Canine Breed Descriptions

Baer, Nancy, and Steve Duno. Choosing a Dog: A Guide to Picking the Perfect Breed. New York: Berkley, 1995.

Descriptions of approximately 150 breeds are arranged by American Kennel Club groupings (e.g., sporting, hounds, working) and then alphabetically within each group. Each breed has an article describing origins, appearance, personality, and recommended type of owner. The personality profiles focuses on the potential drawbacks to each breed, almost to the exclusion of the positive. Each breed has one black-and-white pencil illustration. Lacks an index. Recommended due to the cautious approach in describing potential problems which are often not referred to in other breed books.

Caras, Roger, ed. Harper's Illustrated Handbook of Dogs. New York: HarperCollins, 1985.

Over 150 color photographs of adult dogs are arranged loosely by size of dog (toy dogs, small dogs, medium dogs, etc.). Within each size category, the arrangement is random. After the photographs comes a page of information on each of 139 breeds. These pages are arranged by American Kennel Club groups (e.g., sporting, hounds, working). Each page covers seven areas: personality, appearance, potential health problems, care and exercise, puppies, comments, and recommendations. These pages were written by a variety of authors and thus the information they contain is not always standard. Index. Recommended when an inexpensive purchase is desired.

Caras, Roger. The Roger Caras Dog Book: A Complete Guide to Every AKC Breed. 3rd ed. New York: Evans, 1996.

The breeds are arranged by American Kennel Club groupings (e.g., sporting, hounds, working). Within groups, the breeds are alphabetical yet not consistently. For example, Labrador Retriever is under R but Australian Shepherd is under A. Each breed is illustrated by one black-and-white photograph of an adult dog. For each breed the following is provided: land of origin, original purpose, AKC registration ranking, club address, height, weight, coat, color, amount of coat care required, amount of exercise required, suitability for urban or apartment life. Recommended when an inexpensive purchase is desired.

De Prisco, Andrew, and James B. Johnson. Choosing a Dog for Life. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H., 1996.

Descriptions of 166 breeds are arranged alphabetically. Each entry includes color illustrations of the breed, frequently including puppies as well as adults. Each breed article contains four sections: Description, Owner Suitability, Growth, and Health. Highly recommended.

Johnson, James, and Andrew DePrisco. Which Dog For Me? Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H., 1992.

Written by the same authors as the above title, this book is brief and inexpensive. It covers nearly 150 breeds. Each entry is quite short, but the information provided is useful. More than half the breeds are illustrated with a color photograph, but the remainder have no photograph. Recommended only when the more expensive titles are unavailable.

Kilcommons, Brian, and Michael Capuzzo. Mutts: America's Dogs. New York: Warner, 1996.

The authors describe the likely temperaments of various mixed-breeds (e.g., Poodle-Basset Hound mix, Husky-Collie mix). This information is interspersed with stories of mixed breed dogs. While not comprehensive, the final section of the book contains useful and unique training hints. Issues addressed include solving common behavior problems and dealing with abandoned or abused dogs. Although individuals already familiar with various breeds of dogs will gain little new knowledge from the first portion of this book, the final training section contains many useful gems of information.

Morris, Desmond. Dogs: The Ultimate Dictionary of Over 1,000 Breeds. North Pomfret, VT: Trafalgar Square, 2001.

This title fills a unique niche. It's a book primarily for browsing and for learning about the history of breeds. It is not recommended as a tool for selecting a breed for purchase or adoption. Many of the breeds mentioned are extinct or very rare. Information is not uniformly provided for weight, height, temperament, etc. No photographs are provided although some breeds are accompanied by a sketch. A great browsing book but a poor shopping tool.

Wilcox, Bonnie, and Chris Walkowicz. Atlas of Dog Breeds of the World. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H., 1995.

Wilcox and Walkowicz describe over 400 breeds, arranged alphabetically. Each breed is illustrated with one to twelve color photographs, mostly of adult dogs. Each breed article focuses on the history of the breed. Highly recommended.

Yamazaki, Tetsu, and Toyoharu Kojima. Legacy of the Dog: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Over 200 Breeds. Trans. Yuh Nagano and Isao Tezuka with Neal M. Teitler. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Trans. of Sekai no inu zukan. 1993.

Over 200 breeds are arranged by American Kennel Club groupings and then alphabetically within each group. The introductory section contains comparison charts for types of eyes, ears, heads, tails, and coats, as well as comparison charts for each breed group. Color illustrations are shown for each breed, mostly of adult dogs. Each breed article is broken down into Background Notes, Key Characteristics, Care and Exercise, and Puppies and Training. Recommended.