The New Encyclopedia of the Dog

Rating:
Summary: Good Dog Guide, but Missing a Few Things
Review: A combination reference and reading guide, this encyclopedia about dogs covers dogs in history, dog breeds, dog biology, and dog care. In some ways, it is a reference guide and this is how most people will approach it. But in other ways, this book also presents some good reading material, particularly in the first few chapters where the author talks about the role of dogs in history.

The longest part of this book is chapter five, where each dog breed is pictured and profiled. Here, you can learn some new facts about specific breeds, like the reason they were initially bred, along with more common facts, like the average height and weight for each.

There are a couple of things about this guide that are not the best. First of all, the fifth chapter- the one with all the dog breeds- isn't very well organized. It contains too many categories for dogs (scent hounds, sight hounds, gun dogs, etc.) and this can make it difficult to find a specific breed. In many instances, you are better off just looking up the breed name in the index.

The other thing about this guide that makes it incomplete is the limited information contained in the final chapter about dog care. In this chapter, there is a brief discussion of topics like health, nutrition, traveling with dogs, selecting the right breed, and so on. This is important information to know, but the author devotes only two pages to each of these areas. This isn't nearly enough for topics as important as these.

Still, this encyclopedia is a good reference guide for those who want to know more about dogs, both past and present. It makes a good resource to consult for finding facts about specific breeds and for learning more about the dog's physical structure, history, and various roles as hunter, worker, and family friend.


Rating:
Summary: Buyer Beware
Review: After reading the entry on Australian Shepherds and reading the other reviews here, I think buyers should not pick a dog to purchase based on this book. The Australian Shepherd is listed as having a temperment like a Golden or a Retriever. I can only begin to tell you that this is not a typical or desired temperment for the Aussie. They have strong guardian instincts and are to be reserved with strangers.
Overall it may provide some basic information of many breeds but if you are looking for a pet, do some more research on the breed you are looking at.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Although I enjoy the Dorling Kindersly books because of their beautiful layout and illustrations I am disappointed in the content of the breed descriptions in this book.

The book is (as is typical in books describing the different dog breeds) divided into different types of dogs dependent upon their ancestry or the type of work that they were bred to do and I found some glaring errors in this area. For example, the American Water Spaniel is listed as a 'scent hound' as is the Doberman Pinscher. The Puli is listed under 'Sporting' or 'Gundog' Breeds. The entry for the Irish Water Spaniel says that an alternate name for the breed is the 'Parti-colored Setter' which makes no sense as it is neither parti-colored nor a setter. I also find listing poodles and dalmations after 'random-bred' is confusing.

Rating:
Summary: Skimpy and often inaccurate information on some rare breeds.
Review: Appears at first to be a comprehensive guide to a wide variety of breeds, however on closer examination the information is skimpy and often just plain inaccurate on several of the rarer breeds. The breeds that suffer the worst from Mr. Fogle's misinformation also happen to be the breeds banned by the UK. For example, Mr. Fogle claims that the sole purpose of the Dogo Argentino (one of the banned breeds) is for dog fighting - a claim which is completely untrue. Anyone who knows anything about the breed, knows that the breed was created specifically for HUNTING WILD BOAR IN PACKS and is still extensively used in this capacity to this day - but Mr. Fogle makes no mention of this whatsoever. Having been a Dogo owner, breeder, trainer and specialty judge for the past 10 years, I feel quite qualified to call Mr. Fogle out on the carpet for either his ignorance of this breed (in which case, he has no business writing about it) or his deliberate lie (no doubt to appease his British publishers). Having found several "inaccuracies" in the descriptions of some of the breeds that I am very familiar with, I am very suspicious of Mr. Fogle's descriptions of the breeds that I am not very familiar with. Since I can not trust Mr. Fogle's information, I find the book virtually useless. I am glad that I only checked the book out from a library and therefore didn't waste any of my money to buy it. I would recommend "The Atlas of Dog Breeds of the World" by Bonnie Wilcox, DVM and Chris Walkowicz. I did purchase this book and treasure it as an excellent, accurate reference with wonderful pictures. This book is coffee table quality. Also, for more information on some of the rare breeds here in the US, I would recommend "A Celebration of Rare Breeds" by Kathy Flammholtz. The information is good but it doesn't have really great pictures, since some of the breeds are so rare that even a picture is difficult to get.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but only one problem ....
Review: As dog encylopedias go, Dr. Fogle's is a good one with succinct text and good photos ... nice summations of each breed; however, found the information on the Eurasier breed to be inaccurate. First,the Eurasier comes from the offspring of a male chow and female keeshond,which was then bred with a samoyed. Dr. Fogle stated the breed comes from a chow, samoyed, wolfspitz mix. In fact, the wolfspitz was not part of the final mix. The keeshond/samoyed gives the Eurasier it's lovely,gentle temperment ... the only item from its chow heritage is the distinct black tongue and muzzle. Having researched this breed extensively and meeting with various owners, the comment "not a family dog .... snappy .... one-person" couldn't be farther from the truth. In all our research, every other book described this breed as gentle, social and family oriented ... they were right!

Rating:
Summary: Esential dog for Dog Lovers
Review: Being a dog lover myself, I have this as a part of my growing libary on dog books. It's a valuable source for identifying breeds, and quotes excellent sources for other books to get.

Rating:
Summary: Rat Terrier Information is extreamly off base
Review: Hello, i have read the description for the Rat Terrier in the newest The Encyclopedia of the Dog. I have to say that i am supremely disappointed and i am even insulted. I have been breeding Rat Terriers of 16 years. They are not hyperactive. They are not overcharged. Rat Terriers are 2 times MELLOWER than a jack russel, not the reverse. I wonder where they did their research? I have been involved with a couple of other publishing efforts that have contacted a number of knowledgeable Rat Terrier breeders BEFORE publishing. I wish DK had taken these steps.

Julia Kleutsch www.poochville.com [e-mail] Historian National Rat Terrier Assoc. Sec/Tres Rats Reign Rat Terrire Club Member American Rat Terrier Assoc.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic and very thorough!
Review: Hi. I'm a 13 year old girl and have always wanted dog since the age of 5. For family reasons, I can't have one until I graduate from college. This book is one of my favorites because it shows pictures of my favotrite animal. The Dog.

Rating:
Summary: The New Encyclopedia of the Dog
Review: I could not agree with the other five star reviews more. This is an excellent book. The photos and layout are superb, and the text is informative. The only negative about this book is the lack of pronunciations for medical words and dog breeds. I guess they had to save something for next time.

Rating:
Summary: EXTREMELY COMPLETE
Review: I found this book to be one of the most complete dog guides I have ever seen. I have seen a lot. In fact, I don't buy a dog breed guide unless it has one the most uncommon dogs in the world in it. The Encycopedia of the Dog does have this breed in it. Not only does this book cover dog breeds, but it also covers dog anatomy, and much more. I would suggest this book to anybody wanting to know a little more about a lot of dog breeds!!!