The 14 Best Dog Training Books

A long-time favorite of many trainers, rescuers, and pet owners, The Power of Positive Dog Training is a popular guide for positive-reinforcement training methods. Author Pat Miller has been a dog trainer for more than 40 years. She started her career using negative methods like harsh words and choke chains, but quickly moved to force-free training focused on praise and treats.

The book follows Miller’s six-week basic training program with everything laid out in an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide. There’s also an introduction to clicker training, where you acknowledge the exact moment your dog does what you want with a click, and then reward them for doing it. She discusses how to slowly phase out the clicker and treats and explores the principles behind positive dog training.

The book has 24 chapters ranging from body language and learning to walk on a leash to house-training and nipping. There’s a doggy day planner, a section on good treats and rewards, and a glossary of dog-training terms.

_{Pages: 288 | Publication Date: 2008 | Format: Paperback, hardcover, e-book, audio book}

Ask many dog trainers and behaviorists for a reading recommendation, and Karen Pryor’s book is often at the top of the list. Pryor is a long-time animal trainer and is considered one of the pioneers of positive reinforcement training. Published nearly 40 years ago, this popular book explains how to use positive reinforcement and why it works.

But there are much broader applications for the techniques. Pryor shows how you can use these methods to teach and reinforce behaviors not only in your pets, but in kids, group settings, and even yourself. The book is an easy read and witty. For example, “Nobody should be allowed to have a baby until they have first been required to train a chicken.”

_{Pages: 202 | Publication Date: 1984 | Format: Paperback}

Celebrity trainer Zak George’s very popular YouTube channel is filled with upbeat, fun videos of everything from puppy training to dealing with leash reactivity. His first book is a comprehensive look at puppy and dog training, presented in the same friendly style of his videos. The book covers topics from choosing the right pup for your family, through basic training, leash walking, and housetraining. It covers some behavioral issues including chewing, barking, and jumping.

Once you’ve mastered all the basic training, George offers lots of tricks and fun activities you can do with your pup. If anything is unclear, you can find the video online for an easy demonstration. The focus is always on positive reinforcement and a loving relationship with your dog.

^{Pages: 240 | Publication Date: 2016 | Format: Paperback, e-book, audio book, spiral bound}

Puppy Start Right is a classic and well-respected puppy training book. Written by a veterinarian (Kenneth R. Martin, DVM) and a certified dog trainer/animal behavior technician (Debbie Martin, RVT, BTS, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP), Puppy Start Right is both comprehensive and easy to follow. It includes step-by-step instructions as well as information about broader concepts that are fundamental to dog training, like socialization and how dogs learn. 

The book is entirely focused on positive reinforcement, and is a great introduction to using positive reinforcement methods to solve common problems. Some of the topics covered include handling, housetraining, resource guarding prevention, and independence training.

_{Pages: 192 | Publication Date: 2011 | Format: Paperback}

Dog cognition expert Alexandra Horowitz is a professor, writer, and researcher focused on how dogs think. Inside of a Dog discusses what dogs know and how their minds work. She has written several books about what it’s like to experience the world from a dog’s perspective. The book offers insights of what it must be like to take a walk from a pup’s vantage point, to sniff all the attractions of the great outdoors, to hear even the buzz of tiny insects.

“If we want to understand the life of any animal, we need to know what things are meaningful to it,” she writes. “The first way to discover this is to determine what the animal can perceive: what it can see, hear, smell, or otherwise sense. Only objects that are perceived can have meaning to the animal; the rest are not even noticed, or all look the same.”

The book really dives into the canine perception, but doesn’t focus much on training tips. It will, however, make you reconsider everything around you from your dog’s frame of mind.

_{Pages: 384 | Publication Date: 2010 | Format: Paperback, hardcover, e-book, audio book}

Sometimes understanding your dog is like figuring out a puzzle, but if you don’t have all the pieces you’ll never see the complete picture. In “Meet Your Dog: The Game-Changing Guide to Understanding Your Dog’s Behavior,” canine behavior consultant Kim Brophey explains the model she uses to help understand and manage dog behavior. She calls it L.E.G.S. for learning, environment, genetics, and self. Understanding those elements help you understand why your dog is the way they are.

The model is based on science and research, but the book makes the information very accessible with lots of stories and tips on using a dog’s natural tendencies to have a good relationship and well-adjusted life. It’s written with a sense of humor and is a good read.

^{Pages: 256 | Publication Date: 2018 | Format: Hardcover, e-book, audio book}

“The more you love your dog, the more you need to understand human behavior,” writes Patricia McConnell in The Other End Of The Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs. The animal behaviorist and lecturer has worked with pet parents for more than two decades and written nearly a dozen books on training, behavioral issues, and the human relationship with animals.

Here, McConnell takes a look at how humans communicate with dogs and how that affects understanding, as well as training. She translates this into insightful advice like how to get your dog to come (by acting like a dog) and why really rowdy play can lead to behavior problems. Plus, the whole book is entertaining, not filled with jargon, and packed with lots of funny stories.

_{Pages: 272 | Publication Date: 2003 | Format: Paperback, hardcover, e-book, audio book, spiral-bound}

Barking, jumping, digging, and biting. Behavior problems like these are one of the main reasons dogs are brought to shelters and rescues. This book offers a collection of advice from board-certified experts who are part of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. They suggest all positive-reinforcement training advice, for example discourage jumping by ignoring the behavior or close the curtains for dogs that are easily triggered to bark.

Each chapter is written by a different expert, but the recurring themes of praise and positivity run through them all. Treats are incredibly important. The authors write: “The morals of this story are that if the reward is good enough, the dog will work to earn that reward, and, second, what is one dog’s most valued reward may not be another’s.”

_{Pages: 384 | Publication Date: 2015 | Format: Paperback, hardcover, e-book, audio book}

Animal trainer and author Karen Pryor is one of the creators of clicker training. This method catches your dog at the exact moment they are doing what you’ve asked by marking that second with a noise from a small clicker and then giving them a treat. The book explains the basics of using a clicker to catch positive behaviors. It discusses why you should ignore mistakes and only acknowledge positive responses.

The book is relatively short and has been around for almost two decades, but it still holds up well and is one of the most-respected guides on clicker training. The updated e-book version has photos and step-by-step guides showing how the training works in many situations.

_{Pages: 100 | Publication Date: 2002 | Format: Paperback, hardcover, e-book}

You think your dog is smart? This is the book to see how brilliant. The Big Book of Tricks for the Best Dog Ever features a step-by-step guide—with photos—to 112 tricks and stunts. The book is written by author Larry Kay and stunt-dog trainer Chris Perondi, who performs more than 1,000 shows each year with his canine stars.

The book divides tricks into beginner (sit pretty, roll over, speak), intermediate (open the door, hoop jump, toy cleanup), and pro (step slowly, hug an item, wipe your paws). Each trick has photos and a step-by-step guide to teaching it. There’s troubleshooting, pro tips, and info on visual cues. The book also has how-tos on more fun experiences like dancing with your dog, jumping rope, dock diving, and dog parkour.

_{Pages: 320 | Publication Date: 2019 | Format: Paperback, e-book}

Some dogs really hate to be alone. They can become distressed and even destructive when their people leave—a condition known as separation anxiety. When a dog is this stressed, you can become reluctant to ever leave your house, which can make the condition even worse for your pet when you do have to leave. Be Right Back!, by specialist separation anxiety trainer and behavior consultant Julie Naismith shares a comprehensive training plan for gradually getting your pup over their stress.

The book has training plans, but also includes lots of success stories, as well as training myths that might make things worse. Naismith suggests a slow, patient process that includes first leaving your pup alone for just seconds at a time and gradually increasing the time you are away. The goal is a calm, confident pup.

_{Pages: 270 | Publication Date: 2019 | Format: Paperback, e-book, audio book}

There are many different types of service and support dogs that can help you with physical and emotional support. Author Jennifer Cattet, a certified dog trainer and founder of the Center for the Study of Medical Assistance Canines, explains how a dog can assist with tasks. She discusses how much time and effort goes into training a service dog and how to determine if a dog has the best disposition to take on that role.

The book is informative and approachable, but it doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges of training a dog to go with you everywhere, or training a dog in general. She writes, “Each dog I’ve owned has forced me to make changes to my house, to my schedule and to my habits. With a creature that has so many needs, sensitivities and abilities, we often underestimate what it will require of us.”

_{Pages: 202 | Publication Date: 2021 | Format: Paperback, e-book}

If your dog bounds over the ottoman or does parkour off the walls, agility training could be a great idea. Having Fun with Agility is by Margaret Bonham, a trainer and professional sled dog racer. She uses positive reinforcement, like clicker training, to show how you can teach your dog to become an athlete.

The book is geared toward pet parents who want to have fun with agility—not necessarily those who want to train for serious competitions. The guide goes through the basics and is targeted toward beginners with willing, active pups, but also has tips for people who are already dabbling in agility. You don’t have to buy a bunch of gear; the book has tips on how to create some easy, basic equipment.

_{Pages: 192 | Publication Date: 2004 | Format: Paperback, e-book}

Author and illustrator Lili Chin is the pet world’s go-to person for informative animal illustrations. Her drawings have been used by the RSPCA, Fear Free Pets, the American Animal Hospital Association, and countless veterinarians and behavior experts. The drawings in Doggie Language are not just adorable, they’re incredibly helpful for those learning about dog body language at any age.

Dog training books for kids are lacking in numbers, and Doggie Drawings is not a training book (nor is it written specifically for kids). However, dog body language is one of the most important things a child can learn, because it can help keep them safe when a dog is saying “no thank you.” Plus, in our experience, kids love looking at the colorful, cute illustrations. Lili Chin also has free posters on dog body language, which are great for putting up in a household with a new dog.

_{Pages: 128 | Publication Date: 2020 | Format: Hardcover}