Trouble Dog – Perfect Picture Book Friday

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Some dogs are low maintenance and low energy. Others can be constant “trouble.” But that trouble usually means they are smart, easily bored, and have energy to burn. Our dog, a herding breed mix, was like that. When we first took her to a dog park, a dog walker said, “That dog needs a job to do!” And while our dog wasn’t a candidate for agility training because she was so reactive in her youth, we ended up taking l-o-n-g walks twice daily and doing a LOT of training as well.

These kinds of dogs need people who can help them burn excess energy through activity. And some of those activities can be jobs. Case in point, TROUBLE DOG.

As you can see, Tucker, is a handful. Well-meaning and full of energy, he just wants to play. But Tucker is too much of handful, and people take him back to the shelter again and again and again.

Poor Tucker. Look at that sweet pup and the family walking past him. My heart goes out to Tucker every time I read the line “Not this dog. He’s trouble.”

But when a woman named Laura takes him for a test playtime, thinking he might be “the right kind of trouble,” she discovers he’s got the special qualities she needs, endless energy and toy fixation. She takes him home, and puts all that excess energy to work, training him to find invasive species by scent. His reward? Playing with a toy!

It was interesting to watch Tucker learn to do his job through a series of activities that, to him, are games. And when Laura teaches him NOT to do things—”grizzly bear poop! Not for rolling in“—I laughed. Carol Foote, the author, knows dogs.

But that’s not all. Tucker learns to identify the scat of endangered species and to point out nests of endangered sea turtles for protection. He does his job so well, he even finds cheetah scat in trees in Zambia.

The happy ending is this: Tucker, a dog that was branded as “trouble,” a dog that no one wanted, found his place in the world through the efforts of an amazing wildlife conservationist. Many a youngster (and oldster), along with budding conservationists, will find their hearts touched by Tucker’s journey. And I imagine this book will claim its share of hugs and requests for reading again and again and again. It’s a story that will never grow old.

Back matter first describes how Tucker is based on the lives of two conservation dogs, Pepin and Wicket. There’s also information on the qualities that make a good a conservation dog, how they’re trained, why a dog’s sense of smell is so sensitive, and how these dogs help the conservation effort. There’s even a section describing other types of working dogs, and a selected bibliography of sources for additional reading.

Gotta say I fell in love with Tucker, and the playful, true-to-dog-life watercolor illustrations by Larry Day that bring him to life. Now I’m going to go read Tucker’s story to my dog. It’s likely she’ll recognize a kindred spirit.

Activities:

Download this activity kit from Eerdmanns Books for Young Readers.

Make your own origami Trouble.

Watch this TedX talk about conservation dogs by conservation biologist Megan Parker, a co-founder of the organization Working Dogs for Conservation and Pepin’s owner. She gives “bad dogs” jobs.

Watch conservation dogs in action at the University of Washington. They look for hyperactive, homeless dogs who need a job to do.

Watch this video about conservation dogs being trained in Montana to spot wildlife trafficking.

Title: Trouble Dog: From Shelter Dog to Conservation Hero

Author: Carol A. Foote

Illustrator: Larry Day

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025

Ages: Elementary school

Themes: working dogs, dog training, conservation

For more perfect picture book recommendations, please visit Susanna Hill’s website.