New: Board & Train, stGet in touch →
Hearth & Hounds home

Field Guide · Reading

What I'm reading, and hand people first

The books that genuinely shaped how I train, grouped by what they help with. Start wherever your dog is.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

Browse my full Amazon shelf →

Reactivity & Big Feelings

Behavior Adjustment Training 2.0

Grisha Stewart

The field guide for BAT, the exact protocol I use with reactive dogs. Dense and practical. Pairs well with in-person sessions.

Related in the Field Guide: BAT, Reactivity, What "threshold" actually means

On Amazon →

Gear that helps

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

15ft training long line

What makes a decompression walk possible: freedom to sniff and move with a safety net still in your hand. We reach for one constantly in recall and reactive work.

Shop on Amazon

Treat pouch (clip-on)

You can't reward fast enough digging in a pocket. A pouch you open one-handed changes your timing, and this one has a magnetic close plus a built-in clicker.

Shop on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

Control Unleashed: Reactive to Relaxed

Leslie McDevitt

A foundational one for reactive and anxious dogs. Games and patterns that help an overwhelmed dog learn to settle and check in with you instead of coming apart.

Related in the Field Guide: Threshold, Pattern games, The one move for when your dog lunges

On Amazon →

Gear that helps

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

Treat pouch (clip-on)

You can't reward fast enough digging in a pocket. A pouch you open one-handed changes your timing, and this one has a magnetic close plus a built-in clicker.

Shop on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

The Other End of the Leash

Patricia McConnell, PhD

A behaviorist's guide to why dogs do what they do, written for the humans on the other end. Required reading for a reactive or anxious dog.

Related in the Field Guide: Reactivity, Calming signals

On Amazon →

Mine! A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding

Jean Donaldson

The clearest, most practical guide to resource guarding I know. Short and direct, and it will change how you handle a dog who guards food, toys, or space.

Related in the Field Guide: Resource guarding, Management

On Amazon →

Bark!

Zazie Todd, PhD

A science-backed guide to anxious, fearful, and reactive dogs, written by someone who translates research for real owners. Practical and compassionate.

Related in the Field Guide: Reactivity, Threshold

On Amazon →

Enrichment

Canine Enrichment for the Real World

Allie Bender & Emily Strong

The book that reframes enrichment as meeting a dog's needs rather than buying them toys. The chapter on agency alone is worth it.

Related in the Field Guide: Enrichment, Agency

On Amazon →

Canine Enrichment for the Real World Workbook

Allie Bender & Emily Strong

The working companion to the book above. Short, structured, and built to be written in. Good for anyone who understood the theory and wants a plan they can actually follow.

Related in the Field Guide: Enrichment

On Amazon →

Canine Enrichment

Shay Kelly, MSc

A shorter, more practical primer on enrichment. Less framework than Bender and Strong, more straight to the point. A good first book for someone who has just realized walks are not enough.

Related in the Field Guide: Enrichment

On Amazon →

Understanding Dogs

Being a Dog

Alexandra Horowitz

A whole book on what the world smells like to a dog, by the researcher behind the study showing that letting them sniff makes them measurably more optimistic. You will stop rushing your dog past lampposts.

Related in the Field Guide: Decompression walk

On Amazon →

Inside of a Dog

Alexandra Horowitz

What dogs see, smell, and know, told by a cognitive scientist who studies them. Changes how you think about what your dog is actually doing all day.

On Amazon →

Meet Your Dog

Kim Brophey

A breed-by-breed guide to why your dog does what it does, rooted in genetics and environment rather than obedience. Useful for anyone who has ever said "but they should know better by now."

On Amazon →

How Dogs Learn

Don't Shoot the Dog

Karen Pryor

The book that introduced positive reinforcement to a mainstream audience. Short, practical, still the clearest explanation of how learning works.

Related in the Field Guide: Positive reinforcement, Shaping, How to tell if training is actually working

On Amazon →

Gear that helps

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

Clicker

A clear, consistent marker your dog learns to trust. One click means "yes, that, a treat is coming," which sharpens your timing on everything else.

Shop on Amazon

Excel-erated Learning

Pamela J. Reid, PhD

Learning theory without the textbook. It explains how dogs actually learn, in plain language, and it is the one I would hand someone who wants to understand why the training works instead of just following the steps.

Related in the Field Guide: Positive reinforcement, Shaping, Counterconditioning

On Amazon →

Gamify Your Dog Training

Terry Ryan

Turns training into games you both actually want to play. A good reminder that the work is supposed to be fun, and that fun is what makes it stick.

Related in the Field Guide: Enrichment, Engagement, Enrichment vs. exercise, and why your dog needs both

On Amazon →

Gear that helps

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

Flirt pole

A lure on a pole for a fast, satisfying chase that burns real energy in a small yard. We also use it to teach impulse control: chase, then "drop," then chase again.

Shop on Amazon

Snuffle mat

Hides kibble in the fabric so a dog sniffs it out, and sniffing is genuinely calming. Our go-to for a dog who needs a job on a rainy day.

Shop on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

Plenty in Life Is Free

Kathy Sdao

A short, thoughtful book on reinforcement-based training from someone who has been doing it for decades. It will change how you think about what your dog earns and what you give away for free.

Related in the Field Guide: Positive reinforcement

On Amazon →

The Bond

Wag

Zazie Todd, PhD

The science of making your dog happy, by the same researcher who wrote Bark. Covers everything from how to pet them to what kind of walk they actually need.

Related in the Field Guide: Enrichment, Decompression walk

On Amazon →

Bones Would Rain from the Sky

Suzanne Clothier

A book about the relationship itself, not the training. Written by someone who has spent a lifetime paying attention to what dogs are actually asking for.

On Amazon →

Reading Your Dog

How Stella Learned to Talk

Christina Hunger

The speech-language pathologist who taught her dog to 'talk' with word buttons. Really it is a book about listening, and proof your dog is telling you more than you think.

Related in the Field Guide: Cue, The check-in

On Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links here are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

Back to the Field GuideBook a session
Advertisement