Encyclopedia Of Dog Breeds

As librarian in a Pre-K through 8th grade school library, I am occasionally asked by students to buy certain kinds of books. The number one request this year was a dog breed book, not a book about dogs, but specifically dog breeds. I looked at all the books available on Amazon and discovered that "Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds" best met our needs. From the time the book was processed and checked out to the boy who requested it, the waiting list remained steady. Once checked out, the book was relinquished only because of threats by the Library Dragon.All of the preceding paragraph is background to say how valuable this book is and how much students love it. If you or your family are ready to obtain a dog, this book certainly will provide you with information in making good choices.The first chapter begins with the Dog Family and moves to the Family Dog, asks how good the breed is with children , and how to use the Breed Profiles. Then most of the book is taken by the specifics of the various breeds of dogs. Divided into classes, dogs belong to the sporting group, hounds, working dogs, terriers, toys, non-sporting group, and herders.When a book contains over 150 breeds of dogs, the viewer will see almost infinite varieties of some breeds. For example, American Staffordshire Terrier and the Bull Terrier resemble each other. Do you know the Glen of Imaal Terrier? Or the Kerry Blue Terrier or Irish Terrier, Lakeland Terrier? The Manchester Terrier looks like a small Doberman Pinscher. The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier is one of those with long hair covering his eyes. He's from Ireland.The Working Group are "those dogs that put their bravery or brawn into the service of humans." They can be guard dogs, protectors, sled dogs, cart dogs, and rescue dogs. They are known for their intelligence and hardiness (105). Each breed gets a two-page spread.Here's the Komondor, the large dog that has cord-like tassels for fur. The breed originated in Hungary, where it is still plentiful. It was used as a sheep herder and is being bred for that use in the United States now. However, because of its cords, it must live in a cool climate. Its positive qualities are affection, friendliness, good watchdog, and a great protector. Its negative qualities are its unfriendliness toward other dogs and strangers, and low heat tolerance.Each two-page spread contains sub-articles on history of the breed, temperament, upkeep, health, form and function, At a Glance chart, an illustration showing the standards of the breed, plus a posed, competition-like photograph and a close-up showing the nature of the dog.The last section of the book contains a glossary of medical conditions, illustrations of dog anatomy, and an index.This is a book to sit down with and spend an hour at a time, just browsing the interesting articles, looking at photographs, and picking up useful information for now or later concerning dog breeds. "Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds" is simply a great book to have!

I purchased the books for my grandson for Christmas. He picked it out on Amazon.com. He likes the books and said they were very interesting.

One of the best dog breed books around with perhaps the best illustrations. This book not only contains the AKC breed information but does it more comprehensively. Instead of limiting itself to size descriptions of breeds by either height or by weight, so often done in AKC breed standards, this book gives an average height and weight range for each of the breeds. Great overall characteristic descriptions such as temperament, upkeep, genetic health problems, and form and function. Many highly illustrated dog books have great pictures of some breeds and unflattering ones of other breeds. The Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds has consistently beautiful pictures throughout.If you are more interested in adopting one of the lonely little All Americans out there in shelters, this is a fun way to gather information about the heritage and personality that make up that little guy's background.

I had an older edition of this book and because I looked at it so often, it began to wear. I ordered this one and was pleased to find everything in the same format. The dogs are categorized by breed and group, but once you find the breed you're looking for, its great to have full color pictures. Each page offers a background of the breed, as well as comparisons on behavior, size, grooming, etc. I think this book is wonderful, I use it often to determine health expectations for dogs and what to look out for. I highly recommend anyone in the market for a new friend to use this book as a tool in deciding the best pooch for you and how it will fit into your lifestyle, as well as to gain advice for long-term care. The ONLY drawback to the book is that it only contains AKC registered breeds, and there are several other familiar breeds not recognized by the AKC. It also does not offer "designer" breeds, i.e. Labordoodle, however, by looking at each breed in the mix individually you can gain a pretty good idea of how one of these mixes would be.

Great price for a great quality book!

When my daughter wanted to get a puppy I bought her this book and asked her to read it and find a breed that would work for us. A decade later I still enjoy perusing the book for its concise, accurate, descriptions of the breeds.

This is a fantastic resource book on different breeds of dog. The descriptions are thorough, easy to read and are accompanied by color photos. Dogs are rated on energy level, exercise requirements, playfulness, affection level, friendliness towards dogs/other pets/strangers, ease of training, watchdog ability, protection ability, grooming requirements and tolerance toward cold and heat. I was able to really determine the best dog for my family using measures I hadn't even thought of! This book is the one for you if you are trying to decide the best purebred dog for your family and lifestyle. Check out "Hot Dogs" for excellent info on some of the newer mixed breeds.

This is the perfect book for people who are trying to decide on the type of dog they wish to get; and also for people, like me, who just want to learn a bit about the various breeds. There are two full pages for each dog, two good color photos, and the basic information an aspiring owner of a purebred pet would want, such as size, temperament, grooming, and common health problems. Dr. Coile has certainly done her research. It's informative yet fun to just page through. I highly recommend it.

great

I have spent many hours looking at this fantastic book. I lost my much loved labrador last November and spent hours looking through this book - finallymade my decision and have had my new puppy just over a month now.

lots and lots learned from it

Was a present for my daughter and she was delighted with it.

As described.