My formula for cold winter days is cuddling with Jacob with some lemon tea and reading a good book! We dream about California, the sun and the beach. We read and read and hug and hug. Winter seems to go by faster but we are counting the days. He is so bundled up and PAWS balloon booties are a must in NYC.

Here are some dog books we have been reading lately and highly recommend:

1. Ambassador Dogs by Lisa Loeb

Dogs are ambassadors to the world and our own local communities. They come to serve and love us as only they know how. Accompanied by 175 color images, discover the remarkable connection between dogs and humans through the inspiring stories of 24 dogs and the owners whose lives they have made better. Meet Paddington, the official greeter at Thorncroft Equestrian Center, and Cody, a search and rescue dog. Learn the story behind Pals for Life, an organization that provides therapy animal visits, and Francisvale, a safe haven for abandoned dogs. The stories range from service dogs that make life easier for those in need to much-loved household pets that offer love and companionship each day for family members. Dog lovers everywhere will delight in these wonderfully witty and entertaining stories.

2. Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz

The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a picture of what it might be like to be a dog. What’s it like to be able to smell not just every bit of open food in the house but also to smell sadness in humans, or even the passage of time? How does a tiny dog manage to play successfully with a Great Dane? What is it like to hear the bodily vibrations of insects or the hum of a fluorescent light? Why must a person on a bicycle be chased? What’s it like to use your mouth as a hand? In short, what is it like for a dog to experience life from two feet off the ground, amidst the smells of the sidewalk, gazing at our ankles or knees?

3. Help Your Shy Dog – Deborah Wood

Fifteen to twenty percent of dogs are born with a tendency towards introversion and fearfulness, leading to behaviors like uncontrolled submissive urination, fear-aggression, and inability to bond with humans. With understanding and the right training, fearful dogs need not be condemned as bad pets; rather, they can become some of the happiest and most deeply bonded dogs around the epitome of great pets.