Hi my name is Line Sandstedt and I am the manager of the Norwegian Centre of Anthrozoology. I am also an instructor with the Norwegian Kennel Club. I have had, and trained dogs since 1982. In that time the way that we look at dogs and the way we train them has changed a lot! When I first started to read books about dogs there were few of them, and almost all wrote that the dog was a wolf and that the only thing the puppy wanted when it came in the house was to take over the command of the family. Up to now it has been little research on dogs living among humans. But lately we have seen more research on dogs and on the relationship between dogs and humans. There is also a lot of books about dogs and dog training, so it may be difficult to find the right book for you and your dog. I have read a lot of books during my years as a dog owner, some have been very good and a lot of them not so good. I will like to share with you my top list of dog-books.
I hope the list will help you find something interesting to read, and that we all get more knowledge about this wonderful companion we have together with us and that we love so much.
I will divide them in different categories:
Books for all dog-people:
“Du härliga valptid”, Ingalill og Curt Blixt. Swedish
When we get a puppy a lot of time is spent in just learning and understanding just our puppy. How it behaves and what its characteristics is like. This book is the absolutely best book I have red on this topic.
There is also a working guide to this book.
“Bra relation – om samspelet mellan hund och människa med TSB-modellen”. Kenth Svartberg. Swedish
New research shows that dogs are not wolves. Hence, our relationships with dogs do not need to be based on the rules applied in a wolf society, such as pack order system with a strong hierarchy. New research on pack structure shows that long-term relationships are preferred and are an important aspect in this friendship. In this book you learn a lot about how to interact and live together with your dog.
“Mentalitets boken” Ingalill og kurt Blixt og Kenth Svartberg. Swedish
This book is a nice and easy read book about the dog’s behaviour, thoughts and feelings – the dogs mentality.
Books for people that are interesting in training dogs:
Tracking: “Spårhunden och lukterna” Lars Fält, Tobias Gustafsson, Jens Karlsson, Jessica Åber. Swedish
Some of Sweden’s brightest practitioners and scientists within tracking behavioural in dogs has contributed in this book.
Obedience:
“Med sikte på 10:an” Kent och Niina Svartberg. Swedish
This is one of the best books for all that want to train their dogs for obedience and competitions.
“klik dig til succes” Karen S.Ulrich & Christina Ingerslev. Danish
“Klik dig til success” is an interesting book that explains the method both theoretical and practical.
”Apportering til hverdags og fest” Elise Blomster og Lena Gunnarsson. English
A book about retrieving and positive training of gun dogs (retrievers and spaniels). It is also a book for everyone that want a good retrieving for both obedience competitions, other dog sports and an everyday life.
Books for people that are very interesting in dogs, dog´s mentality and how the dogs have been domesticated:
“Genetics and the Social Behavior of the dog” John Paul Scott and John L.Fuller. English
The classic study of dog behaviour, this is the most importance reference work on the behaviour on dogs.
“Dog behaviour, evolution and cognition” Adam Miklosi. English
Adam Miklosi is the head of the “Family dog project” at Elte University in Budapest, Hungary. The Family Dog Project was founded in 1994 to study the behavioural and cognitive aspects of the dog-human relationship. It is one of the largest dog research groups in the world, with over 100 published papers in peer-reviewed journals. In this book Adam Miklosi has gathered new research on dogs and the development of dog-human relationship.
https://familydogproject.elte.hu
