Illustrated dogwatching - Desmond Morris

What is it about the canine personality which has singled this animal out from all the 4, 236 species of non-human mammals to be man's closest companion? This is a relationship that goes back at least 10, 000 years, when both wolves and men lived in 'packs' and entered a relationship involving mutual survival, hunting and defence of property. But the bond was so strong that the loss of the canine element in human family life was inconceivable, even as mankind moved from the country to the town. Working dog became pet dog. In the last few hundred years, breeding has speeded up to produce the astonishing range which finds the St Bernard weighing 300 times more than the Yorkshire terrier. Yet all dogs, from scruffy mongrels to haughty show champions, are members of the same species - that of the wolf. DOGWATCHING tells us the answers to all the most fascinating questions about our canine companions, expressing Desmond Morris's inimitable insight and understanding of these remarkable and delightful creatures.