A Matter of Breeding: A Biting History of Pedigree Dogs and How the Quest for Status Has Harmed Man's Best Friend

by Michael Brandow

Overview

A provocative look at the ‘cult of pedigree’ and an entertaining social history of purebred dogs—“a must-read for all dog lovers” (Booklist).
 
So-called “purebreds” are the mainstay of the dog industry. Expert Michael Brandow argues these aren’t time-honored traditions—but rather commercial inventions of the 19th century that were marketed as status symbols to a growing middle class.
 
Combining social history and consumer studies with sharp commentary, this reveals the sordid history of the dog industry and shows how our brand-name pets pay the price with devastatingly poor health. It includes chapters devoted to popular breeds such as:
 
• Golden Retrievers
• Boston Terriers
• English Bulldogs
• Labrador Retrievers
 
An essential read for animal lovers and animal rights activists everywhere, A Matter of Breeding is a fresh take on the history pedigree dogs and encourages us to love all our furry friends—no matter the coat color or price tag.

“If you’re considering welcoming a dog (or two) into your family, read Michael Brandow’s fascinating and eye-opening book before visiting a pet store or breeder.”
—Betsy Banks Saul, founder of Petfinder.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807033432
Publisher:	Beacon Press
Publication date:	02/03/2015
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	143,472
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

With a background in journalism, dog care, and community activism, Michael Brandow is a sought-after commentator on dog-related issues and has written for publications including the New York Times, Town & Country, ARTNews, the BARk, and Animal Fair. He lives in New York City.

Read an Excerpt

From the introduction

How many dog lovers are aware that, despite the praise and admiration we shower upon our best friends, not everything we do for them is in their own best interests? Sure, the coats are pretty, but Labs and shepherds need hydrotherapy for hip dysplasia if they’re to continue sidewalk entertaining. Shar-peis and boxers look distinctive with those folds on the face, but owners book return visits to animal hospitals for interminable allergies and epilepsy, while goldens and Scottish deerhounds take pet taxis to oncology wards and ICUs. We’re so busy dragging Boomer and Bailey around town that we don’t stop to think that much of their special care is only necessary because of problems their biggest fans have helped inflict upon them.
 
There can no longer be any doubt. As was long suspected, ample studies confirm that requiring breeds to be distinctive has led to dramatically higher levels of cancer, structural deformities, skin conditions, eye and ear infections, and a host of afflictions that are multiplying. Many purebreds are officially in peril and dog lovers must confront this sad reality. Forcing Labs to go on looking Labby and pugs pugnacious—expecting them to “conform,” as they say in the show ring, to arbitrary beauty-pageant ideals—has resulted in creatures esthetically pleasing to behold, depending on your personal tastes, but physically and often mentally inferior to the average mutt. Compromising health and temperament with a concern for surface appearance has given dogs a host of defects including “extreme anatomies,” say concerned vets, cartoon features that consumers find cute but are in fact deformities causing discomfort, pain, and shorter lives—and the agony owners feel when having to make that final decision sooner than they thought.
 
Why do we go on hurting the ones we love? Why must German shepherds limp through life and French bulldogs barely breathe? Enthusiasts attached to the breeds they had growing up surely don’t wish to see their beloved favorites suffer, but they might want to be more aware that congenital illness and certain signature looks, even in the so-called hypoallergenic models, have become serious problems in recent years. I argue that the root of the problem lies in the past. Rigid tastes, latent class consciousness, a belief in blood “purity,” naïve notions on authenticity—and a tendency to sometimes love dogs for the wrong reasons—override a wealth of information available on the dangers of inbreeding, the downsides to extreme anatomies, and the evils of the pet industry today. Well-intentioned animal lovers with minds open to this broader historical perspective might wake up one morning to a revelation: dogs don’t need to be neatly standardized, packaged, and sealed to be our friends. How much easier it would make people’s lives to learn that for every prepaid, photogenic purebred ordered months in advance of birth with promises of “predictability” from “reputable” breeders, perfectly wonderful specimens of dog are available minutes away at the local shelter, with at least as much happiness to offer and oft en with no breeding at all.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Foreword by Dr. Marc Bekoff ix
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE The English Vice 10
CHAPTER TWO Perfectionists Gone Wild 31
CHAPTER THREE Royal Precedents and Ruff Drafts 53
CHAPTER FOUR Eugenics, You, and Fido Too 74
CHAPTER FIVE A Frickin’ Menagerie 103
CHAPTER SIX The Midas Touch 125
CHAPTER SEVEN Aristocracy for Sale 151
CHAPTER EIGHT Some Hunting Dogs 173
CHAPTER NINE Coming Home 200
CONCLUSION Frankenstein’s Lab 214
Acknowledgments 236
Notes 237
Index 262

Editorial Reviews

A must-read for all dog lovers.”
—Booklist, starred review

“A no-holds-barred defense of dogs that are the hapless victims of their clueless owners.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“If you’re considering welcoming a dog (or two) into your family, read Michael Brandow’s fascinating and eye-opening book before visiting a pet store or breeder. Brandow not only unearths the status-driven history of so-called ‘purebreds’ but exhorts us to love all dogs regardless of breed. A dog is a living, loving creature, not an accessory item, and Brandow makes his case persuasively and with wit.”
—Betsy Banks Saul, founder of Petfinder.com
 
“A Matter of Breeding addresses a critical but often ignored ethical issue: dog pedigrees… This book is not only incredibly important but is a delightful read with fascinating insights into the history and psychology of the purebred-dog world.”
—Alan M. Beck, ScD, professor and director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond, Purdue University
 
“Brandow’s A Matter of Breeding is at once a keenly observed memoir of his days as a New York City dog walker, a thoroughly researched history of purebred dogs, and an often biting social critique of people, their dogs, and the world they have made for each other.”
—Mark Derr, author of How the Dog Became the Dog

From the Publisher

2014-11-04
A no-holds-barred defense of dogs that are the hapless victims of their clueless owners.Brandow, a professional dog-walker and petsitter in New York City, deconstructs the idea of diversity when it comes to dog breeds. His subjects are not working dogs bred and trained for special skills but those that have been bred for appearance, a standard he equates to racism. The author writes that as he studied his charges and their owners over the years, his focus shifted from the problems faced by overbred dogs to "the humans hooked on their looks." Brandow enumerates the disastrous results of modern breeding practices—higher levels of cancer, structural deformities, skin conditions and more—and many of his stories are distressing—e.g., a baby bulldog that, despite bulging muscles, barely had the strength to walk. He was the cherished pet of a gay couple who were muscle-builders themselves and had chosen a puppy to match their own self-image. (The author explains that he allows himself the liberty of satirizing the owners as faddists because he, too, is gay.) Remarking that the lineage of bulldogs is traceable to dogs bred to take on bulls in fights, the author marvels at their popularity with modern opponents of violence and cruelty to animals. Over time, such practices as bull baiting were outlawed in England, and the bulldog was refashioned into a house pet. In 1929, the American Kennel Club was incorporated, becoming the standard-setter for all breeds. "Dog breeding and showing have had more to do with social survival of the owner than survival or fitness as a basic concern," writes the author in this occasionally overheated book, but he is optimistic that the tide is changing as more pet owners are rejecting such false standards and opting for rescue dogs. Brandow's vitriolic style can be distracting, but his message is serious.

Kirkus Reviews