Collared: How We Made the Modern Dog

by Chris Pearson

Dogs are our constant models of loyalty and unconditional love for millions around the world. But these beloved animals are much more than just our pets - and our shared history is far richer and more complex than you might assume.

Here, historian and dog lover Chris Pearson reveals how the shifting fortunes of dogs hold a mirror to our changing society, from the evolution of breeding standards to the fight for animal rights. Wherever humans have gone, dogs have followed, changing size, appearance and even jobs along the way - from the forests of medieval Europe, where greyhounds chased down game for royalty, to the frontlines of twentieth-century conflicts, where dogs carried messages and hauled gun carriages.

Despite vast social change, however, the power of the human-canine bond has never diminished. By turns charming, thought-provoking and surprising, Collared reveals the fascinating tale of how we made the modern dog.

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2024

Reviews

[ThDogs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is not a global history as claimed, it is predominantly about western dog ownership influences on Europe and how it moves in joint with colonisation. But it doesn’t go into great depth on other countries or areas such as the Americas, Africa, Alaska, Australia.

Very interesting interconnection of dogs and humans in relation to rabies, the control methods of lead and muzzles, and the conflicts around dogs as weapons and dog hygiene. The rabies chapter was especially interesting as my country does not have rabies. It was also refreshing to see the racist history and use of dogs discussed and how it is still ongoing in some areas today.

The book also highlighted a lot of unchanging factors:
- men complaining about how women own and treat their dogs
- arguments over where dogs can go
- uncontrolled offlead dogs pestering people
- the refusal by dog owners to be responsible for their dogs and their poop

One thing not discussed I would have liked to have covered is the history of the auditory nuisance of dogs and for the book to go into more detail of the more cramped living environment everyone is in (outside of spay neuter population discussions) and how much smaller space is for both dogs and owners.

A lot of “hard” topics are discussed in the context of western dog ownership and colonisation.

[Rudolfs Berzins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject itself is very interesting and fascinating, but the chapters sometimes drag on and on. Sometimes too many examples of the same thing become a problem.