I kind of just decided that I would try to have my dog reach all of NHs 4,000 foot peaks, likely all by day hikes. She's done 6 of them. Last year I did a few before I had her. I haven't had any problems yet, but I feel very inefficient and clueless. I'm not real sure how to make best use of my poles, what the best way to hydrate is, how to minimize wear on my joints during the descent or when I should avoid trails that might be too wet (is it yesterday's rainfall or the last month's?), along with many other basic type questions that a book would talk about...

Anyhow, I was wondering if there was a solid basic book (or detailed FAQ/blog) on the stuff I'm interested in. Thanks!

Your questions are, indeed, basic. I have never read it, but I wondered if such a thing existed and find that it does:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-B ... 1592579604

Many of your questions will have been answered already (many times) on online discussion boards related to hiking. You can join one, or just search through old posts. Here's a good one focussed on hiking in the Northeastern US:

http://www.vftt.org

For the NH4ks, you also want to peruse these websites if you haven't already:
http://home.earthlink.net/~ellozy/nh-4000-footers.html
http://www.hikethewhites.com/mountains.html

And get yourself a copy of the AMC's _White Mountain Guide_ which has detailed trail descriptions and comes with up-to-date maps. (Beware of old maps, you don't want to end up on the wrong side of a bridge that no longer exists or plan to stay in a shelter that's been torn down.)
http://amcstore.outdoors.org/wmg-book-map-set

Additional resource suggestions collected here on my personal website:
http://davidalbeck.com/hiking/resources.html

Thanks a ton. I have AMCs white mountain guide, and I've read most of Elozzy's pages online.

That Idiot's guide looks like it might be pretty good. I'll read that this week. I like to try to read the best book on topic before I research too many forum posts. It's too easy to spend several hours learning some aspect of a topic, only to find out later that it's 0.1% of the larger problem, and doesn't apply to you at all....

Cori (my dog) bagged her 7th yesterday. It was kinda wet so I decided to test out hiking in such conditions on a very easy one - Hale. 4 hrs of driving for a 2.5 hour hike with little to no payoff, but we had fun. I think I'll be very careful not to end up on a big hike when it's wet.

The Idiot's Guide was decent. I think I ended up sorting out most of my basic questions on my own, and now I have some idea of the next level of stuff (backpacking vs. day hikes, and how to get all my first aid stuff settled.)

Did the Osceola's up and back with Cori last weekend, no problem, 3:59 RTT. Was pretty pleased at my energy level, finding a nice uphill stride with alternating poles. Plan to do Owl's head tomorrow. Seems like the right weather for it (cool and dry).