The 5 Best Dog Training Books for UK Owners (2026)

The best dog training book for most UK owners is Steve Mann’s Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy — the UK’s number-one dog training book, built around a kind, simple, science-backed method that works just as well on a bouncy puppy as it does on a set-in-his-ways older dog. But the “best” book really depends on your dog: whether you’re chasing rock-solid recall, calming a reactive rescue, or raising your very first puppy, there’s a perfect match below.

Around seven in ten dogs never get any formal training, yet a few good habits are usually the difference between a calm, happy home and daily chaos. The good news? You don’t need pricey one-to-one classes to get there. We’ve read through the field and picked the five best dog training books UK owners can buy right now — chosen on real-world results, up-to-date reward-based methods, and thousands of owner reviews.

Key Takeaways

• Best overall: Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy by Steve Mann — the UK’s No.1, with thousands of five-star reviews.
• Best for recall: Total Recall by Pippa Mattinson — get your dog coming back every time.
• Best for real-world problems: All Dogs Great and Small by Graeme Hall, TV’s “The Dogfather”.
• Best for anxious or reactive dogs: The Dog Guardian by Nigel Reed.
• Best for first-time puppy owners: Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey — the classic, revised for 2024.
• All five use positive, force-free methods — kinder for your dog and proven to work.

The 5 Best Dog Training Books (UK, 2026)

1. Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy — Steve Mann (Best Overall)

If you buy one dog training book, make it this one. Billed as the UK’s No.1 dog training book, Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy comes from Steve Mann, founder of the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers and a behaviourist who has worked with well over 100,000 dogs.

Mann’s whole approach is kind, force-free and refreshingly practical. He breaks training into bite-sized, step-by-step exercises — from toilet training and settling to recall and loose-lead walking — and explains the science in plain English, with enough humour to make you actually laugh out loud. It’s written for puppies but the methods work beautifully on older and rescue dogs too, which is why it has racked up thousands of five-star reviews.

Pair it with some high-value training treats and you have everything you need to start on day one.

2. Total Recall — Pippa Mattinson (Best for Recall)

Nothing rattles owners more than a dog that won’t come back. Total Recall by Pippa Mattinson — a UK author, zoologist and founder of a national gundog training scheme — is the definitive fix, holding a 4.6-star average from around 2,500 ratings.

Mattinson takes you through a clear, structured programme in three parts: preparation, the essential teaching exercises, and problem-solving for when things go wrong. It’s methodical and detailed without being dry, and it works even with headstrong older dogs who’ve spent years ignoring you in the park.

It’s the natural next step once your dog has the basics, especially if you want to walk your dog off-lead with confidence.