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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book... For Serious Dog People, 28 Sep 1999
By A Customer
Dr Carl Semenic concludes (to date) his as yet fine series of books aimed specifically at serious dog people and historians, with a book that once again highlights many of the world's rarest and most magnificant dogs. All of these dogs vary greatly, not just in terms of their native land, but in physical and behavioural characteristics, and are presented in some of the most truely magnificant photographs to grace the pages of a dog book. Indeed these some of these photos may be considered to attract the wrong type of reader, who will then flick the page to another quality photo, but one which is of the type so often portrayed out of context within the mass media. If you are such a person, then either read the book in its entirity first, or do not read at all. In a final note concerning the photos, they are by far and away superior to his earlier work, 'The World of Fighting Dogs', of which this book is an update of sorts, approximately 10 years later. But this is because all of these breeds are now well known among serious dog people... And by that I don NOT mean dog-fighting people! However, this brings me to my point... As this is not about "Fighting Dogs" per'se, there are a disturbing amount of Pitbull / Amstaff pictures of 'well' fought dogs. Though I understand these illustrate the selective breeding and history of 'the breed', I feel that this is far too prevelent, particularly in lieu of recent media sensationalism. If you read, you might also understand, that proper fighting dogs are not man-aggresive. You might understand how their overwhelmingly good qualities (such as unwavering loyalty and trust) are in fact turned against them (to Fight, attack etc:)The book itself has many plus points. Firstly, any sort of near-good dog book is hard to find, especially at this sort of price range, and so has a decidedly high 'novelty' factor if you will. Secondly, it covers many rare breeds, a great deal of which will be introduced to the reader for the first time. This is good, as it helps to add breadth to our choice of breeds as perspective owners. It also presents a view that is about as neutral as you'll ever see. And where he has a preference, he'll outrightly say so. It pulls 'no punches', not only in terms of history, but also in terms of breed / Kennel Club Politics which can only aid the prospective owner in gaining comprehensive insight into their chosen breed. As such it also presents alternatives to the many over-bred dogs of 'fashion' (Dobes, Rotti's, GSD's, Akita's [US], Bully's & Neo's) generally making the reader aware of how a good dog of these types can be as hard to find, as one of the rarer dogs profiled. In regard to breed types, none covered in this title are suitable for any but the most experienced or dedicated of handlers. In part because so many breeds have been spoiled. Yet he highlights breed's such as the Tosa, ludicrously banned in the UK, but which have a standard of helath, athleticism and temperament to put most KC-registered breeds to shame. Dr Semenic, makes good points early on in his book about responsible ownership, and why he himself does what he does, such as not breeding dogs. However, this also leads onto a criticsm. This book is not as historically accurate as one might believe. Whilst reading the book feels quite compelling to complete, and distinctly satisfying. But this is in large part due to the fact that it is a 'rare' book. Upon completion, one realises that there is little photographic evidence to actually illustrate how such dogs have, in many circumstances, been ruined. For example, the now Slobbery Neo, Bull & "Olde English mastiff's". It doesn't show how the native GSD often differs to its UK/US counterpart, or how Bulldog heads in general have become huge & loosely lipped over the last 100years, whilst their weight balloons and hips fail. He also fails to really go into true detail about any particular breed, only hits home when you've finished the book. The opportunity to present more specificdetail in regard to breed development, behaviour and genetic conditions was unfortunately missed. In fact he fails to mention many of the chronic problmes associated with many breeds, and even fails to provide such detail as average life expectancy. A final point of criticsm, is his ommission of several breeds. Info on the Cane Corso, Rhodesian Ridgeback and Ovatchara (excuse spelling) for example would have been great, and in keeping with the other breeds profiled. Make no mistake, all are strong, dominant breeds, that take responsible owners demonstrating such characteristics to an even greater extent. 99 out of 100 people should not own (m)any of these dogs. However, if you are the right person for one of these breeds, this book may be an invaluable tool in aiding your selection.
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