Dog Breeds: The essential guide to choosing your perfect canine companion.

Dog Breeds: The essential guide to choosing your perfect canine companion. Review

Everything you ever wanted to know about man's best friend. This comprehensive guide to choosing the right dog for you includes a detailed look at all breeds registered by the British and American Kennel Clubs.

Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution

Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution Review

Biologists, breeders and trainers, and champion sled dog racers, Raymond and Lorna Coppinger have more than four decades of experience with literally thousands of dogs. Offering a scientifically informed perspective on canines and their relations with humans, the Coppingers take a close look at eight different types of dogs—household, village, livestock guarding, herding, sled-pulling, pointing, retrieving, and hound. They argue that dogs did not evolve directly from wolves, nor were they trained by early humans; instead they domesticated themselves to exploit a new ecological niche: Mesolithic village dumps. Tracing the evolution of today's breeds from these village dogs, the Coppingers show how characteristic shapes and behaviors—from pointing and baying to the sleek shapes of running dogs—arise from both genetic heritage and the environments in which pups are raised.

For both dogs and humans to get the most out of each other, we need to understand and adapt to the biological needs and dispositions of our canine companions, just as they have to ours.

The Social Lives of Dogs: The Grace of Canine Company

The Social Lives of Dogs: The Grace of Canine Company Review

The Social Lives of Dogs: The Grace of Canine Company Feature

• Canine interaction

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, who has written evocatively on the ways of dogs (The Hidden Life of Dogs) and cats (The Tribe of the Tiger) at large, here turns her attention to the particular canines--and other animals--with which she shares her home.

Marshall's narrative begins with the arrival of an unfortunate, highly intelligent creature named Sundog, who, excluded from the somewhat constricted worlds of her older dogs, is forced to take his place in the next available pack--that of Marshall and the other human inhabitants of her New Hampshire home. "Perhaps we were not his first choice, but he took us," Marshall writes of Sundog learning his proper place in their order and they in his. Much as domestic dogs enjoy each other's company, Marshall hazards, when in the presence of humans each becomes a competitor for attention and food. Humans, in that world of small rivalries, become not so much alphas or pack leaders--as so many books have it--as they do "sources of life," providers of food and security. Such power can corrupt, of course, and at points Marshall observes that popular methods of dog training--or dog control--can do more harm than good, at least as far as a dog's emotional well-being is concerned.

Through her tales of Sundog, Misty, and her other dogs (and cats, and parrots), Marshall explores how fulfilling a life among animals can be. A little softer on the scientific explanations that drive her other books, Marshall's narrative shares the anecdotal richness of her earlier work. Any human who is curious about how dogs think and how the worlds of dogs and people intersect will find much of value in her pages. --Gregory McNamee In this sequel to her illuminating bestseller The Hidden Life of Dogs, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas profiles the canines in her own household to show how dogs have comfortably adapted to life with their human owners -- and with each other. A classically trained anthropologist, she answers questions we all have about our pets' behavior. Do dogs have different barks that mean different things? What makes a dog difficult to house-train? Why do certain dogs and cats get along so well? How does Snoopy recognize people he sees only once a year, while Misty barks at strangers she sees every day?

The Social Lives of Dogs presents marvelous evidence of the power of the group -- and shows us that those who are fortunate enough to be given the trust of an honorable dog will also have their lives enriched.

Canine Couture: 25 Projects: Fashion and Lifestyle Accessories for Designer Dogs

Canine Couture: 25 Projects: Fashion and Lifestyle Accessories for Designer Dogs Review

Every dog owner knows that dogs are people too, and now you can make sure your dog is stepping out in style. With 25 projects to suit every occasion--from romps in the park to jaunts about town, from country getaways to trips to the beach, from birthdays to bedtime--Canine Couture answers the age old dilemma now facing fashionable dogs today “what should I wear?”  

Divided into five sections--"Everyday Essentials," "Whatever the Weather," "High Days and Holidays," "Jet-Setting Kit," and "Bed and Bath"--the projects include countrified tweed coats, party outfits for special occasions, cozy beds for lazy days, and even a personalized towel and flannel set for bath time.

Using a wide range of sewing and decorative techniques there's something to suit every dog. So make sure your pooch will never run out of clothes to wear with these one-of-a-kind outfits, adorable toys and accessories that are sure to satisfy both you and your fashion-conscious pup.