Reviews for Bloodhound (Kennel Club Dog Breed Series)

The average rating for Bloodhound (Kennel Club Dog Breed Series) based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-04-30 00:00:00 Mark Kaplowitz Beware! This is not "A breezy and highly engaging romp through the rich history of the Canidae," as the back cover promises. It is a highly technical scientific study of the evolution of dogs starting with the first carnivores in North America 65 million years ago, and takes you on a journey with canidae you've probably never heard of like aeturudons and boraphagine, among others. It is of interest to people who are interested in how dogs evolved and why, although it is rather thin on the "why" of canis familiaris, our pet dogs. It may also be of interest to those interested in evolution itself and how examining fossils tells us much about the behavior of the now extinct creatures. It also has an interesting comparison between the felids and canidae, who are far less alike than I ever realized. I was especially interested in how and why such features as retractable claws or short necks, not to mention various kinds of teeth were felicitous for different kinds of hunting and food gathering.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-11-23 00:00:00 Deborah Rubin This book presents a good overview on the evolutionary history of dogs (Family Canidae), their phylogeny and their lifestyle. Moreover, It discusses the modern classification of domestic dogs and whether it is a distinct species that is separated from the gray wolf species. To understand this issue correctly, the authors suggest the distinction between two modes of classification of species: Biological Concept and Evolutionary Concept. Based on the biological species concept, gray wolves and domestic dogs are members of the same biological species because they , however live in nature separately, can mate and reproduce fertile offspring in normal cases. Evolutionary concept of species is based on the notion that as long as the domestic dog and the gray wolf diverged from each other in living, they embarked on different pathways leading to different descendant lineages and speciation has occurred. Also the book provides a perfect chapter on the domestication of dog and its story. The dog was the first animal to be domesticated by man before any other carnivore or even herbivore. This makes us think that it was a special domestication story. Self-domestication is one good theory that suggests that the relationship between man and wild dog was at the beginning symbiotic; the dog followed the haunter-gatherer man in their trips making benefits from the food leftover the man leaves behind and, on the other, the presence of this wild animal near the man territory prevent other dangerous wild animal from getting closer. The book contains many figures, illustrations and drawings that make understanding easier and more interesting! If you are interested in dogs and wolves, you will like this book for sure!