The Vizsla is a golden-rust pointer bred for the Hungarian hunting field. Here is where the breed came from, how the work shaped it, and what nearly ended it.

The Greyhound was built to see a hare, catch it and be carried home again. Here is how that one job shaped its body, its manners and its place in our lives, in the UK and the US.

The Great Dane is not Danish, and it was not bred for the sofa. Here is where the breed really came from, the work that built its frame and temperament, and what that means for living with one now.

The Golden Retriever began as a Highland estate’s answer to a practical problem: a dog that would find shot birds on rough ground and bring them back unmarked. Here is the story as the records tell it, including the popular myth they do not support.

The French Bulldog began as a small Bulldog in English lace towns and became a Parisian favourite. We trace how that working past shaped its look, its character and what it needs from us today.

The English Springer Spaniel was shaped by one job: springing game from cover for the gun. Here is what the record supports about where it came from, how it was recognised and what that means for living with one now.

From woodcock flushing in British cover to the show rings of Crufts and the American split, this is how the English Cocker Spaniel became the dog it is. We also look at what that working past means for living with one today.

The Bulldog was bred for a brutal job that Parliament ended in 1835, and it survived by becoming a companion. Here is where the breed came from, what shaped its look, and what that means for living with one now.

The Dobermann began with one German tax collector who wanted a dog to keep him safe on his rounds. Here is how a working guard became a breed, and what that history means for living with one today.

Where the Dalmatian really came from, what it was asked to do for a living, and why a dog built to run beside horses is a demanding companion today. We have kept to what the breed clubs and kennel clubs can support and named the myths as myths.