Books on Dogs and Related Topics

The Canine Diversity Project

You can help the Diversity Project continue it's work by purchasing books on dogs and related topics from Amazon.com through the links on this page. The referral commissions will be used to help fund the cost of maintaining this site and distributing information on sound breeding practices.

Use the icon next to the heading to go to the Amazon.com main page.
Click on titles listed below to go directly to a description of that book.

Canine cousins

Corbett & Corbett, "The Dingo: In Australia and Asia". The authors describe the Dingo's ancestry, biology, behavior, and ecology. (1995)

Grady, "The Nature of Coyotes". An illustrated history of the coyote and its interaction with man. Worth buying for the photography alone. (1994)

Hanson, "Desert Dogs: Coyotes, Foxes & Wolves". Describes the life of the kit fox, the coyote, the gray fox and the Mexican wolf. (1996)

Henry, "Red Fox: The Catlike Canine". An account of the author's research that conveys his enthusiasm for his subject. (1996)

Marco, Boitani & Paquet, "The World of Wolves: New Perspectives on Ecology, Behaviour and Management (Energy, Ecology and Environment) [Paperback]" The World of Wolves offers a fresh and provocative look at current trends in wolf and wildlife management. (2010).

Macdonald & Sillero-Zubiri " The Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids " The definitive book on aspects of canid biology and the conservation of wolves, dogs, jackals and foxes covers topics relevant to modern conservation science, and features detailed case studies of many canid species across the globe. (2004)

McNamee, "The Return of the Wolf to Yellowstone". Available in hardcover or paperback. The reintroduction of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) to Yellowstone park. (1998)

McNutt, et al. "Running Wild: Dispelling the Myths of the African Wild Dog". Dr. McNutt describes the behavior and ecology of the endangered species, Lycaon pictus. Superb photography. (1997)

Mech, "The Arctic Wolf: Ten Years With the Pack". David Mech, one of the leading authorities on Canis lupus, shared his summers with an Arctic wolf pack for ten years. Through his words and photographs, the reader can share in a unique experience. (1996)

Mech & McTaggert, "The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species". (1985)

Peterson, "The Wolves of Isle Royale: A Broken Balance". Wildlife biologist Rolf Peterson recounts his 25-year association with the wolves of Isle Royale in Lake Superior, an isolated population believed to have originated from a single pair. (1995)

Ryden, "God's Dog: A Celebration of the North American Coyote". (1997 reprint edition)

Theberge & Theberge, "Wolf Country: Ten Years Tracking the Algonquin Packs". The story of Professor John Theberge's study of Algonquin Park's wolves, which prompted a controversial campaign to ban wolf hunting. (1998)

Evolution

Coe & Luther, "The Basenji: Out of Africa to You". (1995 reprint edition)

Serpell (Ed.), "The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour, and Interactions With People". Available in hardcover or paperback. A scholarly but very readable account of the dog's natural history and behaviour arising from a conference hosted by the Companion Animal Research Group, Cambridge University. (1995)

Schwartz, "A History of Dogs in the Early Americas". The story of dogs in the pre-Columbian Americas, based on archaeological reports, myths and chronicles. (1997)

Thurston, "The Lost History of the Canine Race: Our 15,000-Year Love Affair With Dogs". An anthropologist's view of the evolution of the human-dog relationship from its earliest recorded time. (1996)

General interest

Donaldson, "Culture Clash". Recommended for everyone who has trouble understanding why their dogs behave the way they do. The "clash" she addresses is that of dogs living in a world where people expect them to behave like people, rather than like dogs. (1997)

Hausman, Hausman & Fox, "The Mythology of Dogs: Canine Legend and Lore Through the Ages". (1997)

Hemmer, "Domestication: The Decline of Environmental Appreciation". Domestic animals have up to 30 % smaller brains than their wild cousins. Are wolves really that much smarter than domestic dogs, or are dogs just less attentive to their environment? (1990)

McCaig, "Eminent Dogs Dangerous Men". The author searches Scotland for the perfect Border Collie.

Stern & Stern, "Dog Eat Dog: A Very Human Book About Dogs and Dog Shows". Available in hardcover or paperback. Follow a prominant bullmastiff breeder through success and disappointment on the show circuit. Interspersed with comments on how dog shows work, changes in fashion, rare breeds and grooming. (1997)

Breeding

Bourdon, "Understanding Animal Breeding". The emphasis is on livestock breeding, but worth looking at if you are interested in modern selection methods for polygenic traits. (1996)

Structure and Function

Elliott & Andrade, "The New Dogsteps: A Better Understanding of Dog Gait Through Cineradiography ('Moving X-Rays')". The classic reference on the movement of dogs. (1983)

Gilbert & Brown, "K-9: Structure and Terminology". Explains how structure relates to movement and the reasons behind the differences between breeds. (1995)

Genetics and Genomics

Falconer & Mackay, "Introduction to Quantitative Genetics". One of the classics of genetics, now in it's 4th edition. Covers population genetics (with emphasis on small populations), continuous variation, heritability, breeding and selection. Not for the beginner! (1996)

Grandin, "Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals". (1997)

Hartl, "A Primer of Population Genetics". An excellent starting point for someone who wants to go past the basics. Covers genetic diversity and its origins, the effects of different mating systems, drift, mutation, selection and evolutionary implications. (1988)

Lynch & Walsh, "Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits". (1997)

Ostrander & Ruvinsky "Genetics of the Dog". Recognizing the significant advancements made in the field of animal genetics over the last decade. Topics include immunogenetics, genetics of diseases, developmental genetics and the genetics of behavior. New subjects have include a fresh outlook and report on the latest areas of interest such as dog breeds and genetic diversity, canine genomics, olfactory genetics and cancer genetics. (2012)

Ostrander, Giger & Kerstin Lindblad-Toh " The Dog and Its Genome (Cold Spring Harbor Monograph Series) ". Dogs of different breeds can range remarkably in size, shape, and behavior, and yet they all carry essentially the same genome, making them a particularly fascinating model for genome plasticity. The recent release of the complete sequence of the dog genome provides an exciting new context in which to consider such variation. (2005)

Scott & Fuller, "Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog". (1998)

Wallace, "Fifty Years of Genetic Load: An Odyssey". (1991)

Weir, "Genetic Data Analysis II: Methods for Discrete Population Genetic Data". Interpreting genetic data for estimating frequencies, determining population structure, calculating linkage and much more. (1996)

Willis, "Genetics of the Dog". The standard reference for canine genetics. (1989)

Management of Captive and Endangered Populations

Ballou & Gillpin, "Population Management for Survival and Recovery: Analytical Methods and Strategies in Small Population Conservation". How the experts deal with maintaining genetic diversity in small populations.

Kleiman, et al., "Wild Mammals in Captivity: Principles and Techniques". Available in paperback or hardcover. A guide to dealing with wild animals in captivity, including management, breeding and genetics

Breeding for the Future

Wachtel, "Hundezucht 2000". (In German, 1997) Available from Gollwitzer Buchhandlung und Verlag Gmbh, Weiden/Opflz, Germany, but NOT at present from Amazon.com.

Dog fiction

McCaig, "Nop's Trials" and "Nop's Hope". Novels about the Border Collie.

If you don't see anything of interest listed above, you can search the entire Amazon site from here.

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Revised December 16, 1999