Best book for dog behaviour

[roundroundbaby]

I have never owned a dog but I really want to. I love dogs, and it has always been a dream to have one. However following a few bad experiences I have recently become very fearful of dogs especially dogs I don't know.

I know that I need to get past this fear before I can seriously think about welcoming a dog into my family. I am committed to this, and know it may take years before I am ready for dog ownership.

I think understanding dog behaviour would be a good place to start. I would like to start by reading some books on it. After I've done this I can contact some dog shelters/trainers to see if I can spend some time with them -I don't have the time to do this at the moment.

Can any one recommend any good books to help understand dog behaviour?

TIA

I have had dogs for most of my life; there are good books and utter nonsense books, but one I have found to be particularly good is this one - Know Your Dog by Bruce Fogle - www.amazon.co.uk/Know-Your-Dog-Owners-Behaviour/dp/0863188575/ref=sr_1_14?crid=3NK3DL9OLUREP&keywords=bruce+fogle&qid=1665653870&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjAxIiwicXNhIjoiMy44OCIsInFzcCI6IjMuNjkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=bruce+fogle%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-14

It uses clear examples and good photography. I've recommended it before to a few friends who have all found it helpful.

I haven't read his more recent books, but he is so sensible and practical that I imagine they are equally as good.

I'm sorry to hear that you've had bad experiences. I hope that, in time and if you are able to find a dog that suits you, that you find a great canine friend to have fun with.

Very best wishes to you. x

I liked the perfect puppy by Gwen Bailey.

The best advice I ever received about understanding training dogs was the following.

Imagine you have a friend and you want her to do something specific. Eg walk into a room and sit on a particular seat/part of sofa etc. BUT you can’t talk to her. You have to do it only by positive reinforcement. Dogs will never understand phrases like calm down., etc.

For training I highly recommend Total Recall by Pippa Mattinson. You have to invest a lot of time and effort but it works, even with 'difficult' breeds. It has a lot on how dogs think which is relevant to your question on behavior.

For dog ownership (before and during) the best book I've read is by trained Louise Glazebrook. It's one I consistently dip in and out of now my "puppy" is 2 years old.

For body language which may help you right now there's a great almost picture book. I can't recall the name but I'll check my bookshelves later.

In Defence of Dogs - John Bradshaw

Dogs A new Understanding - Coppinger

Culture Clash - Jean Donaldson

Dont shoot the dog Karen Pryor

Anything by Alexandra Horowitz
eg Being a dog, Inside of a dog.

They are not training books as such but help to have an understanding of dogs and how they learn and function.

If you want help with body language and how to read dogs the

Calming signals - Turid Tugaas
Canine Body Language, A Photographic Guide by Brenda Aloff
Canince Communication . The Language of a Species. Sally Gutteridge

Think Dog: An owners guide to canine physiology; decoding your dog or the dogs mind could be good?

Think Dog by the amazing John Fisher is great for discussion points and is good to see how dog training has developed. But John says himself before he died in 1997 that much of the book is now outdated.

All of the books mentioned are great but it really depends on your aim. Many books have a specific behaviour they target or a particular development stage.

For general learning;

In Defence of Dogs - John Bradshaw
Culture Clash - Jean Donaldson
Calming signals - Turid Tugaas

If there is a particular behaviour you are hoping to understand there is probably something better.

For training a puppy, Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy by Steve Mann

I really enjoyed Hell on 4 Paws by Gwen Bailey. It's more a novel than it is a training/behaviour guide but it touches on canine psychology and behaviour and it's really entertaining.

Although at the time of reading it I was training my own Chesil. He was word for word exactly the same, so that might be why I enjoyed it so much. I found myself nodding along to every word.

I loved Bonding with your Dog by Victoria Schade as it made me think about what he needed.
I also like Turid Tagaas books, including Calming Signals.

Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson and In Defence of Dogs are must reads. I think dogs the world over would be much happier if all owners had to read them.