"Eu îi citesc cățelului o carte."

Translation: I read a book to the puppy.

[nickbii]

That's one bored puppy.

[abriskaj]

Why doesn't "I read to the puppy a book" work?

[nickbii]

That is a possible construction in English, but you'd need some commas ("I read, to the puppy, a book"), and even then most native English-speakers would be very very confused.

[Wes708337]

But "I read a book to the puppy" sounds natural. This is actually a technique used to help children get comfortable reading. The puppy loves the attention and is totally noncritical of the child.

[MortimerCat]

I do not know the grammar rules but that just sounds wrong to me.