In 1090, Mark Derr wrote a controversial article for the Atlantic Monthly challenging the American Kennel Club to cease overbreeding dogs which, in his judgment, has "led to an epidemic of genetic disorders and the loss of temperamental soundness and working ability in most purebred dogs." In Dog's Best Friend, an expanded version of his contentious piece, Derr chronicles how man's relationship to dogs was formed and asserts that many of us are unknowingly cruel friends to our canine companions. Dog's Best Friend includes a history of how dogs were domesticated; an overview of dog types; descriptions of how dogs were, and still are, trained for and worked in a variety of jobs and sports; and how overbreeding for appearance can undermine the mental and physical health of dogs. Along the way Derr addresses a number of controversies, both political and scientific, and tells compelling stories about a great many - mostly large - dogs.

About the Author
Mark Derr is the author of Some Kind of Paradise, a critically acclaimed social and environmental history of Florida; The Frontiersman: The Real Life and the Many Legends of Davy Crockett, and the forthcoming A Dog's History of America. His articles have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Natural History, Audubon, and the New York Times. He lives in Miami Beach.


Book Information
ISBN 9780226142807
Author Mark Derr
Format Paperback
Page Count 401
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 595g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 16mm * 2mm