Great Reads featuring dogs

I am in the S-L-O-W process of cataloging my books and adding them to my LT library, and I came across one of my favorites, Watchers by Dean Koontz. Has anyone else read this terrific story of a wonderful dog? I reread it every year.

Is anyone else out there a fan of the James Herriot books? I first got turned on to his books by watching the BBC series, and then found I loved the books even more than I enjoyed the show.

And one word of advice to all animal lovers out there -- Jennie by Douglas Preston is a heartbreaker (sorry for the spoiler, but it appears in the author's own forward) -- so if books about animals that end tragically upset you (as they do me), you might want to avoid this one. A great read, but I was depressed for days after I read it.

I forgot to mention that I am very partial to liking books where the protagonist has a beloved dog. Robert B. Parker's Spenser acquired Pearl the Wonder Dog in the middle of the series, and Parker's Sunny Randall won a permanent place in my heart for her adoration of her dog Rosie.

Most of my reads these days are romances, and if I find an author that adds memorable dogs into the stories, I come back to her for more. So far, I've found that Jennifer Crusie (Getting Rid of Bradley/3 dogs, Crazy for You and Anyone But You/1 dog each) and Katie MacAlister (the Aisling Grey: Guardian series, featuring the demon Effrejim, aka Jim, who takes the form of a talking Newfoundland) are two that really "get" dogs. They aren't just plot devices - they have real personalities and live as supporting characters.

I will definitely have to check those out, cynthiadogmom. Thanks.

I've read Watchers and loved the dog in it very much. I've found that Dean Koontz always trys to treat a dog well and doesn't often cause one harm in his books. I have just read The Darkest Evening of the Year by him though, again featuring lovely dogs but not the greatest book in the world. His writing seems to be changing and not for the better.

I just finished Merle's Door and I am now thinking it is the best dog book I have ever read. Well, there are some other good ones (Where The Red Fern Grows and Lassie). But I do recommend it highly. The author spends quite a bit of time on recent research related to dogs and has some very interesting things to say about training, neutering, feeding, etc. etc. But it is mostly about a wonderful relationship between himself and Merle. Go read it.

6> I think that book was in one of the recent Daedelus sale book catalogs....

I have given up on books featuring dogs... they all seem to end the same way. The only author I have found that can be depended on to keep the dog alive as far as I know is Dean Koontz.

I used to love Dean Koontz but have gone of his latest style now. But, he still gets points from me for letting the dogs live in his stories.

But most of the time a dog comes along in a story and it presses my 'uh-oh' button right away. It's the only time I can justify to myself the compulsion to peek at the end of a book, I just need to know the dog is going to be okay.

I loved Finn the wolfhound by A.J. Dawson and of corse Flush by Virgina Woolf!

Sight Hound by Pam Houston was a lot of fun - about a dog and his people. Jon Katz's books are all very good and insightful, particularily A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs and Me and Dog Days.

I haven't read it in a long time, but Plague Dogs by Richard Adams comes to mind.

A book I just finished, The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine, was just wonnnnnderful! It's a low-key but gorgeously written book of intertwining stories about the people (and their dogs) who live on a New York block near Central Park. While it's not specifically a book *about* dogs, the dogs are a huge, huge part of the story, and it's a book that will bring a smile to any dog-lover's face. Highly recommended!

My friend told me that marley and me is a definate read. So I'm hoping to get that one soon.

>14 Mandy2:, Marley and Me is a must-read! Especially if you've ever had the dubious pleasure of sharing your life with a canine "problem child." But make sure you have plenty of kleenex handy.

Marley and Me is a wonderful book. I agree with cynthiadogmom, have a lot of tissues handy.

I loved Marley and Me, but it definitely calls for Kleenex. Also moving, but less humorous, is Dog Years by poet Mark Doty. I enjoyed the memoir Fifty Acres and a Poodle
and Pack of Two by essayist Caroline Knapp. I just finished the riveting but tragic novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, which features a mute boy and a fictional breed of dogs.

Pack of Two is one of my essential books. I bought extra copies and gave them to my relatives, saying, "This is me."
It's so sad that she died so young.

I read Knapp's The Merry Recluse before I read Pack of Two and loved both books. After reading them, I felt such a kinship to her that it was if I had lost a sister or friend. I didn't discover her work until she was already gone.

I'm often disappointed by 'doggy' books as they are often over-sentimental and a little amateurish. The one I love that doesn't fall into either of those categories and is a brilliant read for dog-lovers and book-lovers alike is The Last Family in England. The story is told by Prince the Labrador who is watching his family slowly go to hell in a handbasket and decides it is his responsibility to keep them together. Along with Plague Dogs this has to be the best doggy-book I know! (Jody, if you haven't already got it you probably need to speak to me first - you know what I mean.)

Hello, fellow pooch lovers!!!

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, Written by Farley Mowat, is a great read, this guy is too funny and you'll be in love with this dog before you know it!!

BTW, appydo1 refers to one of my three standard poodles, all of whom would be truly distressed if they knew that their pudlmom was talking to "real" dog people...ahem...they do not consider themselves of that genre, doncha know!!!!

#20 - Booksloth, I read The Last Family in England when it first came out and oh, it's a good job I didn't know what was going to happen. I had to warn a librarian friend away from it, she'd never have survived it. But it was a good book.

I have not read The Plague Dogs but have seen the cover of one edition, a little Jack Russell with a bandage on his head. I just can't get past that image to the story. Something bad has happened to that dog even before you open the book, never a good sign.

I'm halfway through The Story of Edgar Sawtelle loving it!!

I am so glad I dug up the past threads that occured before I found you guys. I thought I was the only one who could not handle any story where the dog doesn't make it. I will probably never see Marley & Me. Loved both Watchers and The Darkest Evening of the Year though.

#22 My daughter and I both so loved the book (but couldn't take that final page) that I wrote my own version of an ending, which I now keep in the back of my copy in case of a reread!

That is the ultimate in creative. Lassie use to come on Sunday nights when I was wee little. I would only get to see part of the story before my parents scooped me off to Church. I know I probably appreared as such a sad child because many times I was red eyed, & tear stained with worry about Lassie's outcome.

Thanks for bringing this thread back -- I missed it the first time around, too! I also can't deal with books with a sad ending. I prefer funny ones, like No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman or Absolute Zero by Helen Cresswell (both excellent, funny, and trauma-free dog books for young readers).

Another book that comes to mind is Deerskin by Robin McKinley -- a fantasy novel in which dogs feature. It is neither funny nor trauma-free (though the trauma involves the humans rather than the dogs in the story), but it is an excellent read.

There are so many Robin McKinley books I haven't even heard of yet! Thank you for mentioning another. I've been slowly making my way through her stuff ever since Sunshine and I'm always impressed by how different her books are from each other.

Nop's Trials by Donald McCaig is a good read, but can be upsetting. This is a story of a top sheepdog who is stolen by a rival breeder, and eventually sold to a research lab - but it all comes out in the end, after the owner does a Rambo to get the dog back.

I'm going to rerun this thread just to say:

Hey phlegmmy..I finally got to pick up The Story of Edgar Sawtelle oh my goodness I only had a few minutes to start the book last night but I read 81 pages before laying it down. It's a Feb read for one book club and I recommended it for a June read for my other book club...such an interesting read!

I'm glad you like it BONS. I recommended it to another person who didn't like it at all! I was so baffled by her response because we have such similar tastes in books. There was one part in this book that hit me so hard that I couldn't help myself--I burst right into tears. I think it takes some pretty special writing to evoke that kind of a gut response in a reader.

Hi - I just finished the second book in Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie series. Chet the dog tells the story and he's adorable.

Holy cow! You must read The Art of Racing in the Rain. What an awesome book. But have a box of tissues ready.

Phlegmmy--That is a great read. And you know, when I cried here it was an ok cry not one of just heartbreak and sadness. That cry was different. Great read.

Yup. You knew right from the start what the eventual end would be, but it was beautiful. After the initial cry, I had to go back and read it again. Loved this book.

Hi BONS just told me about this group and I had to join. I loved Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale by Dan Dye. I had never heard about the Three Dog Bakery. I also loved The Art of Racing in the Rain.

Welcome rxtheresa! Glad you came over.

I have found so much help here from training to just ewwing over all the furbabies!! You have a few pictures to look at!! = )

Puppy Chow is better than prozac By Bruce Goldstein
This is a phenominal book it is the true story of a man and the dog who saved his life.
The Other End of the Leash by Patricia Mc Connell
Why we do what we do around dogs
This book is a wonderful read and will help you understand how to interact with your dog better.

My Dog Skip by Willie Morris.

>36 rxtheresa: The Art of Racing in the Rain author Garth Stein is on author chat now for all interested!

I just left a 2 thumbs way up for Garth Stein on the author chat. Wanted to also say I enjoyed Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan

Just started Dog on It by Spencer Quinn which seems like it is going to be a fun book.

>42 rxtheresa: It is pretty cute and there's a sequel too!

Sunnyside by Glen David Gold features a couple of very clever alsations in one section of the book.

Another awesome dog read: Scent of the Missing by Susanna Charleson - HIGHLY recommend!!!!

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Bashan and I by Thomas Mann yet...

Just finished To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay. Beautifully written about aging and an "angel" ghost dog.
This book was particularly special to me because one day one of my neighbor kids, a little boy about 7 years old, came to my door and when he saw my white Alaskan Husky with blue eyes he exclaimed. "Oh he is beautiful! He looks like an angel!" White Dog in the book is a female but from the cover picture she looks very much like my Huskie.

I was taken by this quote from Wolf Hall and thought other LTers with dogs might appreciate it. The protagonist is comforting a distraught member of his household:

"he holds the boy...and makes sounds of comfort, as he did to his children when they were small, or as he does to a spaniel whose tail has been trodden on. Comfort is often, he finds, imparted at the cost of a flea or two."

I didn't notice this one mentioned: Love Is The Best Medicine: What Two Dogs Taught One Veterinarian about Hope, Humility, and Everyday Miracles. I loved it, though I needed a few tissues to get through to the end!

For anyone wanting a good insightful story check out A Dog Named Slugger
You can get to my thoughts on it on my profile page in reviews or click on the 75 Challenge link. recommending the straight matter of fact writing style.

I just finished Emily and Einstein. It is so much more than you can expect from a dog story!! Loved it!,,

Laurien Berenson's murder mysteries all involve dog shows & breeders, and rarely does anything bad happen to a dog.

Dog On It and the rest are ok, although the middle part of Dog On It is very difficult to get through. Years later, I still think about certain scenes there and cry. Stuff of nightmares. And Quinn cannot write dogs as nearly as well as Pam Houston.

Doc, I love mysteries so I will check Berenson out. That's what I enjoyed about Dean Koontz.

Someone recommend Finding Jack also it ties into the Vietnam War.

Hey you're from Woodstock, I live in Lawrenceville !

Just bought 2 hilarious ones:
Stella Unleashed
Zoomer

Yes, children's books, but hilarious. They are so both Finnegan!

we love Victoria Stillwell, if that helps at all for anyone! She is very pro-positive training and I love her methods!

Just finished Bark If You Love Me (Harvest Book) by Louise Bernikow. A quick read and very enjoyable.

Theresa, It sounds great. I'll pick it up.

>57 Dave10: I'll be interested in your take on it. If you read the Amazon reviews you'll see the author is quite self-centered and it took her awhile to catch on as to how to properly treat a dog which upset some but I think she catches on in the end. There is a sequel that I also want to read.

Theresa, I will let you know what I think. Going to the library tomorrow.
Looking forward to a good read!

If you don't want to cry, the Chet and Bernie mysteries are great. Also in that mystery genre are Susan Conant and Carol Lea Benjamin (who besides her mysteries writes wonderful dog training books). I also loved Racing in the Rain and Jon Katz...thinking of more good dog reads. When I read Marley and Me, my GSD was 13 years old and failing--I cried so hard the pillow under my head was truly sopping wet.

yes, as soon as i finished it (marley and me), i played with outlaw for almost 2 hours straight, crying!

Just found this thread, when I added Flush to my library.

Two books that have not been mentioned, which I have enjoyed, are Born to run by Michael Morpurgo, a children's book about a greyhound, and the unsentimental but endearing tale of Red Dog by Louis de Bernieres about an Australian dog living in the outback.

Anything by Jon Katz :)

54> For very young kids, I'd recommend the Angus series (Angus and the Ducks, Angus and the Cat, and Angus Lost) by Marjorie Flack - these were written in the 1930's, and were a favorite of my father - so he read them to me in the 1960's, and I gave copies to my 3 yr old niece this year. I still read them on a regular basis. My favorite line: "Up jumped the CAT onto the sofa back, up to the mantel - and Angus was not high enough to reach her!"

I also found a lovely series of picture books that feature McDuff, the West Highland White Terrier. I have 5 of the books, but there may be others. These were written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Susan Jeffers, and they've chosen to use the style of the 1930's for the pictures. Very colorful and bright. I gave my nephew a copy of McDuff and the Baby when my other brother and his wife were expecting their second child - as the story shows McDuff not very happy about the baby when it arrives, but growing to accept him.

Needless to say, I have a weakness for terriers.

how about the adorable angus and sadie by cynthia voigt?

#62 - Genny -I'm not sure whether you know but Red Dog was recently released here as a movie (I'm not sure that it will make it's way over to your part of the world).

I didn't know that - I'll look out for it!

Another thread that I missed when I first joined LT.

Great reads? There are many really good books about dogs out there, and many good ones mentioned here.

I had completely forgotten Finn the Wolfhound, which I read as a youth. I need to find it and reread it, it's been many years!

The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith is a delight to read, a gem. There's a sequel, The Starlight Barking but it doesn't appeal to me as much.

I love the Jim Kjelgaard books, like Big Red, or Snow Dog. They may be geared for a younger audience, but are well worth reading no matter what age you are.

Albert Payson Terhune wrote a number of really good books about dogs, especially collies. Many of you may be familiar with Lad, A Dog and other books about the collies of Sunnybrook Farm.

I did not see The Incredible Journey mentioned. It remains one of my most favorite books.

A number of books written in the early 1900s about sled dogs used in the gold rush of the late 1800s are worth a read. Included in that group should be White Fang and The Call of the Wild, both written by Jack London.

James Oliver Curwood wrote a number of adventure stories featuring dogs during that same time period, of which I would recommend Kazan: The Wolf Dog and the sequel Baree, Son of Kazan. I believe Curwood also wrote The Bear, which was made into a movie a number of years back.

Have any of you discovered Silver Chief books, written by Jack O'Brien? A few months ago I found them for sale on the web, and now have the first three books in the series.

And then there are Old Yeller and Savage Sam, by Fred Gipson. I have only seen the Disney movie version of the first book, and it is not terribly accurate, so don't base your opinion for the book on the movie.

Glen Balch wrote a number of animal stories, including White Ruff, a story about a collie that is kidnapped and presumed dead.

One book I have not read since I was a teenager, but remember it as a very good read is "Rex" by Joyce Stranger.

And what list of dog stories could be complete without Eric Knight's classic Lassie Come Home?

Those are all classic reads which I'll second as being very worthy of reading. As someone who spent some years as a dog trainer, they also (particularly the Terhune and London) have some interesting differences in how we see dog behavior today versus how people saw it in the past--and yet, dogs are still dogs. Those are all great summer reads too!!!

I'm currently reading My Angels Wear Fur by Devon ODay and am enjoying it.

A non fiction dog book I really enjoyed was A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life by Steven Kotler. They rescue all kinds of dogs, but mostly chihuahuas.

Also, if you like Jack Russells and chick lit, I just finished Horseplay: A Novel by Judy Reene Singer. The 2 Jack Russells have a humorous role throughout the book.

It's About Dogs by Tony Johnston is a children's book with amazing paintings of all types of dogs and poetry. Grown-ups will like it too.

And if you like mysteries I would recommend The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Thank you everyone for your recommendations. I see a growing pile of books to read in my future!

I have recently read the following:

The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant, a book about the Michael Vick dogfighting case, and what was done to rehabilitate the dogs. It's heart-breaking, but also hopeful, and I recommend it.

Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport... also by Jim Gorant was an interesting book about a pit bull who was a champion at a sport not usually associated with large and blocky breeds. Good read.

I'm currently reading The Dogs Who Found Me: by Ken Foster, and am enjoying his anecdotes about his experiences with animal rescues.