Werezi Books

The story of the thoroughly Victorian origins of dog breeds.

For centuries, different types of dogs were bred around the world for work, sport, or companionship. But it was not until Victorian times that breeders started to produce discrete, differentiated, standardized breeds.

In The Invention of the Modern Dog, Michael Worboys, Julie-Marie Strange, and Neil Pemberton explore when, where, why, and how Victorians invented the modern way of ordering and breeding dogs. Though talk of breed was common before this period in the context of livestock, the modern idea of a dog breed defined in terms of shape, size, coat, and color arose during the Victorian period in response to a burgeoning competitive dog show culture. The authors explain how breeders, exhibitors, and showmen borrowed ideas of inheritance and pure blood, as well as breeding practices of livestock, horse, poultry and other fancy breeders, and applied them to a species that was long thought about solely in terms of work and companionship.

The new dog breeds embodied and reflected key aspects of Victorian culture, and they quickly spread across the world, as some of Britain''s top dogs were taken on stud tours or exported in a growing international trade. Connecting the emergence and development of certain dog breeds to both scientific understandings of race and blood as well as Britain''s posture in a global empire, The Invention of the Modern Dog demonstrates that studying dog breeding cultures allows historians to better understand the complex social relationships of late-nineteenth-century Britain.

Histories of animals often portray breeds as timeless. The Invention of the Modern Dog shows otherwise. Today’s notion of breeds, often based on appearance rather than behavior, is a recent creation. It developed amidst the new passion that arose in Victorian England: dog shows. This well-researched and insightful book takes us inside that world to reveal the source for ideas, such as the value of ‘pure breeding,’ that we take for granted today.
—Edmund Russell, Boston University, author of Greyhound Nation: A Coevolutionary History of England, 1200–1900

A treasure-trove of detail, and a wonderful synthesis of information that would otherwise be buried in the rather obscure annals of the enthusiasts of dog breeding. There really is no better guide to this material. Fun as well as instructive, particularly when we learn about the history of specific breeds, this book provides a very important service to historians of animals and anyone with an interest in Victorian social and cultural history.
—Philip Howell, University of Cambridge, author of At Home and Astray: The Domestic Dog in Victorian Britain

Superbly researched and beautifully written, The Invention of the Modern Dog traces the development of pedigree breeding through a vast range of historical sources. The book provides a subtle and important contribution to our understanding not only of dog breeding but also of the Victorian period.
—Emma Griffin, University of East Anglia, author of Blood Sport: Hunting in Britain Since 1066

The age of the Labradoodle takes it for granted that dogs come in distinct but mixable breeds. This remarkable book reconstructs the interlocking histories—social, cultural, and scientific—that brought the idea of standardized dog breeds, along with many of the breeds themselves, into being in Britain in the nineteenth century. A tour de force.
—Gregory Radick, University of Leeds, author of The Simian Tongue: The Long Debate about Animal Language

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The Invention of the Modern Dog : Breed and Blood in Victorian Britain

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