Proud Dog

by Sharon Davey

A heartwarming and hilarious picture book that celebrates the joy of family!

Meet Dorothy, a loving dog with two wonderful dads. Her life is filled with long walks, bubbly bath times, and splendid dinner parties. She takes pride in helping her dads with everything, ensuring their days are filled with fun.

But everything changes when her dads bring home a new addition—a noisy, floppy, screechy, smelly baby! Dorothy's world is turned upside down as the family's routine is thrown into chaos. No more long walks, no more relaxing baths, and mealtimes become a whirlwind of activity.

Determined to restore order, Dorothy tries her best to help her dads around the house, but nothing seems to work. The baby continues to disrupt their lives, and Dorothy misses the calm days when it was just her and her dads.

All it takes, though, is one sweet moment for Dorothy to realize that the baby might not be so bad after all. With newfound love and understanding, Dorothy embraces the baby as her best little buddy and proudly parades her family's excellent training to the world.

Proud Dog is a delightful tale of love, adaptation, and the unbreakable bond of family.

Genres: Picture Books, LGBT, Animals, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 13, 2026

Reviews

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, colorful little picture book about a Dalmatian (a word all my friends mock me mercilessly for my pronunciation thereof) used to being the center of her two dads' universe. When a new baby suddenly enters the mix, Dorothy the Dalmatian has to figure out a new normal, where she can feel loved and included, and perhaps even warm up to the new addition.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This colorful picture book is one that a lot of pet parents will relate to. Pet parents who have pets for a time without children will find this story about Dorothy the Dalmation to be one that they may face when they finally bring a new baby into the family.

Dorothy the Dalmation has two dads that she adores. Dorothy helps her dads learn to take care of her and the things that make her happy. She is training them well. There are long walks, fun times with bathtime, and dinner parties with delicious food. Then the unthinkable happened. Her dads brought home a very weird little smelly baby!! Dorothy wondered what would happen. Dorothy was no longer able to continue training her dads. The daily routine was gone. The days were mostly hectic now. One day the baby got huge hiccups and Dorothy the Dalmation could see that her das had no idea how to help the baby. Dorothy tried all kinds of things to make the baby happy. A surprise ending made a difference and everything was good in the house now. Dorothy claimed credit for helping the baby.

This delightful picture book has a life lesson for young readers about bonding with a family and the effort that it takes to create a happy home.

Proud Dog is recommended for ages 3-7. It was published by Penguin Workshop, a division of Penguin/Random House. It has an ISBN of 978-0-593-88701-1.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

great representation and a good story about a pet dog getting used to a new baby

[Lisa Pineo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This book is adorable. It's a look at dog Dorothy's wonderful life before and after a baby arrives. How she's not impressed with the loud, smelly being taking up her dads' time and how she wishes the little bundle would disappear. It's not until the baby gets older and has hiccups that things take a turn for the better. I love the artwork and the writing is sweet. The fact that it's two men with a dog starting a family is just that, a fact, nothing weird or unique about it. Great to read for Pride month or with the addition of a new family member.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute one. Dorothy is a dog with two human dads. She loves her dads so much! They play with her and take her on long walks and give her good food to eat! Life is good…until a baby human arrives. The baby human is smelly and always noisy and she disrupts Dorothy’s routine! Will Dorothy ever find peace with the new human in the house?

I liked this book about a dog experiencing a new baby and loved all the colors.

Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Day 356

#FirsttoCheckOut

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorothy is a dalmatian belonging to a sweet and loving pair of dads that she is very proud of. They do everything together.
Then one day, the dads bring home a BABY! It's noisy, loud, and smells bad (a lot). All of the attention seems to go to the BABY!
What will Dorothy do to help her dads "fix" the baby after a spout of hiccups and can BABY and Dorothy co-exist?

A sweet book about big emotions, changes arising in family dynamics, and filled with vibrant illustrations;

[SamSamSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. I love a dog and baby story. The idea of a dog being upset by baby poop and spilled food is actually laughable though. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, would thrill my dog more. I'll try this out in rainbow storytime cause it's a great structure for a readaloud.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorothy is a dalmatian with two wonderful dads. When a new baby joins their family, Dorothy is not too pleased but learns the baby may not be so bad after all. A really cute story about a dog adjusting to a new baby that could be used to help siblings prepare for a new arrival.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story of a dog with two dads adjusting to life with a new baby.

[Pucemoment · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet, fun story about a dog adjusting to a new addition to the family (a baby). This is written in a way that would be good practice for an emerging reader.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and just a little bit cloying. This would be a good read aloud or gift book for a family with a dog and new baby!

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌈Cute!✨