A running list of my dog- and animal-related reading
A running list of my dog- and animal-related reading
Not to be confused with books I recommend to fellow dog owners across-the-board (which can be found in this article).
Here I simply wanted to keep an ongoing list of my animal-related* reading in one place, both for me to look back on over time and for others to reference if they’re interested in chatting about a particular title. I’m always thrilled to talk dogs and books!
You can also find specific excerpts and annotations in our Books and Books 2 and Books 3 and Books 4 (I know I know, too many to fit in one place) story highlights on Instagram. This article was first published on November 4th 2022 and last updated in September 2024.
* A small number of these titles aren’t directly about animals but rather larger emotions and relationship concepts that still apply. Strict categorization is hard in a world so full of connections!
Next up: Animal and dog ownership books on my “to read” list
The Evolution of Canine Social Behavior 2nd edition by Roger Abrantes, published 2004
Dogs Bite: But Balloons and Slippers Are More Dangerous by Janis Bradley, published 2005
Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do by Marc Bekoff, published 2018
Animal Cognition: Evolution, Behavior and Cognition 3rd edition by Clive Wynne, published 2020
Citizen Canine by David Grimm, published 2014
The Question of Animal Awareness by Donald Griffin, published 1976
The Genesis of Animal Play by Gordon Burghardt, published 2005
The Mythology of Dogs by Gerald and Loretta Hausman, published 1997
The Inner Life of Animals by Peter Wohlleben, published 2016
Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear by Erica Berry, published 2023
Beastly: The 40000-Year Story of Animals and Us by Keggie Carew, published 2023
Kingdom of Play by David Toomey, published 2024
Justice for Animals by Martha Nussbaum, published 2023
Beasts Before Us by Elsa Panciroli, published 2021
Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts, published 2024
What It’s Like to be a Dog by Gregory Berns, published 2017
Our Oldest Companions by Pat Shipman, published 2021
2024 reads
Our Kindred Creatures by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, published 2024
Home. Made. by Michael Baines of TMTRD, published 2024
A Brief History of Intelligence by Max Bennett, published 2023
Dogland by Tommy Tomlinson, published 2024
The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life by Nick Lane, published 2015
Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show by Tommy Tomlinson, published 2024
Psych: The Story of the Human Mind by Paul Bloom, published 2023
Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: The Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change by Thor Hanson, published 2021
2023 reads
No Drama Discipline by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson, published 2014
A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans, published 2014
Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett, published 2020
An Immense World by Ed Yong, published 2022
On Animals by Susan Orlean, published 2021
A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans, published 2014
Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire, published 2022
The Other Family Doctor by Karen Fine, published 2023
Mission Possible: Enrichment through Scentwork for Highly Aroused Dogs by Sally Gutteridge, published 2018
How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, published 2021
2022 reads
How Dogs Love Us by Gregory Berns, published 2013
A Dog’s History of the World by Laura Hobgood-Oster, published 2014
Lost Companions by Jeffrey Masson, published 2020
Your Dog is Your Mirror by Kevin Behan, published 2011 (the only book on this list I actively, strongly do not recommend)
The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff, published 2007
The Fascinating Science of Animal Intelligence, Emotions, Friendship, and Conservation by Marc Bekoff, published 2013
The Possibility Dogs by Susannah Charleson, published 2013
Domesticated by Richard Francis, published 2015 (mostly read in full, skimmed some small mammal sections)
What the Dog Knows by Cat Warren, published 2013
The Genius of Dogs by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods, published 2013
Dog Sense by John Bradshaw, published 2011
For the Love of a Dog by Patricia McConnell, published 2005
Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina, published 2015
Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog, published 2010
Being a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz, published 2016
Dog is Love by Clive Wynne, published 2019
Our Dogs, Ourselves by Alexandra Horowitz, published 2019
Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz, published 2009
The Bonobo and the Atheist by Frans de Waal, published 2013
The Power of Play by David Elkind, published 2007
2021 reads
Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog by Scott and Fuller (skimmed), published 1965
Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey, published 2016
Mama’s Last Hug by Frans de Waal, published 2018
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are by Frans de Waal, published 2016
Bones Would Rain From the Sky by Suzanne Clothier, published 2002
2020 reads
The New Behaviorism 2nd edition by John Staddon (skimmed), published 2014
Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin, published 2009
The Art of Raising a Puppy revised edition by the Monks of New Skete, published 2011
Canine Enrichment for the Real World by Allie Bender, published 2019
Everything You Need to Know About E Collar Training by Larry Krohn, published 2017
2019 and previous years
Dog Language by Roger Abrantes, published 1983
The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell, published 2003
Play: How it Shapes the Brain… by Stuart Brown, published 2009
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, published 2012
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman, published 1992
The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, published 2009
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, published 2010
Cesar’s Way by Cesar Millan, published 2006
The post A running list of my dog- and animal-related reading appeared first on Paws and Reflect.