Classic Anthologies
Monumental Tributes and Canine Gratitude (1806) edited by Joseph Taylor
Our Dogs and Other Stories (1886) edited by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Fireside Book of Dog Stories (1943) edited by Jack Goodman
The Big Book of Favorite Dog Stories (1964) edited by Florence Peterson
The Literary Dog: Great Contemporary Dog Stories (1990) edited by Jeanne Schinto
These classic anthologies and collections offer tributes to man’s best friend. Available at antiquarian booksellers.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
The masterful adventure story of Buck, the high-spirited sled dog, still reigns supreme on all young adult reading lists. But “old” adults should revisit this classic, with its tales of kindness and savagery, heroism and humanity (or should that be caninity?).

Flush by Virginia Woolf (1933)
Woolf’s biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning is no ordinary biography. Narrated by Browning’s pampered Cocker Spaniel, Flush, this book is an exploration of the mind of a dog as muse, humorist and cultural interpreter.

Man Meets Dog by Konrad Lorenz (1948)
This slim, witty book explores the origins of dogs and brings new perspectives to the study of canine/human relationships. Written by a Nobel Prize-winning ethologist, Man Meets Dog contains some outdated theories pertaining to the canine ancestral tree but still remains a must-read classic.

Thurber’s Dogs: A Collection of the Master’s Dogs, Written and Drawn, Real and Imaginary, Living and Long Ago
by James Thurber (1955)
Thurber at his most Thurber-ish. The title says it all.

My Dog Skip by Willie Morris (1955)
Having seen the movie is no substitute for reading this poignant, beautifully written memoir about a young Southern boy and his dog. Morris’s boyhood relationship with his dog was one of the purest, strongest loves that any person has ever known—readers are advised to keep plenty of Kleenex on hand.

My Dog Tulip by J. R. Ackerley (1956)
Ackerley’s memoir spares no detail when it comes to the life of his beloved Shepherd, Tulip. Her heats, her bowel movements and her love interests are rendered with such precision that the book feels like it was written by a prim, proper, but slightly “off” Victorian naturalist.

The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be by Farley Mowat (1957)
This best-loved children’s book presents a joyous story of a young boy who has the good fortune of growing up on the Canadian Prairies with an amazing and comic dog named Mutt. Not to be missed.

Nop’s Trials by Donald McCaig (1984)
Nop is Virginia farmer Lewis Burkholder’s magnificent Border Collie, and Lewis is Nop’s number one fan. Both dog’s and master’s loyalties and wits are tested when Nop is stolen and they must overcome innumerable obstacles to be reunited. An irresistible tale.

The Hidden Life of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (1993)
A fascinating urban anthropological story that sets out to answer the question “What do dogs want?” The answer might not please everyone, but it is a fascinating study from a master storyteller.

Dog’s Best Friend by Mark Derr (1997)
A thorough and well-researched book that chronicles the evolution of “the dog-human relationship,” examines specific dog behaviors and explores the various “careers” of working dogs. No-nonsense and refreshingly unflinching in its approach, this book explains why, as Derr puts it, “the single greatest problem with dogs is people.”