Dog Show: Poems

by Billy Collins, Pamela Sztybel (Illustrator)

In this special collection of poems inspired by dogs, former U.S. Poet Laureate and New York Times bestselling author Billy Collins captures the essence and mystery of our beloved companions—featuring striking canine portraits in watercolors by Pamela Sztybel

“Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions.”— The New York Times

Billy Collins's Dog Show celebrates the joy of our canine best friends, honoring the love we feel for these animals who play vital roles in so many of our lives. In twenty-five poems, Collins distills the many emotions dogs bring us, from the happiness we feel as we watch a dog trot out the door unencumbered by our burdens, to the silliness of holding a dog in our arms as we step on the scale together. Turning his inimitable eye and ear to the complexities of dog behavior, Collins ponders all that these winning creatures give us and what we learn from them about ourselves.

For more than four decades Billy Collins has delighted readers with his insight, wit, and clear poetic voice. In Dog Show, "America's favorite poet" (Wall Street Journal) illuminates America's favorite pet (sorry, cat lovers). Accompanied by Pamela Sztybel's watercolors that effortlessly depict a dog's humble grace, Dog Show reveals the profound role dogs play in our lives and the meaning they give us.

Genres: Poetry, Dogs, Animals, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Art, American

79 pages, Hardcover

First published November 18, 2025

About the author

William James Collins is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He was a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, retiring in 2016. Collins was recognized as a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library (1992) and selected as the New York State Poet for 2004 through 2006. In 2016, Collins was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. As of 2020, he is a teacher in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton.

Reviews

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you would have told me twenty years ago that on Dave Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve 2025 I’d cozy down with a mug of cocoa and a book of dog poems, I would have laughed sharply and eyed you with suspicion - but it was actually pleasant.

[gray (my.rainbow.bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

poems about dogs are some of my favorite things in the world even though they make me miss my dog so much

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of Book Girls’ Guide Bingo Book Challenge 2026 (permission given to start early) - Animal Lovers

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how Collins' poetry is so conversational. At the same time, I don't love how some of the lines are really banal. There's a fine line between conversational but brilliant, and just plain meh. This collection finds him on either side, depending on the line.

[Stacey ˗ ღ ˎˊ˗ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t really give this less than 4 stars. However, I was disappointed in the poet’s lack of insight. A few of the poems hit me emotionally, but very few. I just expected more from someone who thought that they were in touch enough with dogs as companions, guides and friends to dedicate an entire volume to them. I also did not find the craft that moving from a poet laureate.

One poem in particular was painful, as he noted walking with an elderly dog who was limping and had fur too matted to comb. What? Why would you not only admit to neglect like that, but memorialize it in a poem allegedly to honor your pet? He also titled a poem “Another Reason I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House” writing about a neighbor dog barking. Big yikes.

In all honesty the emotive artwork saved the collection.

Super glad I borrowed this one from the library and did not buy.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful and made me want a dog in a serious way

“I’m not even here anymore.
I’m somewhere else,
leaning against a tree, as it happens.
It’s a Monday around dusk.
Lots of yellow leaves float down.
I’m 27. A dog stretching at my side.”

[Elyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy Collins never misses. Silly, sweet, sentimental — just like dogs. I laughed and cried. A perfect collection.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billy Collins collection of poems in his new book Dog Show struck a deep chord with me in many of these poems. Anybody who loves reading and listening to the boiled down impressions and memories of others' lives with their companion dogs will smile at the similes, metaphors, and alliteration that rolls off the tongue when reading aloud or melts heart calluses as one considers the dogs eye view of us and our shared world. The watercolor illustrative paintings imprinting the perfectly imperfect dogs of our lives.

[Rachael Dockery · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book made me laugh and broke my heart. Billy Collins is a favorite of mine but except for one poem, all of these were new to me. I can’t pick a favorite but highly recommend the whole collection to all fellow dog and poetry lovers.

[Karen Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

If all poetry was like this, I''d read more. Wonderful poems-some sad, some funny-about man's best friend.

[Margaret Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect collection of poems on the depth of love, the magic of what a dog companion adds to our lives. The illustrations are gently beautiful as well. The whole piece seems like a cute little conversation book, but it really serves the place of poetry: finding and showing facets of the beauty in our little lives. A great place to start seeing how reading poetry from time to time can add an extra layer to our experience of the world.

[Barbara Kochick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I savored this gift book a few poems at time. Accessible poems reach all emotions.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Some true gems of verse in this short book of poems! If you have or ever had a dog you loved, you will surely recognize your dog in some of Collins' ruminations. The very first poem, Dharma, captures the jaunty, joyful dog pushiness that is the nature of dog.. on the walk, around the food dish.. As a witness to that same behavior over the years with our various dog companions-- I was in awe to see it set so skillfully to paper. Recommend Billy Collins to anyone who normally avoids poetry. You won't be disappointed. Oh! and take your time and savor a few poems at a time.

[Evalynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorites were: Weighing the Dog, A Dog on His Master, All Dressed Up, The Guardian, Good News, and Two Creatures because they remind me the most of my beloved mutt, Maggie Mae.

[Jennifer Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy Collins is a master at capturing the spirit of a dog in poetry. As he says, …”instead of following your bliss, follow around some lighthearted dog.” This tiny tome is a tender collection of observations of our canine companions and their role in our lives. Absolutely perfect observations. And the watercolor paintings by Pamela Sztybel that accompany each poem are wonderful. A must read even if you’ve never had a pup companion.

[Lianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not his best collection, and some of the poems were perplexing. But there were a couple great ones, and a couple that made me tear up a little. I'll never tire of poems about dogs.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A b&n best audiobook of 2025 for a reason

[Jennifer Pruett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and very funny collection of poems about dogs and how they affect our lives. Some poems made me chuckle out loud, and I insisted on reading many to my husband as I found them so charming or fun. Highly recommended (even if you think you aren’t a dog person)!

[Wil Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical and thought-provoking poems about canines and human-kind’s relationship with them. Collins’s work includes “role reversals” where canines take the role of narrator-poet and observe the world poetically from a dog’s perspective. If you’re a dog-lover, You know that dogs connect directly with us. And you wonder what’s going on in a dog’s mind, Collins tells us (or attempts to tell us)…it’s a poetic conceit that Collins indulges in.

Dog Show is a wonderful and fast read. If you love canines you’ll adore it.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked the dog pix with the poems, but overall they didn’t do a lot for me. Alas

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not his best, but nonetheless Billy Collins has given us another charming book. The illustrations are lovely and sure to appeal to any dog lover, and the poems capture the day to day of our canine companions and the life lessons we learn by contemplating them in relation to ourselves.

Several of those lessons focus on age, on the comparison of dog years to human years and of aging itself. In several, the poet exchanges places with his dog and imagines a canine self. The poems are by turns whimsical, down to earth, and give pleasure. In some, a dog is the central character. In one, he has passed away and narrates his absolutely dislike of his owner, completely violating our belief that all dogs love their human companions. In some of the poems, he shows up more tangentially. But isn't that the way of it in life? I'll never forget the jaunty little white dog that hung out outside the Café du Progrès in Menerbes. His name was Snoopy and he was full of joie de vivre and ever present when we would drive into the village after a day of sightseeing. Tangential but very much present and appreciated. Even adored.

So here is a lovely little collection of poems about one of our favorite companions that would make a perfect gift for the dog lover in your life. It's that kind of book.

[Anna Claxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for the texture of its cover, and the rest of the book did not disappoint. The paintings are wonderful to look at, and the poems made me laugh and sigh. “The Guardian” is my favorite. I read it twice, and once I get home and pet my own chicken guard dog, I’ll probably read it again.

[anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75, rounded up

Spontaneous pick-up from a housesitting gig. Made me weepy-eyed and want to write poetry, which I was compelled to do in the middle of my reading. First collection of Billy’s, I look forward to more in the future.

“…he is given a name / that is his and his alone, / enough to turn his head and bring him home.” (from “The Guardian”)

standouts: to a stranger born in some distant country hundreds of years from now, waking the 75-year-old dog, biographical notes in an anthology of haiku, the guardian, the collar

[Kartika · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read of the year.
Lovely little book of poems and watercolors.
Great way to start the year with a smile.
What’s next?
Something serious, I imagine.
Not that dogs aren’t serious business. They are.

[ChrisQ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this!!! These poems made me smile, laugh, and nostalgic. This was a random library pick, so glad I borrowed this one. I am going to Purchase. Great poems to read if you are feeling down and love dogs.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but luminous collection to our best friends. A delight.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This doesn’t hold a candle to Dog Songs but then what really could?

Ironically, my favorite poem of the collection is “Trying to Write a Dog Poem in a House with Two Cats.”

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d probably like this better if I were a dog person. The illustrations were nice.

[Gillian Sutliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Billy Collins and I like dogs

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