Canine Crania

With the establishment of national kennel clubs, conformation dog shows, and pedigrees that only register “purebred” dogs, the majority of these breeds have only been developed in the last 165 years. Today’s dog comes in a seemingly infinite range of sizes, shapes, coats, and colors. This diversity is the product of selective breeding that, in turn, is primarily in the hands of breeders and judges.
Perhaps nowhere is the diversity of the dog more evident than in the skull, which, in contrast to wild canids, is too often misshapen and deformed. With selective breeding to arbitrary standards of canine beauty comes myriad health concerns, including shortened life expectancy in many cases. We have literally shaped—and continue to alter—the domestic dog, but we must ultimately ask two questions: for what purpose and at what cost to our “best friend”?

Bryan Cummins, PhD, is an anthropologist who has conducted archival and field research in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France and taught for McMaster University’s Department of Anthropology for 25 years. He lives in Ontario, Canada.
Kaelyn Racine, MSc, is a recent graduate of Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. Her academic research focuses on environmental conservation, climate change, and the impact of human development on natural ecosystems. She lives in Ontario, Canada.

Bryan D. Cummins with Kaelyn Racine. Series Editor Brian Patrick Duggan
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 283
Bibliographic Info: 136 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9474-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5341-9
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Dogs in Our World

Acknowledgments viii
Preface 1
Introduction: Wolf and Dog 3

Chapter One. Into Our Homes and the Show Ring 9
Chapter Two. Mastiffs and Bulldogs 20
Chapter Three. Livestock Guardians and Herders 94
Chapter Four. Terriers (And Some ­­Bull-and-Terriers) 137
Chapter Five. Sight Hounds 170
Chapter Six. Scent Hounds 183
Chapter Seven. Gun Dogs 198
Chapter Eight. Spitzes 217
Chapter Nine. Soviet Service Dogs 235
Chapter Ten. Other Breeds 245

Conclusions 262
Bibliography 267
Index 271