Most of the dogs in the Dog Library were serious about studying book smells.  That’s why they were there – to understand the books. So Margaret the dog librarian started the Serious About Smells Book Group.

The dogs gathered in her office every afternoon and sniffed the books together. One book was called Washing by Splashing. The dogs thought the book was about a dog bath – or maybe a baby bath. They were almost the same. Wet hair, yes. Rubber ducky, yes. No-tears baby shampoo, yes.

But what about the bath water before the soap? What did that smell like? After more studying and comparing notes, the dogs agreed. The water smelled like mud and garbage, not spit-up and a dirty diaper. So that settled it. The book was about a dog bath rather than a baby bath.

More social dogs

Not every dog wanted to be in the book group. They went to the library mainly to see their friends and play games.

Some of the more restless dogs waited by the library door to see if they could get a ride in Arthur’s wagon. He called it the Smells on Wheels wagon because of all the smelly books he delivered to the library.

Arthur also put the loudest and rowdiest dogs in his wagon and wheeled them out of the library. Otherwise, Margaret growled and snarled at them. She liked the library to be as orderly as possible.

The Faded Smells Room

The dogs who had puppies sometimes brought them to the library while they studied book smells. Margaret always put them in the Faded Smells Room where she kept the used books. It was normally the quietest place in the library, but with the puppies in there it was noisy and messy and filled with toys. There were also plenty of beds and pee pads.

Margaret checked on the puppies a couple of times a day. She wanted to see what the room looked like with all the running, tumbling, and biting.

Stanley also visited the puppies sometimes. He taught them the toy blocks game. First he stacked the books and then the puppies knocked them down. But some puppies weren’t that patient and jumped on all the books instead.

Stanley liked those puppies. They didn’t always follow the rules either.

The Dog Library is a place that has books just for dogs. The books don’t have words, they have different smells. Dogs love going there because they can sniff so many things at once.

There are three dogs who are always in the library. Arthur the Delivery Dog, a Saint Bernard, pulls his wagon up to the library every week with a batch of new books.

Margaret the Dog Librarian, a Standard Poodle, puts the books on shelves in the aisle where they belong. Some of the aisles are Treats, Travel, Dinner, Home, and Other Dogs. Most dogs hang out in the Treats aisle. It has books that smell like peanut butter biscuits, chicken sticks, and glazed doughnuts.

Margaret also helps dogs find books they might like. For example, she thought a Dachshund would be interested in a book that smelled like a mouse.

And then there’s Stanley the Mischief Dog, a mutt who runs around the library knocking books off their shelves. Then he puts them in the wrong places.

Books for dogs

Here are some of the books dogs can find when they sniff around the library.

“Begging for Beginners” is story from a book in the Dinner aisle. It smells like a juicy hamburger bun with lots of ketchup and mashed potatoes with lots of butter.

“Crazy About Car Rides” is in the Travel aisle. It smells like a dog leash, the front seat of a car, and wind.

“Decorating Your Doghouse” is in the Home aisle. It smells like fuzzy blankets, dirty socks, and milk bones.

Games for dogs

Stanley likes to make up games, such as “Guess What This Book Smells Like.” One time he took a book from the Dinner aisle and put it in the Travel aisle. It smelled like a mix of overcooked peas and the inside of a car. None of the dogs guessed it right.

Another game he made up was “Find the Hidden Book.” The dogs loved this game and ran up and down the aisles trying to find them. But a few of the books were never found.

Dogs know when a doghouse is theirs, especially if it has all the right things inside. A bed (a soft one), a chew toy (rubber is good), and something smelly, like an old slipper or sock.

But some doghouses are just average and some dogs get bored. You go in, you go out. A doghouse can be better than that. What they need is some books.

What can dogs do with books?

Dogs can actually do a lot with books. Here are some of them.

Pretend to read. Look smarter than you are.

Chew the book cover and some of the pages. They’re your books, after all.

Push the books in front of the doghouse door. This can be helpful for extra privacy.

Stand on the books. Especially useful for little dogs who want to be taller.

Hide biscuits between the pages. Important for emergency snacking.

Get more books

Get as many books as you can. Beg for more. Try tearing out a page and let it hang from your mouth. They’ll get the idea.

Let’s face it. Most dogs can’t read, at least not the dogs I’ve met.

So I decided to write a story just for dogs. I’d use words dogs knew and pictures they could sniff. Then I’d try to bake the story in a book.

I think baking must be like writing. You put together the right ingredients, mix them up, and soon you get a story – or cookies.

My mother thought a baked book for dogs was a great idea. She said I might become a famous canine author some day. I wish.

But first I needed a place to bake the book. So I dug a big hole in the yard. I thought it could be like the oven my mother uses to bake cookies.

Finding pictures and words

Next, I tried to find pictures and words dogs would know. It was sort of like a treasure hunt.

I sniffed around the yard and found a bone I buried a while ago. (I was actually looking for that bone.) I thought it would make a good smelly picture. I also dug up some toys and a tennis ball that I forgot about, and I stole some dog food and biscuits from the house. That was probably enough for the book, although I almost grabbed a dirty sock, an old towel, and the cat. He doesn’t like me very much anyway.

It was harder to find the right words. Some dogs have a larger vocabulary than others. I got a few easy words from my pal the Border Collie. I also asked a Beagle, but he didn’t know any.

Baking the book

I put all the pictures and words together in a pile near the hole and dropped them in one at a time. I found a long stick so I could mix everything together. Finally, I covered the hole with dirt and waited.

Soon two dogs from the neighborhood came by and sniffed around the hole. I guess that meant the book was really baking. Hopefully it was the book and not some smelly weeds, but I couldn’t be sure. I’d never baked a book before.

Suddenly the book popped out like a Jack-In-the-Box toy. It was muddy, but I opened it up anyway. I wanted to see if the pictures were stinky enough and if the words would be easy enough for dogs to read.

The book seemed just right. I patted myself on the back and invited some dogs over to see if they could read the book. Only an Afghan Hound got confused. The other dogs sniffed the pictures and barked at the words. They loved it.

Now I was ready for my book tour.

My stories aren’t really finished after I write them. They sound okay to me, but my mother says I sometimes use the wrong words.

The wrong words

Here’s one thing I got wrong. I wrote ‘digging up my words’. My mother said I meant ‘digging up my bones’. A simple mistake. I guess if you dig up words, sentences will have holes in them.

Another time I wrote ‘bury my ears’. Now that’s a funny picture. My mother changed it to ‘clean my ears’. Not a funny picture.

I mix up words sometimes too. In one of my stories I wrote ‘fill my food with bowls’. My mother laughed. Then she made me change it.

Making up words

I also like making up words. They’re not wrong – I just like the way they sound.

Like the word ‘cranched’. It’s what happens after you’ve crunched something. Like a carrot. Or a wooden chair. Then it’s been cranched. Makes sense to me.

It’s a good thing my mother helps me with words. If she didn’t, people might think my stories are silly. But I think some are better my way. Even with the wrong words.