclaimer here: This book is based on generalizations, arbitrary distinctions, and questionable gender stereotypes. I hesitated to include it. But the overall ideas have helped Sean and me think more critically about our relationship (here’s an Instagram post discussing that) and I’ve been able to apply those insights to Scout.
If you need a basic intro to the concept that not everyone interprets our love the way we intend it (especially our dogs—another S/O to Patricia McConnell’s The Other End of the Leash here), maybe check it out from your local library for a quick scan. Or, better yet, listen to the If Books Could Kill podcast episode for a solid summary that also addresses its issues.
Please please please know that if I haven’t listed a book here, it does not mean I didn’t enjoy it or don’t think you should read it! I merely tried to keep this article focused on the top books I’d recommend if someone wanted to know “hey Haley, what titles have most impacted your life as a dog owner?” (and wow is it already quite long).
I realize the books story highlights have gotten a little out of hand. Oops. But gosh are they fun to look back on.
This is awesome! What a nice resource for people :). I’ll have to pick up some of the ones on your list. Two books that I thought were just amazing and helped change my perspective a little bit.
1. The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell PhD.
Brilliant thoughts and researched commentary about the dog human bond and how we can improve things on our end.
2. The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson.
Incredibly smart commentary on old thinking versus new thinking about dogs and dog training. But also a lot of specific usable, training games and plans.
Thanks for your post and I’ll take a look at your other articles. Nice work!
I'll definitely be coming back to this (probably multiple times). I'm feeling a little saturated right now, and have in me only quick, silly essays about chickens, but the desire to read, learn, and write things of more substance will come back around. Thanks for this list!