7 Must-Read Books for New Dog Owners

Have you recently adopted a dog? Congratulations! Having a dog can fill your life with endless love, happiness, and loyal companionship.

If this is your first time owning a pet and you’re uncertain about how to look after it, don’t worry. Here we have listed down some of the best must-read books for new dog owners that will guide you on how to raise and take care of your new buddy like a pro!

1. The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs by Patricia B. McConnell

Written by a renowned zoologist and animal behaviorist, Patricia McConnell bases her book on how human behavior can influence dogs’ actions. It centers around the importance of communication between dogs and their owners. It teaches the subtle and explicit art of interacting with your pets so that they grow up to be loyal, gentle, and pleasant with you and others.

According to the Washington Post, The Other End of the Leash is “good reading for dog lovers and an immensely useful manual for dog owners.”

2. My Smart Puppy: Fun, Effective, and Easy Puppy Training by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson

By America’s most charming dog trainers, this book offers a wealth of information on how to train puppies of all kinds. The book is a quick yet amazing read, given how nicely it is broken down into various chapters.

The guidebook tackles in-depth different puppy personality types, their specific problems, and how to deal with them through training. This book is for all those pet owners who are looking for smart and easy ways to train small dogs. It’s indeed simple to read and easy to understand by all.

3. The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods

This is a relatively new book in the category of must-read books for new dog owners by the scientist and New York Times bestselling author Brian Hare and the award-winning author, researcher, and journalist Vanessa Woods. In this impressive book, both the writers present a great insight into the social behavior of dogs – how they behave and communicate with other pets and their owners. This is a detailed guide that focuses on the importance of communication between dogs and their owners by emphasizing ways to understand the dog’s language.

Instead of simply focusing on how to train dogs, the guide centers around how dogs end up teaching their owners without them realizing it. It’s a quite informational and motivational book that will leave you with a lot of tips and tricks to try on your pet.

4. Inside of a Dog: What Dog See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz

As the name tells it all, this book is all about understanding the world from your dog’s perspective. It’s a great read and a quick one, too. Once you start reading it, you won’t be able to tear yourself away from it – yes, it’s that engaging!

Focusing on the science of dogs, Horowitz explains what it’s like to be a dog – what they feel and think and what they mean by their different actions and behaviors and so on. It’s an illuminating book that throws light on various dog sensibilities that most pet owners aren’t aware of.

5. Perfect Puppy in 7 Days: How to Start Your Puppy Off Right by Sophia A. Yin

Looking for a quick yet effective way to train your puppy? Look no further than Perfect Puppy in 7 days. Read this book and master the art of training your new puppy in a week – or less!

What we love about this book the most is that it is visually quite attractive. With over 400 photos, this guide literally shows you everything you need to do to ensure your pup is growing up to be an obedient lad.  This pictorial book is perfect for complete new dog owners who might as well be nervous and diffident about raising a pup at home all by themselves.

6. The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson

The Culture Clash is all about tackling the differences between humans and dogs. It highlights common issues that dog owners face if they anthropomorphize their pets and assume all of them to just be the same in terms of their actions and behaviors.

This informative book explains the presumptions that dog owners usually have about dogs and how they should erase them from their minds so they can approach and train new dogs with a clean slate. The guide also teaches common ideas and moralities humans possess and should not impose on dogs because that can adversely affect their new pet.   

7. The Right Dog for You by Daniel F. Tortora

This one is different from the rest of the books listed here as the must-read books for new dog owners as it mainly guides you on how to choose the best dog for yourself. This book will help shape your decision regarding the type of dog you should adopt on the basis of your lifestyle and personality.

The book contains over a hundred unique breeds, explaining each one’s characteristics and temperaments in detail. Along with that, there’s also a comprehensive guide on multiple training methods for training different dog breeds.

8. Don’t Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training by Karen Pryor

This is one of the most popular must-read books for new dog owners in which Pryor explains in detail why “affection training” is the best way to modify your dog’s behavior. He presents you with awesome tips and tricks that can help you master behavior modification of your new pet in no time.

The book is filled with “food for thoughts” that will make you an advocate for early pup socialization which is a popular training technique supported by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.

These are the 8 must-read books for new dog owners you should get your hands on if you strive to become a well-loved pet owner.