National Read a Book Day 2022

September 6^th marks the annually celebrated National Read a Book Day. If you’re one that enjoys kicking back with an insightful book, laughing along with hunting tales, or are eager to learn tips and tricks to improve your training, then Lion Country Supply has you covered. To best help select the right reading material for you, we will break down our staff recommended picks by category.

Best Imagery:

Just Labs by Steve Smith, with photographs by Dale C. Spartas, is a tribute to the most popular breed of dog in the country – the Labrador Retriever. Just Labs features over 200 color photos, all comprised within 144 pages of text.  This light-hearted look at Labradors, both “field” and “English,” captures the personalities and color variations of these remarkable dogs beautifully. As a hardcover, primarily pictorial book, this would be a great addition to your coffee table book pile. Just Labs is sure not to disappoint enthusiasts with images from an outdoor photographer with over 35 years of experience exploring the great outdoors behind a camera lens.

Another addition to the “Just Pets” series by Steve Smith, Just Setters, is a 160-page long photographic tribute to this long-haired dog breed, with more than 150 warm and colorful pictures to keep you engaged. Just Setters, despite the title, has a greater focus on English Setters with some images and text about Irish and Gordon Setters. This book, similarly to Just Labs, would serve as a well-thought out gift to any setter aficionado, whether a companion at home or in the field. 

If you find interest in the photographic work of Dale C. Spartas, be sure not to miss his book, To the Point: A Tribute to Pointing Dogs, co-authored by gun dog expert, Tom Davis. Within its 158 pages, you will see page after page of full-color photographs and insightful text looking into many topics regarding pointing breeds.

Educational:

A well-loved favorite among the bird dog industry is Snakefoot - The Making of a Champion by the late Robert G. Wehle in which he shares his 60 years of breeding and training secrets within 268 pages. This book stands out among the rest due to the expert experience of the author, who illustrates the process from birth to champion status of the masterpiece known as the Elhew pointer. The late Chuck Robbin provided a glowing review of this book in his blog Greatest Bird Dog Books Ever Penned, simply stating, “Just get it. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.”

Field Guide Dog First Aid: Emergency Care for the Outdoor Dog by Randy Acker, DVM (updated in 2018) is considered by many to be a must have for their first aid kit for any dog hunter. Randy Acker has had a 40-year career as a veterinarian, specializing in orthopedics, while also being the Owner and Medical Director of Sun Valley Animal Center and is the Co-owner of Jackson Animal Hospital in Jackson, Wyoming. This 93-page pocket field guide gives clear, concise instructions and information geared specifically toward injuries and ailments that may occur in the field, ranging from things like allergies to gunshot wounds. We highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the general layout of the book so in the event of a critical injury, you can quickly begin proper field treatment. You could also highlight the most important information so you can quickly skim through.

Quick Reads:

Coming in at only 92 pages, Training with Mo by Martha Greenlee is a relatively quick read while still being packed with information on the training methods of Maurice Lindley. Maurice Lindley of Lindley’s Kennels in South Carolina, also known as Mo by his friends and followers, is a highly respected bird dog trainer. He utilizes methods of dog training involving learning mostly from touch and cues from his body language. Author of Training with Mo, Martha Greenlee, describes these methods with short and sweet verbiage and also discusses her use of these methods while training her own pointing dogs.

A Feisty Little Pointing Dog: A Celebration of the Brittany, is a collection of twenty-six stories, compiled by David Webb. For over 30 years, the author has bred, trained, shown, and hunted alongside Brittany spaniels. This anthology is dedicated to the skills and antics of this exceptional sporting dog breed afield. While the entire book is 200 pages long, you can easily pick up the book and read a complete story from start to end in a single sitting and save the rest for another day.

Series:

Bob Ford, a freelance writer with publications that can be found in the American Beagler, Better Beagling, Hounds and Hunting, and articles within our own Lion Country Supply blogs, authored the growing Beagle Tales series. These books are known for their humorous stories about beagles, rabbit hunting, and his personal life as a pastor and living in a rural area. Beagle owners will enjoy these books, but any outdoorsman will appreciate the profound lessons and unique perspectives. Lion Country Supply proudly carries Beagle Tales (1)-6, so there is no need to long for another story after closing the first book because there are several more to relish in.

Thanks for reading our recommendation for National Read a Book Day. What are some of your favorite dog books? Leave us a comment below.