If you want to write a good dog book, it helps to have a bad dog. So noted John Grogan, author of “Marley & Me,” and it’s hard to ­argue with the results. Take James Thurber’s “The Dog ...

Here are a few bark-worthy books to put on your radar. “Pug Actually ,” by Matt Dunn This hilarious romance is told from the point of view of Doug the dog, who plays Cupid.