Working Like a Dog: The Story of Working Dogs through History

by Gena K. Gorrell

Winner of The 2003 ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award

Included on VOYA’s ninth annual Nonfiction Honor List


Since the first hungry wolf bravely approached an ancient cooking fire and was rewarded with a scrap of meat, our lives and the lives of dogs have been interwoven. Dogs have worked for us as warriors with ammunition strapped to their bodies. Dogs have gone through snow, icy seas, and into the dangerous rubble of collapsed buildings to rescue us. Dogs, with their spectacular ability to detect odors, keep us safe by finding drugs and explosives. They lead us if we cannot see and react for us when we cannot hear. Most of all, they love us – and we love them.

This fascinating book by Norma Fleck Award-winner, Gena K. Gorrell, describes the dogs of history, the evolution of breeds for different purposes, and the training involved in preparing the modern-day heroes who find lost children, nab criminals, and point out contraband – heroes who just happen to be dogs.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2003

Reviews

[Madalyn Brand · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was okay. I thought the beginning was a little bit boring but when it got into what dogs can now do I started to like it better. The beginning was about dogs coming from wolfs and how dogs were royal and what they would do. My favorite chapter was Making Sense of Scents. It was about how dogs can use their sense of smell to find lost people and figure out crimes. I also liked it when the author would make up a dog and you would read about what it works as and what it can do. I think it was creative to start the book with long ago and finish it with what dogs can help us with today.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very teachy kind of book. A collection of trivia and assumptions. If you want a fairy tale that will fit a certain cultural assumption regarding dogs at the end of the 20th century, than maybe this book is good for you, even if the writing style is not good. Otherwise it's rather undocumented and at the same time wastes too much time on trivia, probably to compensate for the documentation.

[Shayla]

This book is very educational. It interests me with its vast wisdom of working dogs and their main priority as man's best friend.

[Mad]

"I Loooooove you,woof"