Michael BrandowRezensionen

The author’s stated purpose is to have a discussion about dog breeding and humans being hooked on a certain type of dog whether it be for looks or as a status symbol. Yes, the author does rant on about the bizarre need of rich Americans in the late 1800s to emulate the British aristocracy whether by selling their daughters to British nobles or buying and breeding society dogs from British aristocracy. The eugenics involved in the breeding of American Kennel Club dog breeds is outrageous; whether it is the crunched hind legs of the German Shepherd or the catatonic induced state of the American Pointer. The American Kennel Club has catered to the dog fanciers in the U.S. for registration fees can only help the AKC survive. The author includes a massive litany of the physical and behavioural manifestations that have arisen due to breeding for looks rather than hybrid vigour. Some critics of this book fault the author’s lack of medical skills that would hinder an informed medical opinion but as a dog walker for many years in New York City, he witnessed the physiological and behavioural problems of the dogs he walked daily. Designer dogs are meant to massage the ego of the owner and do nothing to help the wellbeing of continued generations of afflicted breeds. As for the breeders of these designer dogs; they do it for the money, not for the betterment of the breed.

I received this book a while ago from the Early Reviewers program and finally got around to reading it. Although I'm not really a dog person, I was looking forward to learning about a new topic. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed by this book. It was essentially 200 pages of the author complaining about how all people who buy purebred dogs are stupid and awful human beings. I would have gotten a lot more out of this book if the author had included more data about the specific health problems faced by certain breeds, the treatments required, and an organized presentation of the history of dog breeding/competitions. I found much of the book hard to follow and the angry tone of the book made it an unpleasant read. I agree with the author that dog breeding is often done at a disservice to the animals themselves, but his book really didn't add much to my understanding of the topic.

A biting history of pedigree dogs and how the quest for sttus has harmed man's best friend.

Sadly, I didn't enjoy this book. A bit dry, this book focused more on early American aristocracy and human supremacy complexes than on dogs.

I found this book difficult to finish. I agree with some of the authors opinions about purebred dogs and the way some are unethically bred. I didn't, however, enjoy the way he made his arguments. I think a more balanced approach would convince more readers.

I was unable to finish this Early Reviewer book. I got halfway through last year and am finally calm enough to be able to say ' Avoid this one.' The author rants and rants against pretty much everyone without offering any new viewpoints or solutions. It wasn't even fun ranting. I wrote my thoughts down as I read it, and I've selected a few bits for below:

Here's my HUGE beef with the introduction (and it seems like the whole book): Quoting popular press articles should not be the majority of your references! The Wall Street Journal is NOT a source for science research. Neither is a single controversial TV documentary. It seems like the author and I explicitly disagree about these things, though. A direct quote from the author states "...animal lovers on both sides of the Atlantic shouldn't need to get their news from scientists...". I am also concerned that the author doesn't have a good grasp on the real beginnings of breed type. The breed club and standard came AFTER the general breed was around doing their original function. Unfortunately, the original function of most breeds is completely out of place today. The only function of 97% of American dogs is of companion. This isn't the fault of the standards, but of people's lifestyles.

Slamming purebred dogs of today because you dislike some people who lived in the 1600-1800s doesn't make too much sense. People didn't have the level of human-animal bond back then that we do today. Why freak out about it? It's over 150 years ago; let it go and focus on what we can do *today*.

Brandow had a few great thoughts, but didn't run with them like I had hoped. The human need to think of their dogs as "loyal" or that "purebreds are better dogs" could have been discussed at length, but he chose to go down a different path. Perhaps if the author submersed himself in study and the culture for years - like people in the fancy do - he would not have been quite so assumptive about certain things. The author seems upset that breeders charge what they do. ("Before kennel clubs and "reputable" breeders priced good dogs out of reach for the average nobody...") Perhaps the author doesn't know how much money and time it takes to breed and raise healthy, well-adjusted pets.

*SO* much hatred of everything English! Was he left at the alter by an English girl? Did his business get eaten up by an English corporation? Why? Why? Why?!? (Seriously, the vitriol is not to be believed.)

The newest quote in the first half of the book is from 1892. What are Oscar Wilde and Thackery doing in this book supposedly about dog genetics and conformation? (Hint: Saying something derogatory towards the English.)

Dissing people with different hobbies is not winning the author many friends. "Geeks", chicken fanciers, farmers, the English, anyone not living in the 2010s.... The list of groups the author dislikes is growing ever larger, and my patience and good humor are diminishing just as quickly.

I highly recommend readers to do their own research and do not trust everything the authoer, Michael Brandow, says; he tends to leave off most of it. I agree that mutts are generally more healthy than most of the purebred dogs but not all purebreds are bad. I know puppy mills are big and some breeders are bad but not all breeders are bad. He should make a better argument instead of just ranting about purebreds. It is way too one sided.

Received a free copy from Library Thing Early Review Program in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone contemplating buying a dog from a breeder should read this book. Most people think getting a dog from a breeder is a completely harmless choice, but Brandow shows how wrong this assumption is. This is not an "entertaining social history," as the book's publisher/publicity people would have it. It is dealing with a serious ethical issue: the harm done to animals through our obsession with status. As many reviewers here have pointed out, this is not a fun history of dog breeds. The publisher really did this book a disservice by marketing it as such. I don't believe the author intended for this book to be a social history of dog breeding. This is quite clearly a book about ethics that uses social history to reveal the ridiculous sources of our obsession with "purebred" dogs. It is really unfortunate that Brandow's important and interesting points have been obscured by dishonest and simplistic marketing.

When I was nine, my parents wanted to get a family dog. We had a family friend who was involved in showing German Shepherds. She had connections with breeders and through her, we brought Jody into our family.

Jody (his pedigreed name was Jodler von Chicagoland, with the "J" pronounced the German way, like a "Y") was AKC certified and had been a show dog. We got him when he was four years old, and had been disqualified from the show ring because of his hip dysplasia.

We weren't interested in having a show dog. We wanted a family dog. And we got one. Jody was the best. Loyal and loving, guard dog and friend, he was part of our family until the hip dysplasia got so painful he couldn't walk and we had to put him down (this was before hip replacement surgery for animal or human was common).

Brandow could have used Jody as an example to make his point in his book, A Matter of Breeding: A Biting History of Pedigree Dogs and How the Quest for Status Has Harmed Man's Best Friend.



In the book, Brandow goes into great detail about how dog breeding is harming dogs. He describes dogs he knows personally as well as delving into historical and cultural influences that have created the breed focused culture in which we live. He ties the now reviled practice of eugenics with the focus on breed superiority, which he calls breedism. The creation of dog fancy organizations as well as dog breeders in search of the perfect specimen have created a culture more focused on breed superiority than on canine companionship.

This history of breedism and breediness (isn't that a great word?) has resulted in dogs that have been, and still are, often chosen not to be companions, but to be specimens of perfection and status symbols. Brandow drives home the point that all of this - the inbreeding, the focus on show dogs, and the search for breed standards that don't allow dogs to be dogs - is harming animals we claim to love.

Dogs shouldn't have to suffer horrific pain from hip dysplasia, like Jody did. Or die from cancer at a young age like so many Golden Retrievers. Or have haeart and breathing problems like so many bulldogs.

He makes a strong case for the damaging effects of dog breeding and pedigree. He does so with footnotes and references and quotations galore. Brandow does not hide his disgust for breeding and pedigreed pretentiousness, and I felt his contempt come through the pages. I found his hard hitting approach off-putting, even though I agree with him that dog breeding has resulted in suffering for dogs.

I've had pedigreed dogs. I've had mixed-breeds as well. When my kids were young, we had Bas (short for Sebastian). Bas was a mixed-breed stray who we brought into our family. He was a cuddle-sweet dog, energetic, adorable and loving, who slept on my daughter's bed.

I admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for German Shepherds. Brandow might be disgusted with this, perhaps seeing this as me buying into and perpetuating the pedigree culture.

But what I realized after reading this book is that I love German Shepherds, not because they are purebred, but because they remind me of Jody. I also have a soft spot for small, black dgos with velvet ears. They remind me of Bas.

Jody wasn't a great dog because he was a German Shepherd, and Bas wasn't a great dog because he wasn't purebred. They were great dogs. Period.

My big takeaway from this book is if you're going to get a dog, get a dog to love. There has been, and still is, a huge culture revolving around breed superiority, which doesn't seem to get to the heart of the many great reasons to bring a dog into your life.

Thank you, librarything, for the Early Reviewer copy of this book!

Received via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

The subtitle is accurate - this is, very definitely, a biting history (pun intended, I think) of the how class, status and man's drive to be seen in the best company has affected our faithful canine companions very much for the worse. Focusing on the lies and legends behind breeds such as bulldogs, Labrador retrievers, Boston terriers, Brandow points out the fallacies and flaws inherent in breeding pretty much anything for a particular popular, look, color and/or form rather than practical function. Of course, he also lambasts those breeding for only function (pointers, retrievers, setters....). He has no love for the various kennel clubs and pedigree breeders, although the breeders of actual working dogs (border collies and their ilk) get somewhat of a pass.

If you believe that simply by choosing a reputable breeder for your next golden retriever or German shepherd you'll be supporting all that is good and pure, Brandow suggests strongly that you think again. This is not a cheerful book, but it is a fascinating one full of nicely cited historical tidbits.½

One of the very, very few books I just don't bother to finish. As a dog lover and mixed-breed dog owner, I'm fully in agreement with all the reasons that purebreds are problematic at best, but this is less a history of how pedigreed breeding came to be what it is today and mostly the author being incredibly obnoxious about anyone who owns such a dog - or really, anyone at all.

I was excited to receive this book from Early Reviewers, but ended up being disappointed. I was expecting a real history of dogs and dog breeds, but it read more like a rant and I couldn't get past the overly flowerly language used.

Author Michael Brandow was a New York City dog walker. In his time with these dogs and their owners, he began to notice some peculiar things. Many of these dogs were miserable. Some couldn’t breathe, others had musculoskeletal problems, and many were outright neurotic. He began to see something he calls “the cult of pedigree perfection,” in which the look of the dog becomes paramount.

Pure breed dogs have a parallel with both high society and eugenics. Only the rich and sometimes only royalty could obtain a dog with such pure blood. This all began in England and of course the United States soon followed. The nouveau riche has to keep up with the latest fashion, including which dogs are popular at the time.

In order to get this “optimal” breed, breeders basically entered into eugenics experiments that resulted in inter-breeding in dog families and lots of deaths of puppies not deemed fit enough because they didn’t look like what the breeder intended. The end results were dogs that looked how the breeders wanted but that had health problems that made the dogs’ lives miserable. When dog shows became popular, the number of breeds and the number of health problems continued to rise. Beyond physical problems, dogs bred to hunt and retrieve are trapped in houses with little interaction and no outlets, making them obsessive-compulsive and distraught.

This book delves into the history of pure breed dogs. More than that, Brandow also offers distressing commentary about the social and cultural factors that perpetuate pedigree dogs to the detriment of the dogs’ health and well-being. He ends with a call to action to stop the suffering of these animals. How an animal looks should not be the vanguard of dog breeding. Rather the health – physically and emotionally – of the dog should take precedence. He states, “The assumption of this book has been that the preventable suffering of a single animal is too high a price to pay for flattering the socially insecure, supporting the illusion of the perfect pet, or helping humans” (p. 234).

I generally enjoyed this book. Its mix of history and personal commentary made it a fascinating and thought-provoking read. The author explores the history of so-called "pure-bred" dogs and their creation by the upper echelons of society. Brandow encourages readers to adopt mutts by discussing the multitude of health problems faced by purebreds and the unsavory breeding practices of the past (and present). Overall, it is an eye-opening look at the darker side of dog breeding.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I was very happy to receive it through Early Reviewers, as it is definitely up my alley. I've worked with a variety of animal rights non-profits, and consider myself well educated regarding the damage produced by breeding "pedigree" dogs. I enjoyed learning more about the history of breeding, and hearing Brandow's well-stated arguments. I definitely fall into the "never buy from a breeder" category.

However... I do have a few problems.

For starters, this book is very well-written for those readers who have similar sentiments to Brandow; yet given his strong feelings regarding this issue, I feel like this book would go further in influencing the opinion of others if it was slightly less dry and more user-friendly for the average dog owner. He is very quick to point fingers at who is responsible for the problems we have today, but less focused on discussing the actual problems at hand and proposing solutions. At times, he is simply being snarky and argumentative. The beginning/end of the book feel stronger than the middle, and there were many times where he was simply repeating himself from earlier chapters.

In short, Brandow clearly knows what he is talking about, and he makes some very valid points. However, if he cares about enacting any sort of actual change, he needs to turn his book into something that will be more easily picked up... with a lot less blame, and a lot more significance for our dogs.

I agreed with many of the author's sentiments he put forth in this book. Breeding dogs, by definition, involves some eugenics, and some of it has gotten out of hand. His best example is that of the poor bulldog puppy who can hardly breathe, vomits his food, and has trouble walking. In making the English bulldog "acceptable" for being a pet, the breeders also bred in many health problems which previously weren't there. The bat-eared or rose-eared French bulldog debate debacle was pretty humorous as well. He simply shows how snobbery and rich (much of the time one and the same) have shaped dog breeding to their liking without regard to the dogs themselves. For that they should be ashamed.

This book contains much interesting and valuable information about the history of pedigreed breeding of dogs and its origins in social climbing. Certain breeds became preferred for reasons having little to do with actual function and breeding for extremes of confirmation to breed standards resulted in deformities, hereditary diseases and behavioral problems. However, the book seems to me to be poorly organized, skipping back and forth in history and jumping from one breed to another without clear reasons. It is, however, well indexed, which is unusual for books published for the general public these days. If you are interested in acquiring a dog you may wish to read this book before deciding on a specific breed or type.

As an owner of 3 rescue dogs I would like to see more information like this made available to the public. I have owned, "pure bred", dogs and have suffered terribly financially and emotionally through many medically inherent problems

It is well known that inbreeding has caused many dog breeds to suffer from multiple problems including breathing difficulties, hip dysplasia, deafness, epilepsy, aggression or behavioral problems and, in some breeds, the need for birth by Caesarian section. A Matter of Breeding mentions these problems only in passing to set the stage for Brandow's basic premise which is that breeding dogs to meet arbitrary fashion “is a favorite hiding place for values and beliefs we’re no longer supposed to have.” (p. 17) Brandow places most of the blame on the English, along with a quick slap at the "frou-frou monarchy of France," with their historic class system and emphasis on lineage as well as eugenics as in this confusing statement: “A rising interest in genealogy, human and canine, combined with a morbid obsession with taxidermy in the Victorian years were supported by the eugenics movement.” (p. 134) Insecure Americans are faulted for importing English style dog shows, as well as English handlers and judges in an attempt to achieve a sense of parity with European aristocracy and superiority over their fellow countrymen. Americans furthered the harm by imitating English hunting traditions with specialized dogs (pointers, setters and retrievers) who had only one purpose in the field but also served as status symbols for their owners.

If Brandow had shown more real concern for the dogs who suffer as a result of our breeding programs and less animosity toward everyone he holds responsible for the current situation this might have been an effective effort to improve the lot of dogs everywhere. Instead we are given a long polemic against blood purity and class distinctions. Using designer dogs as status symbols or fashion statements is cruel but, as it stands, A Matter of Breeding is more snark than bark.

Compelling, well-written overview of modern, irresponsible breeding practices with background that elaborates how they got that way. Recommended for any pet lover. I, for one, will be getting my next pet from a shelter (but then, I had intended that before reading this, too). Four stars.

Update 2015-04-09: Compare to the recent article on the drive and fall of dog breeds (I found particularly interesting the information on extinct breeds):

http://priceonomics.com/endangered-dog-breeds-and-the-market-forces-behind/

I was given a free copy for an honest review.

This book made me so sad for the "purebred" dogs. They are suffering for our vanity. Pugs can't breathe correctly, Labs have early arthritis and more! The breeding "standards" are devastating to the dogs. I agree with the author that changes need to be made. If you are a dog lover with an open mind, read this book!

The introduction and the first chapter, and the conclusion, were excellent.They went into great detail about some of the genetic disorders that are increasingly damaging purebred dogs, and how that hurts the breeds people say they love.

I'm 56, and I've seen "purebred" dogs and cats get more and more exaggerated in my lifetime, so much so that many are literally crippled. We once had a purebred dog who died tragically of a breed-related problem. Since then- well, we get the shelter cats and the rescue (mutt) dogs.

And- reading this, that's just good sense. Apart from the alarming details about some of the more popular breeds out there, the bulk of the book combines a history of the "ancient breeds"- which are not as ancient as all that; it's mostly a marketing gimmick- with the problems it causes for the dogs and their people.

It is clear that breeding purely for aesthetics- and always more exaggerated features-is doing serious harm to dogs. As is the whole pedigree nonsense; what this means is that more and more dogs are inbred from a smaller and smaller genetic pool, with predictable genetic results. I will say that I had not realized exactly how bad these are for many breeds.

It is also sobering to realize how much the common wisdom behind breed loyalty has in common with human eugenics; they arose at the same time, and share many concepts and language. Once one could no longer express these prejudices against other humans, it's still safe to do it via dogs.

While both the beginning and the end are tight, the middle tends to meander from history to philosophy and around some more. It would have been a stronger book if the middle chapters were more tightly focused on a specific theme each, rather than meandering amongst the themes.

(Our own dog is a mutt- or, as I may claim, a unique breed! She is very elegant, and gets many compliments. We had a genetic analysis done which said that she is 25% husky, 25% Jack Russel terrier, 12.5% corgi, and the rest mystery mutt (i.e. heckhound in her case). I'm glad we got that analysis done, because it explains a lot- but I am also glad she has the hybrid vigor common to many mutts (although, sadly, not the brains).)

I found this book compelling enough to read it in less than a day. The footnotes and index look really good, and allow an interested party to find more detailed information about various areas.

Very recommended for dog lovers!

I received this book via LibraryThing in exchange for writing an honest review.