DK The Dog Encyclopedia The Definitive Visual Guide (DK Pet Encyclopedias).

by D.K. Publishing

Explore the history and variety of our most faithful companions in this collection of over 400 different dog breeds.For centuries, dogs have been adored for their unswerving loyalty, and this new edition of The Dog Encyclopedia perfectly celebrates the special relationship that binds humans with our four-legged friends.Starting with their history, evolution, and anatomy, this brilliant book about dogs puts on a show of dogs in art and advertising, sport and service, and religion and culture, as famous dogs in fiction line up alongside heroic helpers. The catalogue introduces more than 400 dog breeds arranged in traditional categories, from primitive and working dogs to companion dogs and scent hounds. Every entry includes glorious photographs and fact-packed profiles detailing the individual character, compatible owner traits, and breed-specific advice.Dive straight into this dog book, which - A fully-illustrated guide to canine anatomy and body systems.- A catalogue of internationally recognized dog breeds.- Annotated images that highlight the typical characteristics of every featured breed.- Boxed topics on record breakers, canine film stars, and heroic war dogs add a fascinating degree of detail.Additionally, the book offers expert information on everything from exercising and feeding your dog to grooming and puppy training, along with a section on care to help you identify and deal with any canine health problems.Combining fabulous photographs with information on the latest breeds, historical facts, and advice on everyday care, The Dog Encyclopedia is an indispensable owner's guide and a useful reference for professionals.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Dogs

360 pages, Hardcover

Published July 6, 2023

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[sniksnak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book just after Christmas and like a dog-enthused kid, I’ve looked at the amazing photos every chance I get. As a dog rescuer in my younger years and a dog lover, I’ve wanted a copy of this coffee table book ever since the 2023 revised edition came out. The retail price is the only thing that held me back at $40.00 per book. I could feed my 10 chickens, one dog, one cat and a passel of squirrels for a full month with 40 bucks. OR, just think! how many used paperbacks I could purchase! So imagine my ecstatic-ness (yeah, yeah, no such word but that’s exactly how I felt) when I walked into a neighborhood estate sale last month and a perfectly unblemished copy with a $5.00 sticker on it was just waiting for me to grab up!
It’s an unequivocally gorgeous all in one celebration of dogs. It’s perfect for browsing - showcasing these loyal companions, covering their history, biology, breeds and practical care.
A highly visual, comprehensive reference book with stunning photography and illustrations. Almost every morning since I bought it, I grab my first cup of coffee and slowly browse through the extraordinarily exquisite photos.

[ThDogs · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction section was genuinely promising, the anatomy and senses a good inclusion to the book before going into the breed. The coat colours incorrectly labelled (liver was labelled red/chestnut, red was labelled liver, roan was mixed up with merle) so very much taken in with a grain of salt.

The dogs in history, art, social media, culture, adds, sports etc was an interesting idea however entirely too sparse and shallow. Very unfinished feeling. Just lacking.

There was certainly a wide variety of breeds to click through, so as a list with photos of breeds it functioned well. As an encyclopaedia, not so much, as quite a lot of misinformation within (e.g. welsh springer spaniels existed long before english springer spaniels and are not "close cousins", english springers come in more colours than black and white)

How the breeds were categorised was weird, for example the working breeds category was a combination of herding and guarding breeds...but the very first example was a wolf hybrid with its own summary talking about how useless they were for working and how they're just companions. So why are they in the working dog section and not the crossbreed section?


There was a diet section that was nice enough, despite that it kept insisting about what "dogs eat in the wild". Dogs are domesticated, there is no natural wild diet for dogs. It is to their detriment to ignore their evolution alongside humans. They are not wolves.

The training section started out very weak with a "Be In Charge" chapter that was entirely redundant as dogs are not pack animals and they do not need a dominant alpha, considering owners already control every facet of their life. Then it moved into generic 101 training where it couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be outdated dominance theory (make dog sit when scared, myths that you can reward fear, dog MUST be in a heel to walk, dogs are never allowed to show aggression) and poor attempts at being modern (talking about positive reinforcement, recognising dogs are aggressive when in pain, don't hit or yell at dogs)

The exercise and grooming sections were functional enough, relatively sensible just very shallow. There is a first aid section.

Overall the book works best as a visual photo of a range of breeds to see what they look like, and disregard anything written in text as unlikely to be accurate.

I won't be including in my reading challenge as I do not think it counts as a book.

[Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first books that I picked up at the Regina Public Library. While I did not finish it end-to-end, I did flip through the entire book. It is a coffee table book that is quite visually stunning, especially if you like dogs! It offers a practical reference guide and a brief history of the hundreds of dog breeds found in the book. It is quite comprehensive if I may say. I actually own the Cat version, but I have not flipped through that yet. I probably will when I am back in Manila.

If you love dogs and would like to know more about them and the different breeds, this is a good reference (and display).

[PottWab Regional Library]

O

[vixen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a dog training student it was a very good read and gave me additional insight into dog and different breeds and was overall a huge help in my studies