Amber Books Encyclopedia of Dogs.

by Tom Jackson

The first species to be domesticated, dogs have been selectively bred over thousands of years. Today they're man's best friend - but while many are pets, many, too, are working animals: for the police, for the blind, as guard dogs, as sheepdogs, pulling sleds and as therapy animals.

Arranged in chapters covering working dogs, companion dogs, dog behaviour, and puppies, Encyclopedia of Dogs is a hugely informative visual celebration.

From huskies to German shepherds, from collies to Chihuahuas, Shih Tzu to Jack Russell Terriers, Labradors to Bullmastiffs to Dachshunds, the book includes a huge range of breeds. With fascinating captions on every page, even dog lovers will learn something new. Encyclopedia of Dogs is a brilliant examination in over 400 outstanding photographs.

448 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2024

About the author

"I'm a non-fiction author and project editor (plus I do a bit of journalism). I'm available for project development, writing, project management and I also work as a packager. Click on the links above to see examples of my work.

But first some background: Over the last 20 years, I've written books, magazine and newspaper articles, for online and for television. I get to write about a wide range of subjects, everything from axolotls to zoroastrianism. However, my specialties are natural history, technology and all things scientific. I've worked on projects with Brian May, Patrick Moore, Marcus de Sautoy and Carol Vorderman and for major international publishers, such as Dorling Kindersley, National Geographic, Scholastic, Hachette, Facts on File and BBC Magazines.

I spend my days finding fun ways of communicating all kinds of facts, new and old, to every age group and reading ability. I live in Bristol, England, with my wife and three children. I studied zoology at Bristol University and have had spells working at the zoos in Jersey and Surrey. I used to be something of a conservationist, which included planting trees in Somerset, surveying Vietnamese jungle and rescuing buffaloes from drought-ridden Zimbabwe. Writing jobs have also taken me to the Galápagos Islands, the Amazon rainforest, the coral reefs of Indonesia and the Sahara Desert. Nowadays, I can be found mainly in the attic."
~http://tomjackson.weebly.com/

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Encyclopedia of Dogs is an informative book for any dog lover or potential dog owner looking for the right breed of dog for their home/family. The book showcases lots of beautiful photographs of each dog breed featured and is followed with useful and knowledgeable information about each breed. The only thing I can raise as a negative with this book is that although it is a chunky book it could have put more information in about many of the breeds featured such as common diseases/problems certain breeds have, energy levels (to deter if they need a lot of long walks etc), grooming info (if they need grooming often), how easy they are to train, intelligence etc. That's the only reason I marked it down to a 4 star review. Apart from that it's a fantastic book.

[Miles Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful photos
Great write ups

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Amber Books for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This encyclopaedia is notable for its beautiful photographs of dogs at leisure outdoors. I really appreciated the fact that the information given for each breed focuses on the purpose of the selection, encouraging the reader to think about the motivations behind the breeds and whether certain types of dogs are suitable for them.
However, I did notice some aspects that could have been handled better.
1) The introduction is a mere formality, it is very superficial and does not introduce the birth and existence of so many breeds very well.
2) There could have been more information about coat colours and the most common genetic diseases of each breed, but this was not a big problem,
3) the breeds are not grouped according to the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale) classification, e.g. there are spaniels under companion dogs and nordic dogs under hunting dogs. This choice could have been justified by the author, and on what basis, for example, he classifies some Spaniels as companion dogs and others as hunting dogs.
4) Breeds not recognised by the FCI are described, such as the Cockapoo, the Golden Doodle or the Lurcher. Only the Labradoodle is mentioned as not being recognised. Personally, I have nothing against these breeds being mentioned, because it is right to talk about them if they exist, but it seems important to me to mention the fact that they are not recognised.This is for the purpose of breed genealogy, compliance with the standard and monitoring of possible genetic diseases.

In conclusion, this encyclopaedia brings nothing new to the genre. It should be approached with this in mind.

PS. I got my first encyclopaedia about dogs when I was eight years old. I still have it and I think that old copy was more informative than this one.

[MarryAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is good, but if you already have something like this it might not be worth buying another one.

Personally, I enjoyed this book a lot, it is filled with many photos, easy to read information about each breed. I think it's great if you are a dog lover and want to know a bit more about each type of dog there is. However, while it could help you pick a perfect dog for you, there are a few things that this book is not talking about, like common diseases for that breed, how easy or hard is to train them, how high their levels of energy are, if they require more grooming or not and so on.

If you just want to learn a little bit about dogs in your spare time, this book is great and fun and personally, I like to have something like this in my house

Disclaimer: I received a free e-book copy in exchange for my honest review

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great guide to lots of dog breeds. There are lots of photos of each dog breed and thorough information. It covers a lot of breeds I’d never heard of, though it doesn’t cover all of the modern mixed designer breeds (a lot of doodle types are covered though). I appreciated that it mentioned negatives like a lifetime of health problems for bulldogs or that a breed needs a lot of exercise or is prone to digging or barking. I would have liked even more of that for people who really want to pick the best dog for their family or understand the breeds that make up their dog. It’s a great guide.

I read a temporary digital loan of this book for review.

[Cheyenne Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool facts and inclusive of breeds I’ve never heard of before, but not a fan of the spelling errors. Pictures are really nice too!