When it comes to unraveling the mysteries of canine behavior, dog rehabilitator Cesar Millan seems to have a sixth sense. In Cesar’s Way: The Natural Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems, he shares the techniques that have earned him celebrity clients like Nicholas Cage and Will Smith and made his TV show, The Dog Whisperer, the top-rated program on the National Geographic channel. Cesar’s Way covers the basics of canine conduct and contains the kind of insights that only Millan, who came to the U.S. from his native Mexico in 1990, could contribute. The Dog Whisperer says he has noticed a unique neediness in the canines he’s encountered in this country, who struggle with their owner’s lovingly motivated but ultimately destructive efforts to transform them into four-legged people with fur. Millan expands on this idea here, looking at the motivations and desires that drive dogs and helping readers understand the canine mindset. According to Millan, communication is the key to creating a strong human-animal bond, and he offers plenty of tips on how people can connect with their dogs. Cesar’s Way provides invaluable information on dog-related issues like separation anxiety, aggression and pack mentality. If you’re a frustrated pet owner, Cesar’s Way will put your and your pet on the road to improvement. Julie Hale tends to her dog Howdy in Waynesville, North Carolina.

Dogs are creatures Patti Lawson equates with men until the day she meets Sadie at PetSmart. Lawson, a successful lawyer and journalist who struggles with a weight problem, tries every kind of diet only to find a solution in Sadie. The Dog Diet: What My Dog Taught Me About Shedding Pounds, Licking Stress and Getting a New Leash on Life, Lawson’s new memoir, describes the healing effects of her adopted pet. Forced to revise both her eating and fitness habits when she brings Sadie home, Lawson undergoes a personal transformation. With Sadie I let go of the obsession for perfection and started enjoying my life in the most unexpected ways, she says. Sadie pulled me from a bleak depression, lightened up my mind and my body as well. The Dog Diet has practical applications pet lovers will appreciate. Lawson offers ideas for exercising and traveling with dogs and provides recipes for owners and their pets. Dogs make the best personal trainers, she writes. Fitter and happier by the end of the book, Lawson is living proof. Julie Hale tends to her dog Howdy in Waynesville, North Carolina.

Susan Richards owned two geldings and a mare when the SPCA asked her to take in an abused, emaciated racehorse named Lay Me Down. Richards, a writing instructor and former psychotherapist, shares her remarkable experience with this brave, open-hearted animal in Chosen by a Horse. Woven into this moving narrative of her new friendship with Lay Me Down are flashbacks to Richards’ tumultuous past, including accounts of her mother’s death from cancer, her piecemeal upbringing by a series of unloving relatives, her failed marriage and her struggle with alcohol. Richards now finds redemption in the animal world: Taking care of horses was the best way I could think of to begin a day, she writes. Most of the time I felt lucky, as though I was living a way of life that had ended with gas lighting and parasols. . . . I was the keeper of a precious legacy, an ancient rite. When Lay Me Down experiences serious health problems, Richards is faced with the cruel possibility of saying goodbye to her new friend. With Chosen by a Horse, she has produced a wise and generous book, an unforgettable testament to the mutual need that marks the bond between humans and animals.

Julie Hale tends to her dog Howdy in Waynesville, North Carolina.

The memoir genre has taken a beating in recent months, with some writers accused of fudging facts or inventing events to make their life stories more salacious. But John Grogan, a columnist for the <i>Philadelphia Inquirer
</i>, didn’t need to create the exploits in his blockbuster memoir, <b>Marley &andamp Me</b>: the inspiration for the book, his yellow Labrador retriever Marley, got into enough verifiable mischief and mayhem to fill a few manuscripts without straining a paw.

"I’m a working journalist, so when you say <i>nonfiction</i>, it’s got to be true,"  Grogan says. "I want to be honest and write from my heart because when you start hedging your bets, that’s when people can tell you’re not being totally candid." Readers and animal lovers, never fear—the book, subtitled Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog, candidly details the early adventures of Jenny and John Grogan, mild-mannered, starry-eyed newlyweds who thought that raising a dog would be good practice for raising children.

Cut to their purchase of a rambunctious, attention-deficit-disordered puppy who grew into a big boisterous lug that crashed through his days, leaving wrecked screen doors, shattered nerves, angry obedience instructors, muddied clothing and a long trail of slobber behind him.

"We were adults by age but we weren’t grown up yet,"  Grogan says.  "Our patience had never been tested. Suddenly we’re the responsible ones and he was the incorrigible one." Grogan’s chronicle of their attempts to curb their beloved beast has body-slammed the bestseller lists (Marley would be proud) and was named a best book of 2005 by the <I>New York Times</i> (which Marley would have eaten). Since its publication last fall, the book has made 17 trips back to press for 720,000 copies in print.

While Grogan didn’t make a conscious decision that this was going to be a book that talks about our relationship every bit as much as it talks about the dog, his memoir documents a marriage and family weathering a miscarriage, children, post-partum depression, new towns and new jobs, while living with a dog that consistently provokes laughter and frustration and teaches them to be themselves even when that irks everyone else.  "A family is a unit and you accept the members of that family as they are . . . but you don’t give up on them,"  Grogan says.

The touching story has struck a huge chord with both women and your stereotypical big, tough men, according to Grogan, who has received more than 2,000 e-mails from readers to date not only praising and reacting to the book, but sharing their own bad dog stories.  "Part of having a challenging dog is that you have to invest more of yourself emotionally to make the relationship work,"  Grogan says.  "There’s a tighter bond between owners and their bad dogs."

Grogan eventually had to open an online bulletin board and his publisher is sending him out on a book tour reprise this spring, since readers can’t seem to get enough of Marley. "This was a book from the heart,"  Grogan says, "a book I felt I needed to write."   While the family now includes three children and another lab, Gracie ("everything Marley wasn’t,"  according to Grogan), the book is a testament to the important role one dog played in a family, teaching them about unconditional love, commitment and acceptance.

"Marley brought qualities into the relationship that helped us grow and learn and become the couple and the parents that we ended up being,"  Grogan says, "which I would argue is better than what we would have been otherwise. "

Dog devotees are certain to appreciate the strange-but-true episodes collected in What the Dog Did: Tales from a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner by Emily Yoffe. A regular contributor to Slate.com who has also written for Newsweek and Esquire, Yoffe starts out as a staunch cat owner, with no intention of having a dog. But one day, in answer to her daughter’s demands, she brings home a rescued beagle the nervous, sensitive Sasha. With this high-maintenance pet on her hands, there’s no looking back for the author who ready or not enters the rocky terrain of canine ownership. Then, quicker than a twitch of Sasha’s tail, the incredible occurs: Yoffe becomes a dog person. Writing with affection, insight and humor, Yoffe chronicles this classic conversion experience. Her initiation into the canine world is both comic and poignant, filled with unforgettable incidents, as she studies to become a pet psychic (in order to telepathically communicate with her animals), trains the poorly socialized Sasha to work as a therapy dog and cares for a succession of needy beagles. Best of all is Sasha’s miraculous metamorphosis from a hopelessly phobic rescue case to a happily adjusted member of the Yoffe household. The perfect ending. Julie Hale’s dog, Howdy, who was rescued from a shelter, is still working on the basics of sit and stay.

If your pet, like many, displays a host of annoying habits, then it’s time to teach that pesky pooch some new tricks. Filled with innovative training tips you can implement yourself, Kathy Santo’s Dog Sense: Everything You Need to Know about Raising, Training and Understanding the Dog in Your Life can help you guide your pet onto the path of improved behavior. A familiar face on NBC’s Today show, Santo is a New Jersey-based dog trainer who works with more than 100 animals each week. With this invaluable book, she reveals her secrets, offering sympathetic and compassionate advice in chapters focusing on commands, equipment, etiquette and specific behavior issues. Yes, there is hope for that seemingly irredeemable dog, and Santo offers it here. The concerns she covers in the book include incessant barking, begging, digging, aggressive social behavior and the canine tendency to chew on (only) valuable items. Spend some time with Santo, and she’ll help you get to the bottom of your pet’s problems.

Julie Hale’s dog, Howdy, who was rescued from a shelter, is still working on the basics of sit and stay.

In an effort to better understand the fixation, the fascination, the downright adoration that dogs and only dogs seem to prompt within us, humor writer Alfred Gingold offers Dog World and the Humans Who Live There. Gingold, who has covered the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for Slate.com and The New York Times, is the proud owner of a Norwich terrier named George, and in his new book, he chronicles his special relationship with this beloved pet. Taking the reader step-by-step through the adoption and training processes, Gingold recounts his history with the pint-sized George in a way that’s instructive as well as artful. If the author seems unduly preoccupied with George, that’s because he is, and therein lies the key to this tribute to man’s best friend. But Gingold moves beyond his own personal canine encounters to examine the larger cultural significance of the dog, providing commentary on dog racing, dog shows and dog accessories and memorabilia. He also includes helpful information on feeding and breeds, and an appendix with suggestions for further reading. This is a delightful look at the dominance of the dog, at the singular way dogs hold sway over the human heart. Julie Hale’s dog, Howdy, who was rescued from a shelter, is still working on the basics of sit and stay.

On a bitterly cold January day in 1988, some wicked individual dumped a tiny orange kitten into the book drop of the public library in Spencer, Iowa. Hours later, librarian Vicki Myron found the frostbitten bit of fluff, and the lives of that kitten, Myron and the entire town changed forever.

Named Dewey Readmore Books, the kitten grew into a cause célèbre and was a beloved inhabitant of the library for the next 19 years. After his death in 2007, Myron wrote a book about his life, Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. Almost overnight, the book became a sensation, spending months atop the bestseller lists. It also brought Myron thousands of letters from people wanting to tell her how touched they were by Dewey’s story and, more often than not, sharing reminiscences of their own cats. Myron was touched by many of these stories and felt others would be, too. So she and her co-author, Bret Witter, gathered a number of them into this latest book, Dewey’s Nine Lives.

One such story is that of Bill Bezanson, a Vietnam vet suffering from an undiagnosed case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Bezanson wouldn’t allow himself to get close to anyone or anything (he changed jobs, locations and acquaintances every few months) until an owl dropped a kitten on the roof of his car. The relationship he formed with that cat, named Spooky, helped Bezanson find his way back to the life he had shunned.

Dewey fans will be thrilled to know there are some additional stories about the small-town library cat, too, including what Myron believes is his spirit bringing romance back into her life after a 30-year hiatus. While not all readers may be convinced Dewey was responsible, certainly those who enjoyed the first book will rejoice in her happiness and in Dewey’s Nine Lives.

When I was a newspaper editor, I found it fascinating that stories about animals would often elicit greater emotional responses from readers than articles about humans. People are passionate about animals, whether considered pets, pests or protected by PETA. Hal Herzog adeptly explores this phenomenon in his new book, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat, which asks: How can humans have such a range of feelings about animals, to the point where they want to domesticate some, destroy others and deep fry the rest?

Herzog is the perfect man for the job. A professor of psychology at Western Carolina University and a leading expert on human-animal relations, he has spent years studying the complex and sometimes conflicted relationships between man and animals, including research on animal rights activists, cattle ranchers, circus trainers, laboratory technicians and cockfighters. He writes about his own complicated relationship with animals: “I eat meat—but not as much as I used to, and not veal. I oppose testing the toxicity of oven cleaner and eye shadow on animals, but I would sacrifice a lot of mice to find a cure for cancer. And while I find some of the logic of animal liberation philosophers convincing, I also believe . . . humans [are] on a different moral plane than other animals.” Having identified his own psychological and moral dilemmas, Herzog spends the rest of his book examining how the rest of humankind relates to animals.

While Herzog is a university researcher, the book is thankfully not written like a scholarly article. He uses simple language and an engaging, conversational writing style, and the book is filled with wonderful anecdotes, from people who have had fatal encounters with crocodiles and sharks to those whose lives have been saved by their pet dogs. Herzog also offers answers to such pressing questions as “Do children who abuse animals become violent adults?” and “Why is dog meat a delicacy to some and disgusting to others?”

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat is both educational and enjoyable, a page-turner that I dare say puts Herzog in the same class as Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis. Read this book. You’ll learn some, you’ll laugh some, you’ll love some.

Pampering our pets is a growing priority in America, where owners are spending more time, money and energy to ensure that their furry companions are content. Nothing’s too good for our pooches, whether it be doggy day care, gourmet treats or rhinestone-studded collars. If you need expert tips on spoiling your shih-tzu or advice on coddling your cocker spaniel, a pack of animal authorities is ready to dish out the kibbles and bits of pet care. You’ll find all the basics of choosing and caring for your pet in two attractive new guides from DK Publishing. Written by veterinarian Bruce Fogle (surely one of the most prolific authors in the burgeoning field of pet publishing), the books feature DK’s usual mix of brilliant color photos, detailed illustrations and brief but thorough text. Dog Owner’s Manual ($25, 288 pages, ISBN 0789493217) starts out with the fundamentals of “Dog Design,” taking readers through a mini-anatomy lesson that might prove helpful during their pet’s next trip to the vet. (My finicky Jack Russell terrier might argue, however, with Fogle’s claim that dogs “have far fewer taste buds on their tongues than humans, and are willing to consume almost anything that might offer nourishment.”) The author provides specifics on several popular dog breeds useful information for selecting just the right pet and goes on to cover training, behavior problems and health concerns.

If you’re a cat person, you’ll want to sink your teeth into the companion volume, Cat Owner’s Manual ($25, 288 pages, ISBN 0789493209). Whether you’re just starting out with a new kitty or adapting to life with a regal older cat, Fogle gives sage advice for keeping your cat healthy and happy. Some of the information is inadvertently hilarious, particularly to a dog lover. Take the photos of a cat on leash, for example, or the section titled, “Do Cats Love Us?” No dog owner would ask a question like that.

Another new book targets those who have made the socially responsible choice to acquire their pet from a pound or animal shelter. Adoptable Dog: Teaching Your Adopted Pet to Obey, Trust, and Love You (Norton, $24.95, 288 pages, ISBN 0393050793) by John Ross and Barbara McKinney is billed as the first book geared to the special needs of adopted dogs. The authors don’t gloss over the problems these dogs and their owners can face, but they do offer a detailed plan for overcoming obstacles and turning your adopted dog into a beloved family pet. The book covers such issues as bonding, separation anxiety, housebreaking an adult dog and surmounting the scars of prior abuse. This excellent guide offers hope and advice that can help save some of the two million dogs euthanized in U.S. shelters every year.

If you’ve always wondered what your pet thinks of you, 202 Pets’ Peeves (Citadel, $12.95, 215 pages, ISBN 0806524421) might give you the answer. Writer Cal Orey speaks for the cats and dogs of the world, listing 101 human behaviors that drive each species crazy. For cats, the pet peeves include having their tails stepped on, being roused from a nice nap or being asked to do tricks. Dogs, as Orey sees it, are aggravated by humans who won’t share their food and owners who bring home feline roommates.

And finally, if you’re willing to go to extremes, 97 Ways To Make A Dog Smile lists actions guaranteed to make your dog break into an ear-to-ear grin. Some of the suggestions are simple (“Pet your pup against the grain”), some are funny (“Use a slingshot or a spoon to catapult nuggets of kibble across the yard for your dog to pursue!”) and some are downright weird (“Rub the eyebrows gently in small circles, being careful not to poke the dog’s eye”). Every tip in this palm-sized book is accompanied by a glossy color photo of an adorable dog guaranteed to melt the heart of any dog lover. Do we have any volunteers for activity number 33 Puppy Pilates?

Pampering our pets is a growing priority in America, where owners are spending more time, money and energy to ensure that their furry companions are content. Nothing’s too good for our pooches, whether it be doggy day care, gourmet treats or rhinestone-studded collars. If you need expert tips on spoiling your shih-tzu or advice on coddling your cocker spaniel, a pack of animal authorities is ready to dish out the kibbles and bits of pet care. You’ll find all the basics of choosing and caring for your pet in two attractive new guides from DK Publishing. Written by veterinarian Bruce Fogle (surely one of the most prolific authors in the burgeoning field of pet publishing), the books feature DK’s usual mix of brilliant color photos, detailed illustrations and brief but thorough text. Dog Owner’s Manual ($25, 288 pages, ISBN 0789493217) starts out with the fundamentals of “Dog Design,” taking readers through a mini-anatomy lesson that might prove helpful during their pet’s next trip to the vet. (My finicky Jack Russell terrier might argue, however, with Fogle’s claim that dogs “have far fewer taste buds on their tongues than humans, and are willing to consume almost anything that might offer nourishment.”) The author provides specifics on several popular dog breeds useful information for selecting just the right pet and goes on to cover training, behavior problems and health concerns.

If you’re a cat person, you’ll want to sink your teeth into the companion volume, Cat Owner’s Manual ($25, 288 pages, ISBN 0789493209). Whether you’re just starting out with a new kitty or adapting to life with a regal older cat, Fogle gives sage advice for keeping your cat healthy and happy. Some of the information is inadvertently hilarious, particularly to a dog lover. Take the photos of a cat on leash, for example, or the section titled, “Do Cats Love Us?” No dog owner would ask a question like that.

Another new book targets those who have made the socially responsible choice to acquire their pet from a pound or animal shelter. Adoptable Dog: Teaching Your Adopted Pet to Obey, Trust, and Love You (Norton, $24.95, 288 pages, ISBN 0393050793) by John Ross and Barbara McKinney is billed as the first book geared to the special needs of adopted dogs. The authors don’t gloss over the problems these dogs and their owners can face, but they do offer a detailed plan for overcoming obstacles and turning your adopted dog into a beloved family pet. The book covers such issues as bonding, separation anxiety, housebreaking an adult dog and surmounting the scars of prior abuse. This excellent guide offers hope and advice that can help save some of the two million dogs euthanized in U.S. shelters every year.

If you’ve always wondered what your pet thinks of you, 202 Pets’ Peeves might give you the answer. Writer Cal Orey speaks for the cats and dogs of the world, listing 101 human behaviors that drive each species crazy. For cats, the pet peeves include having their tails stepped on, being roused from a nice nap or being asked to do tricks. Dogs, as Orey sees it, are aggravated by humans who won’t share their food and owners who bring home feline roommates.

And finally, if you’re willing to go to extremes, 97 Ways To Make A Dog Smile (Workman $7.95, 109 pages, ISBN 0761129030) lists actions guaranteed to make your dog break into an ear-to-ear grin. Some of the suggestions are simple (“Pet your pup against the grain”), some are funny (“Use a slingshot or a spoon to catapult nuggets of kibble across the yard for your dog to pursue!”) and some are downright weird (“Rub the eyebrows gently in small circles, being careful not to poke the dog’s eye”). Every tip in this palm-sized book is accompanied by a glossy color photo of an adorable dog guaranteed to melt the heart of any dog lover. Do we have any volunteers for activity number 33 Puppy Pilates?

Pampering our pets is a growing priority in America, where owners are spending more time, money and energy to ensure that their furry companions are content. Nothing’s too good for our pooches, whether it be doggy day care, gourmet treats or rhinestone-studded collars. If you need expert tips on spoiling your shih-tzu or advice on coddling your cocker spaniel, a pack of animal authorities is ready to dish out the kibbles and bits of pet care. You’ll find all the basics of choosing and caring for your pet in two attractive new guides from DK Publishing. Written by veterinarian Bruce Fogle (surely one of the most prolific authors in the burgeoning field of pet publishing), the books feature DK’s usual mix of brilliant color photos, detailed illustrations and brief but thorough text. Dog Owner’s Manual ($25, 288 pages, ISBN 0789493217) starts out with the fundamentals of “Dog Design,” taking readers through a mini-anatomy lesson that might prove helpful during their pet’s next trip to the vet. (My finicky Jack Russell terrier might argue, however, with Fogle’s claim that dogs “have far fewer taste buds on their tongues than humans, and are willing to consume almost anything that might offer nourishment.”) The author provides specifics on several popular dog breeds useful information for selecting just the right pet and goes on to cover training, behavior problems and health concerns.

If you’re a cat person, you’ll want to sink your teeth into the companion volume, Cat Owner’s Manual ($25, 288 pages, ISBN 0789493209). Whether you’re just starting out with a new kitty or adapting to life with a regal older cat, Fogle gives sage advice for keeping your cat healthy and happy. Some of the information is inadvertently hilarious, particularly to a dog lover. Take the photos of a cat on leash, for example, or the section titled, “Do Cats Love Us?” No dog owner would ask a question like that.

Another new book targets those who have made the socially responsible choice to acquire their pet from a pound or animal shelter. Adoptable Dog: Teaching Your Adopted Pet to Obey, Trust, and Love You by John Ross and Barbara McKinney is billed as the first book geared to the special needs of adopted dogs. The authors don’t gloss over the problems these dogs and their owners can face, but they do offer a detailed plan for overcoming obstacles and turning your adopted dog into a beloved family pet. The book covers such issues as bonding, separation anxiety, housebreaking an adult dog and surmounting the scars of prior abuse. This excellent guide offers hope and advice that can help save some of the two million dogs euthanized in U.S. shelters every year.

If you’ve always wondered what your pet thinks of you, 202 Pets’ Peeves (Citadel, $12.95, 215 pages, ISBN 0806524421) might give you the answer. Writer Cal Orey speaks for the cats and dogs of the world, listing 101 human behaviors that drive each species crazy. For cats, the pet peeves include having their tails stepped on, being roused from a nice nap or being asked to do tricks. Dogs, as Orey sees it, are aggravated by humans who won’t share their food and owners who bring home feline roommates.

And finally, if you’re willing to go to extremes, 97 Ways To Make A Dog Smile (Workman $7.95, 109 pages, ISBN 0761129030) lists actions guaranteed to make your dog break into an ear-to-ear grin. Some of the suggestions are simple (“Pet your pup against the grain”), some are funny (“Use a slingshot or a spoon to catapult nuggets of kibble across the yard for your dog to pursue!”) and some are downright weird (“Rub the eyebrows gently in small circles, being careful not to poke the dog’s eye”). Every tip in this palm-sized book is accompanied by a glossy color photo of an adorable dog guaranteed to melt the heart of any dog lover. Do we have any volunteers for activity number 33 Puppy Pilates?