Composed of twelve short stories first published in magazines, the novel is based on the life of Terhune's real-life Rough Collie, Lad.

Through the stories of Lad's adventures, Terhune expresses his views on parenting, obtaining perfect obedience without force and the nature and rights of the "well-bred".

Several days later, the still limping Lady accidentally gets locked in the library and is subsequently blamed for the destruction of the Master's beloved mounted bald eagle.

One spring, a relative of the Mistress brings her invalid toddler, Baby, to the Place in the hope that the weather will help her grow stronger.

While the humans fuss over the occurrence, Lad sneaks off and spends four days buried in marsh mud to draw out the snake's poison.

Dismayed to learn that Lad will have to stay chained to a small bench for all four days of the event, his owners begin to regret bringing him.

Initially, it seems like the only dog who meets the requirements is Glure's recently purchased blue-merle champion, Lochinvar III; however, the Mistress is able to command Lad through the motions of the trial.

On a cold, snowy day, thirteen-year-old Lad feels snubbed when the three-year-old Wolf does not invite him to join him and Rex, a five-year-old collie and bull terrier mix, for a run in the woods.

Though Wolf betrays him and joins Rex in the life-or-death fight, Lad manages to get close enough to the house for Bruce to hear the battle and alert the Master and Mistress.

[2] Injecting himself and his wife, Anice, into the novel, Terhune positioned the character of the "Master" as a "just, strict, well-intentioned but often rather bumbling man" who could be overly sentimental and was balanced by the "wise, calm, and patient" "Mistress".

Through the story characters' attempts at explaining Lad's inexplicable actions using "mythologies of atavism", Terhune reflects his own views of an ideal relationship between a parent and child, namely an "ideology of noble instinct tempered by inflexible training".

[3] Reflecting patriarchy and the idea of a living creature that obeys unquestioningly and unhesitatingly, the novel indicates that "perfect obedience and submission to a master's will" can be obtained without needing violence or force.

Instead the relationship is framed within the context of a "human courtly love triangle" when the "showy" Knave comes to the Place and Lady forgets Lad and fawns on the new arrival.

"[3] Showcasing contemporary views of "entitlement and noblesse oblige, the novel reflects Terhune's place as a member of the aristocracy and attempts to "justify the natural rights of the well-bred.

Within the novel, despite disliking shows and being an "old style" collie, Lad's "sheer noble nature" enables him to win despite the going preferences for "more superficial qualities".

[3] Lad obeys the Law in part because of his heredity as a purebred, and the Master considers himself a thoroughbred due to his having certain "race characteristics that are ingrained in his blood.

"[3] Frequently, Terhune references atavism, attributing Lad's calling upon hereditary instincts to the presence of "a strain of wolf" in the brains of all collies.

[3] Albert Payson Terhune was an established newspaperman and author of several books in various genres—including histories and thrillers—when he penned his first canine short story, His Mate.

Later that year, Doubleday-Page, which had published Terhune's last novel Fortune, wrote asking to see his next book while reminding him that their contract gave them first refusal rights to it.

Wanting to escape from that publisher due to the dismal performance of Fortune, Terhune decided to follow Long's suggestion so he could use the book of dog stories to fulfill his contractual obligation.

Macrae later decided that the agreement was not completely fair to Anice and modified it to provide her a payment of $100 a month for the rest of her life, likely exceeding the profits they earned on the novels as the years passed.

[9] He was mourned by thousands of fans who had read Terhune's stories, with dozens of readers, primarily children, visiting Sunnybank to see Lad's grave.

The Van Riper-Hopper Historic House Museum, located several miles away, displays Terhune's writings, the awards won by the Sunnybank collies and other memorabilia.

[2] The success of the stories propelled Terhune to fame, enabling him to purchase Sunnybank from his mother and quit a loathed job working for a newspaper to become a full-time freelance writer.

[4] In the Fall 1996 issue of Raritan Quarterly Review, Stephen D. Cox, freely admitting to never having read the book,[24] nonetheless called Terhune a "hack writer" who lacked "storytelling skill" and denounced Lad: A Dog as non-literature with "sentences [that] are insufferably stilted and hammy" and "have a tendency to wander off on long romps with his personal obsessions."

"[24] In You're Only Young Twice: Children's Literature and Film, Timothy Morris felt the novel had "dated badly" due to changes in American society, and while he stated that he enjoyed the work, in comparing it to Anna Sewell's Black Beauty he faults Lad: A Dog for lacking an "autobiographical frame" and for leaving readers guessing as to what is happening.

They later negotiated with Anice Terhune for the rights to the two follow up novels, hoping to produce a sequel and television series if the first film proved successful.

[34] Starring Peter Breck, Peggy McCay, Carroll O'Connor, and Angela Cartwright, the film blended several of the novel's stories with some modifications to make a flowing narrative.

[34] Aram Avakian was initially selected to be the film's director, but his refusal to create a sentimental dog story resulted in his firing; he was replaced by Leslie H.

[37] Although it was praised by fans and modern reviewers, contemporary critiques felt Terhune's work did not translate well to film and it was considered a low budget B-movie.