"Dogs, famous and infamous and otherwise, throughout history, for children."--

Part 1, The rise of the dog, examines the relationship between dogs and humans, from their initial domestication to the present day. Part 2, Dogs by design, examines the many different breeds of dogs, and how modern technology is changing the science of dog breeding.

Reveals how all dogs share a common ancestry with a small group of domesticated wolves and how the vast range of canine breeds were created by a few gene mutations.

Canines and humans have depended upon one another for tens of thousands of years. Humans took the initial steps of domesticating canines, but somewhere through the millennia, dogs began dramatically to affect the future of their masters. In A Dog's History of the World, Laura Hobgood-Oster chronicles the canine-human story. From the earliest cave paintings depicting the primitive canine-human relationship to the modern model of dogs as family members,...

"Of all the animals on the planet, dogs have the widest range of roles in our daily lives. They're protectors, helpers, lifesavers-but most of all, they're family. And they've taken a fascinating journey to get to this point. Long ago, early wolves evolved from fierce predators into trusted partners. They became dogs! While we know dogs to be lovable and full of personality, they have also historically improved our lives in many practical ways, like...