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Dogs: General

If you want to buy a book, clicking on the book cover will take you directly to that book on the Amazon.co.uk web site.

See also:
Dogs: Health and Nutrition
Dogs: Books on single breeds
Dogs: Origins, canine evolution and wolves
Dogs: Puppy and manners training
Dogs: Skills training: Agility and training games
Dogs: Skills training:Sheepdog, gundog and scent work

Dogs: Behaviour and training philosophies
Dogs: Breeding and kennel management
Dogs: Fiction and biography relating to dogs

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The Dog Wars

  
"The Dog Wars" is the story of a battle by organizations representing owners of working Border collies to prevent the American Kennel Club (AKC) from "recognising" their breed. "Why the fuss?", you might ask. "Surely recognition from an influential body would bring benefits." Well, actually no, according to many breed organizations. For sheepdoggers, like Donald McCaig, the concern is that recognition brings pressures to breed dogs that conform to a particular appearance, the "conformation standard". Yet the essence of border collies lies in their ability to work. The ISDS, or International Sheepdog Society, will register dogs on merit, for their ability to work, regardless of their parentage or appearance. As anyone who has watched "One Man and His Dog" knows, Border collies come in all shapes, colours, coat types and sizes. A proposal to turn this particular breed into an attractive, but useless dog, conforming to just one particular appearance  template for a collie, makes no sense. Border collies are dogs bred to do a particular job. Collies bred for appearance only are therefore not border collies, regardless of their pedigrees. Donald McCaig talks of this in terms of a religious war. Religion is about shared values and ethics, so in the eyes of people who love working border collies, breeding collies for appearance is sacrilege.

The AKC won its battle in December 1994, though most owners of American registered border collies opposed the move. How did the AKC manage to do this?

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The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dogs and Puppies: Authoritative Reference Care and ID Manual

Sean O'Meara
Flame Tree Publishing (1 Aug 2008)
ISBN-10: 1847862276
ISBN-13: 978-1847862273


This book is a real treat, very nicely presented with lots of illustrations, as well as useful advice on dog care and training, and information on breeds for people choosing a dog or just curious. This is one of the better breed guides in that a lot of breeds are covered, though the book only gives enough information for a shortlist. You really need to talk to people who own the breed to get a fuller picture.

There is also a fascinating account of how dogs have evolved, and the role they have played in our lives. This would make a lovely present for anyone who likes dogs.

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Dog Grooming for Dummies 

Margaret H. Bonham
John Wiley & Sons (11 April 2006) 
ISBN-10: 0471773905
ISBN-13: 978-0471773900


Margaret Bonham has written a helpful book for people just starting out, who need to know the basics about grooming. It is useful if you want to groom your own dogs rather than pay an arm and a leg to take them to be groomed. However, if you want to become a professional groomer, you need a more in-depth book.

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Grooming Manual for the Dog and Cat


Sue Dallas, Diana North, and Joanne Angus
Wiley-Blackwell (13 April 2006)
ISBN-10: 1405111836
ISBN-13: 978-1405111836


This book is aimed at groomers, breeders and owners, and people who are taking the City and Guilds 775 Grooming exam, as well as students of animal care. It is a much more in-depth guide than Grooming for Dummies, and includes detailed guidance on how to do specific haircuts. There is also information on skin care, skin parasites, and other issues that groomers need to know about. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to do more than groom their own pooch.

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A Member of the Family
Cesar Millan
Hodder & Stoughton (5 Feb 2009) 
ISBN-10: 0340978619
ISBN-13: 978-0340978610

Cesar Millan has erupted into the world of American dog gurus, and his popularity shows a need for an easy to understand and practical set of guidelines for dealing with more challenging dogs. He is also very man-friendly, with his message of the need to give leadership to dogs, and his fondness for 'powerful breeds'. Critics sneered at his philosophy, but many ordinary folk lapped it up. They could understand him, and often his advice helped, while advice from others failed. In part his popularity owes much to the cul-de-sac that American official orthodoxy had wandered into. British trainers are relatively pragmatic, tending to go for what works more than what fits nicely into fashionable theories, and use they insights from ethology as much as behaviourism. They also have a much easier job, Owners are much more likely to choose a pup from a small, dedicated breeder who has already started the pup's training. Too many dogs end up in shelters in the UK, but the problem is not as acute as it is in the US. Anyone choosing a UK shelter dog can select one that fits their needs, without being plagued by the thought that 'if I don't take home this troubled guy, he may not be alive in a week'. And dogs in the UK are more likely to be walked every day, which means they learn to sit at the kerb, meet other dogs and humans and develop good manners, and are more relaxed and better trained as a result of walks, which after all are a form of training.

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Cesar's Way

Cesar's Way tells the story of how Cesar Millan went to California and became famous for his work with dogs. The book also sets out what Millan believes that Californian dogs need to have happier lives and get on better with their owners. Millan arouses passions. He has a large, enthusiastic following, but has also been criticised for taking back training to the days when every whisker twitch was seen as a sign of dominance, and for using some harsh techniques; the dark days before ethologists began to reassess their views of wolves, and before Karen Pryor made operant conditioning fashionable in dog training, with her 'Don't Shoot the Dog'. So is Millan God or the Devil?  The answer, of course, is neither. His approach has some strengths, and much of what he says is relevant to European owners, but he is also a showman, with a very partial vision of dog human relations, and can only really be understood in the context of Californian dog culture.

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Choosing the Right Dog for You

Gwen Bailey spent a long time working in rescue, helping dogs find new homes, often because their previous owners had not realised what they had taken on when they bought a cute pup. So she is well aware of the need to think about what sort of dog would suit you, before you take a decision. This is a well-written guide, and is geared to a British public, so it is a good starting point for learning about breeds in Britain. It is, however, rather short, partly because some of the rarer breeds are excluded. It is also just a starting point, which can help you short-list breeds. rather than providing all the information you need to know about any particular breed.

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Your Purebred Puppy

This is one of the better guides to choosing a dog breed, in that it is more honest than most about some of the challenges associated with certain breeds. Some dog breed books are fun to read, with seductive pictures of beautiful show dogs. This book is more matter of fact, and gives far more useful information to help people taking a very important decision.  Breeds are assessed in terms of their suitability for people with children, those with less of more experience, whether a lot of grooming is needed, how easy dogs from the breed tend to be to train, and other characteristics.

Though the book does warn readers that there can be considerable variety within a breed, perhaps this point is not stressed enough. This is especially true for very popular breeds, such as German shepherds, and Labrador and Golden retrievers. So, it always pay to research a pup's line, as well as learning about the breed in general. Some breeds are also perceived differently in the US from the UK, either because geographical distance has meant some genetic divergence, and/or because of urban myths associated with the breed. This book is American, so names and the breeds themselves may be slightly different across the pond. 

On balance, it's well worth checking out this book if you are pondering 'which breed', because it is one of the better breed guides. True, a breed book is just a starting point for researching a breed, and this book is a very good place to start exploring.

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The Kennel Club's Illustrated Breed Standards: The Official Guide to Registered Breeds

This is the official bible of dog breeds from the Kennel Club. Their categories of breeds: Hound, Gundog, Terrier, Utility, Working and Toy, are explained, and there's something on the history of each breed, to help understand why the breeds have the characteristics they do - what the dogs were designed for. It's not a perfect guide to finding the right dog for you - sometimes the descriptions gloss over the less desirable characteristics of the breeds, but it is certainly worth reading if you are serious about understanding dog breeds.

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Choosing a Dog for Dummies

Chris Walkowicz
Hungry Minds
ISBN 0764553100

The latest from Chris Walkowicz, a well-respected author on dog breeds - this book came out in 2001. It is an extremely useful book for anyone choosing a dog, or who wants to understand the impact that breed has on their dog's behaviour. Daniel Tortora's 'The Right Dog for You' is sometimes recommended for people choosing a dog, but that book is a bit outdated now, since breed characteristics have changed since it was written. Walkowicz uses up-to-date information, which is based on extensive research, and is presented in a systematic way. There is help on choosing a breed, or breed mix, to suit your lifestyle, and on evaluating rescue dogs. The approach is geared to US readers, but this is still by far the best book on breed characteristics.

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A Dog is Listening

Roger A. Caras
Souvenir Press
ISBN 02856 34518

Anecdotes, easy to read, lively, with a bit of science mixed in with the stories. Caras is a very funny writer, and this is a very enjoyable book. He, like John Fisher, notes that chest scratching may be similar to the pleasures of mounting for male dogs, but Caras tells you that you can forget about it and just carry on chest scratching, whereas Fisher does not approve, and advises owners not to scratch their dogs' chests. Owners will know that bitches also like chest scratching, and, unless your dog shows signs of constantly wanting to mate with you, Caras' approach is more appealing. This book is definitely worth reading to cheer yourself up on a rainy day.

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The New Encyclopedia of the Dog 

This is a fascinating book, lavishly illustrated, with good introductions to each breed type, such as terriers and gun dogs. There is also general information on the history and care of dogs. This is an ideal present, to be treasured by dog lovers, both children and adults. So many breed types are covered that you can spend happy hours just marvelling at their variety. Symbols are used to indicate dog characteristics, for brevity. The book is very well organized, well presented, and easy to follow.

This book is an excellent starting point for would-be dog owners wanting to select a breed, because they can combine the general information on the breed type with the information on the individual breed and obtain a fairly full picture. It is, however, impossible to cover so many individual breeds in depth even in a large book such as this, so additional information is still needed before making a decision on a particular breed.

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