The Smooth Coat Chihuahua carries a history that runs back through Mexico long before Europeans arrived there. Here’s where the breed actually came from, and why it still acts the way it does.

The Belgian Malinois was bred to work Belgian farms, not to pose for photographs, and that working past still shapes the dog asleep on your floor. Here is where this driven, watchful breed actually came from.

The Yorkshire Terrier began as a working ratter in the mills of nineteenth century northern England, long before it became a lap dog. Here is where it came from, who shaped it, and what that past still means for a Yorkie on your sofa today.

The Whippet was made in the working towns of northern England for a very particular job, and that job explains nearly everything about the dog on your sofa. Here is what we can support about where it came from, and what it means for living with one now.

The Westie began as a working terrier on the rocky coast of Argyll, and its white coat, hard head and cheerful stubbornness all trace back to that job. Here is where the breed came from, who shaped it and what the story means for living with one now.

The silver-grey Weimaraner began as a hunting dog at a German court and became a family dog in the UK and US. Here is how its working past shaped its looks, its character and the way it lives with people now.

The Standard Poodle began as a working water dog, and its famous clip, its intelligence and its need for company all trace back to that job. Here is the story as far as the breed clubs and published histories can support it.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier came out of the working towns of the English Midlands, was shaped by a job that is now illegal, and was rescued by a group of enthusiasts in 1935. Here is how that history explains the dog on your sofa today.

A long, low hound built to follow badgers underground, the Smooth-Haired Dachshund is generally regarded as the oldest of its three coats. Here is where it came from, what its job made of it, and what that means for living with one today.

From the Chukchi people of north-eastern Siberia to the Nome serum run and the show ring, this is how a sled dog built for endurance became the Siberian Husky we know. It also covers what that past means for living with one today.