Dog Detectives

This is one of the few series in which the dog talks and tells the story. I really like this series, it is fun to hear the dog talking about something important one minute and the next he is distracted by a squirrel or food or a scent, just as a dog would be. Bernie is a down on his luck private detective and Chet is his dog/partner, somewhat like Jim Belushi and his dog in the movie K-9. Bernie takes Chet with him everywhere and so the story unfolds both from the dog's point of view and from what Chet hears people saying. Unlike some series where the people in the book just happen to have dogs, Chet was trained in police work (although he flunked out) and Bernie relies on him as he would any other partner.
This is a wonderful new series and I highly recommend it!

In the first book of this series Best In Show, Melanie Travis receives a standard black Poodle puppy from her aunt the breeder. She then becomes involved in solving a mystery that is going on at the kennel that could ruin her aunt's reputation. As the series goes on Melanie and her Poodle attend numerous dog shows and dog events becoming embroiled in more and more mysteries. This is a delightful fun series in which you learn all there is to know about dog shows and Standard Poodles in particular.

In the 1st book in the Raine Stockton Dog mystery series, we meet dog trainer and "retired" dog-tracker, Raine Stockton and her dog, Cisco. The team has been reluctantly called out to assist in a troubling case of a missing child in the Smoky Mountains of Hanover County, North Carolina. Raine has given up working as a Search and Rescue team after the death of her favorite dog Cassidy. Her currant dog Cisco is still young and lacks the training of a good search and rescue dog. This story is not only about finding a missing girl but about coping with the grief of a lost pet and the bonding with a new one. This is a very heartwarming and well written series!

This is a series about Alaskan Malamutes. Holly Winter was raised as a Golden Retriever (her parents bred them) she writes for a dog magazine, attends regular training classes and dog shows with her two dogs, volunteers with Malamute rescue, and dates a veterinarian. To say that her life revolves around dogs is an understatement! Holly is continually thrown into mysterious situations involving dogs that dog lover's are sure to enjoy, I know that I do.

Jo Beth Siddons breeds, raises, and trains Bloodhounds, she also uses them for tracking and Search and Rescue missions. I find it fascinating to learn all about how bloodhounds track people...did you know that a bloodhounds testimony is accepted as evidence in court? These mysteries always include an exciting search and rescue through the deep woods that give you a whole new respect for the people (and animals) involved in these rescue missions. I find these books to be educational as well as fun and entertaining!

Rachel and her Pit Bull Dash are both a Private Eye team and a Therapy dog team. Previously Rachel was a dog trainer so many dog training methods are discussed in the books. Being a Therapy Dog, Dash is very well behaved and well trained, belying the common misconception that Pit Bulls are all viscous dogs not to be trusted, in fact Dash is the quintessential obedient and intelligent pet. This is a rather serious series so if you are looking for a fun series it may not be for you, however this is the series to read if you are interested in obedience and therapy dog training.

This mystery series is narrated by Randolph, an intelligent pudgy chocolate lab, who can read and write (with the help of alpha-bits) .He lives with his owner Harry who is an artist. The dog seems to be the most intelligent of the two being somewhat of a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The stories being told from a dog's perspective allows for an interesting take on humans, and Randolph not being your standard dog, sometimes disdains even the things dogs do naturally, discriminating between dogs who relieve themselves just anywhere, and dogs like himself who prefer the sanctity of sheltering bushes.
I find this series to be more clever than amusing, very different and definitely interesting.
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