Dog's Best Friend: Annals of the Dog-Human Relationship

by Mark Derr

A comprehensive, humane, and bemused tour of the dog-human relationship, Dog's Best Friend combines anecdote, research, and reportage to illuminate our complex rapport with our cherished canine companions. Tracking our national obsession with an animal that now outnumbers children in American households, Mark Derr chronicles the evolution of "the culture of the dog" from the prehistoric domestication of tamed wolves to the modern horrors of overbreeding and inbreeding.

Passionate about his subject and intent on sharing his zeal, Derr defends dogs with wit and flare, producing here a quirky, informative, and fitting tribute to our love affair with canines big and small.

Genres: Nonfiction, Dogs, Animals

401 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Marguerite Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Derr's book looks at dogs throughout history: their evolution from the wolf, the divide between small and large dogs, dogs and scent, fighting, work dogs, show dogs, sled dogs, hunting/retrieving, training and service dogs -- even animal rights. Along the way he bursts a lot of bubbles, particularly when it comes to breeding and showing dogs. His take is that inbreeding has weakened almost all "pure" dog varieties, and that the standards used by show-dog and field-dog organizations are a matter of taste and opinion that say something about humans, not canines. Derr's writing is entertaining and informative. He's opinionated and doesn't mind sharing. He doesn't hold people who use choke or electric collars or who resort to physical punishment (instead of consistent training and positive reinforcement) in any sort of regard. This is not a how-to book, though parts of it are how-not-to. I learned a lot about two-legged and four-legged animal behavior. He sort of pooh-poohs the Freudian theories of Boris Levinson, but still includes this pearl, maybe to bait me and my kind: "Levinson also argued that dogs embodied the id and anal fantasies. 'Dreams and fantasies involving horses and dogs reveal penis envy in women,' he said. 'Men, on the other hand, while they have a lot to do with dogs, rarely imbue their pets with phallic significance.' " I beg to differ. Actually, I demand it. Fellas, it's not always about your penises. The universe doesn't revolve around them, and I live a pretty content life, with a dog, giving penises little or no thought. (I can't say the same for my dog, who likes to sniff dog and human parts, though without any detectable envy. It's her way of getting to know you.) Sometimes a dog is just a dog. But, what is dog fighting or a man boasting about his expensive, big, scary, rare breed if not blatant pecker-checking? And, isn't that insecurity a close cousin to envy? That's my only quibble with Derr's book, that he perpetuated Levinson's steaming turd of a theory in an otherwise good book. If you have a mutt, you'll like this book. If you paid a lot of money for a dog with a piece of paper, you probably won't. (The hardcover edition I read dates to 1997.)

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books relating to the dog human relationship. Breed specific knowledge and the genealogy of breeds is so important. I can't recommend this book enough anyone who owns a dog or is interested in becoming a dog owner

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An academic view of the relationship between dogs and humans. Mark Derr is particularly scathing toward the AKC and the American mania for purebreds, which destroys dogs genetically, physically, and intellectually. He is especially fond of unregistered breeds like curs, feists, and Catahoula leopard dogs, of which he owns two. I agreed with most of his conclusions, but felt like the work as a whole was a bit wandering.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book. It gives some basic information on how the evolution of dogs came to be, and some info on the basic breeds. It's an enjoyable book, although I found the author to be a little bit cocky and a little bit of a no-it-all. Still worth a look though!

[Louise Chambers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I didn't get very far. Tended to be overly analytical. When it was due at the library, I sent it back unfinished.