I’m always wary of people who don’t like dogs. If you’re scared of them or have an allergy, then fine. But if you have chosen not to like dogs then I’m already confused by you. Not only are they fluffy and snuggly and great friends, they’re also capable of doing amazing things, as this book explores. From sniffing out diseases or land mines to helping the chronically ill or disabled, they really never seize to amaze me.

There is, of course, a very human element to this book, but there is also a lot of science and history. At times this can be a little overwhelming, especially if you’re not knowledgeable on scientific terms and whatnot, but I believe Jules has found a nice balance by making it informative, but understandable without being patronising.

I would have liked there to have been more images of the dogs in question, however I am aware I had an e-copy and there may be images in the physical copy which I would love to see.

This is a fascinating exploration of the history of man’s best friend that I had never even thought about. It’s hard to believe that domesticated dogs as pets is a relatively new experience, we’re talking a few hundred years; a blink of an eye in mankind terms.

It’s a fairly short book at under 300 pages, which makes it quick to read, with enough knowledge to be interesting, but enough wit to be fun and entertaining.