Planet Dog: A Doglopedia

by Sandra Choron, Harry Choron

The first "doglopedia" ever written includes a wide array of information for dog lovers, including how to say dog in 133 languages, advice on how to photograph dogs, tips on evaluating a litter, and much, much more. Original.

Genres: Dogs, Animals, Nonfiction, Reference, Humor

364 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

SANDRA CHORON graduated from Lehman College in 1971 and then worked as an editor at Hawthorn Books for eight years and then Dell Publishing for two years, where she was senior editor of trade paperbacks, before founding her own literary agency/book packaging firm, March Tenth, Inc., in 1980. Specializing in books on popular culture and rock music eventually led to a position as art director for Bruce Springsteen, whose record albums and merchandise she designed from 1985 until 2003. Sandra Choron has served as a member of the board of directors of the American Book Producers Association and is the author of a number of books, including Rocktopicon, coauthored with Dave Marsh in 1984; National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982); Elvis: The Last Word (1991); The Book of Lists for Kids (with Harry Choron, 1985, 1995, 2002); The Book of Lists for Teens (with Harry Choron, 2002); 1,001 Tips for Caregivers (with Sasha Carr, 2002); Planet Dog (with Harry Choron, 2005) and Planet Cat (with Harry Choron, 2007), both of which were optioned for TV treatment by Animal Planet, as well as Planet Wedding (with Harry Choron, 2010). She is a founding editor of the music and politics monthly newsletter Rock & Rap Confidential. She has been a guest speaker at various publishing conferences and has taught Book Publishing on the college level at Lehman College in New York.

Reviews

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The start of the book had some things that were interesting to me, and then the rest of the book, usually not quite so much. It is a book of lists, and quotes (that I have already read before and nothing too remarkable, and info on showing dogs, and notable dog breeders, and best breeds for...
There also is a lot of postal stamps that have dogs in them used as illustrations which gives me the itch to collect them...

I will list some notable items.
There were a lot of interesting little facts: like Kubla Khan had the most dogs with 5,000 mastiffs.
6 Man bites dog stories
History of war dogs (especially liked the Civil War Stories)
Cat People vs. Dog People (almost made me chuckle)
Urban Dog Legends (funny dark humor)

7 real Dog Ads:
1. Dog for sale: Eats anything and is fond of children
2. Great Dames for sale
3. Free puppies: 1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 Sneaky Neighbors Dog
4. Found: Dirty white dog. Looks like a rate. Been out awhile. Better be a reward
5 Female Boston Terrier puppies, 7 wks old, perfect markings, 555-1234 leave mess
6. Lost: small apricot Poodle. Reward. Neutered. Like one of the family.
7. For sale - eight puppies from a German Shepherd and an Alaskan Hussy

How to say Dog in 131 languages
Songs about dogs
73 Popular Performers with Dog Names
History of the AKC
25 most common male dog names, 24 most common female dog names (including two I have named my dogs in the past, #3 Lady and #19 Coco.)
66 Great dog films
Story of Toto (originally Terry which was later officially changed to Toto)
Story of Lassie (original book is better, and if you really want to learn more read Lassie: A Dog's Life, the First Fifty Years by Ace Collins, (but I like the book on Rin Tin Tin better))
Story of Rin Tin Tin (good summary but I would recommend the book Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean)
45 dogs who appeared on The Simpsons
Dogs in Print (with synopsis of books Literary Dogs, Snoop dogs (detectives), memoirs, books 'written' by dogs, photo books. Also includes quotes from Shakespeare on Dogs.
11 Ace Award Winners
15 World Record Dogs
Dickin Medal Winners
Story of the Westminster Kennel Club (1877: A group of hunters who routinely met to discuss and compare dogs form a club, which they name after favorite hotel, the Westminster. Also has 8 special trophies and awards given at Westminster, and winners 2000-2005.
Advertisement from a 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catalgue showing treadmills to that you can run a dog on to use as power for other devices.

Then the book gets into lists, sometimes with summary of breeds in different categories, by country, Royal Breeds, Breeds of the British Isles, etc.
Articles on not breeding your dog, against puppy farms, against greyhound racing, against puppy stores, dog bite statistics, '25 poor excuses for giving up a dog'. Worthy stuff maybe, but hopefully we all know it...
Helpful books on Dog Care, books on Dog Training, Canine Behavior, etc.

But one little item bugged me on famous dogs:
"When weather conditions prevented a much needed diphtheria serum to be transported from Nenan to Nome, Alaska, a team of Siberian Huskies, led by Balto, the most famous of them all, came to the rescue. The Teams accomplishments became the famous annual Iditarod race."

I think you get the idea there is a lot of dog related stuff in there. Worth a browse if you can lay your hands on it.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! Who's a good book? Who's my good book!? You're a good book. Good book. Good book. Wait . . . wait . . . OKAY! Go get it!

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute, very informative and they put a Dalmatian on the cover!

[Sharron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun book has lots of tidbits and facts about dogs. It would be great for someone who is thinking of becoming a new owner. There is info on breeds, how to pick your perfect dog, training, etc. Most of the information is pretty basic but gives suggestions for books with more detail. I also like the fact this book really covers just how many dogs are in shelters and are euthanized each year. And that adopting a shelter dog is a great alternative. You can often find purebreed dogs in shelters as well as mutts, which are often a better solution for most people.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ton of information tidbits--very interesting section about war dogs (made me want to see Chips, the War Dog again--if I could only find a copy). Definitely a book for perusing through again and again to see what was missed before.

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quick, fun, and informational.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting... Kinda strange...