YAP!
A Short History of Small Dogs
Since ancient times, beloved small dogs have been trotting devotedly by our sides. Yap! follows in the pawprints of the breeds we have grown to love and cherish, from the small dogs touchingly memorialised in Ancient Rome through to Paris Hilton’s chihuahua and the pet influencers of 21st-century, via the pug who colonised Napoleon’s marital bed, King Charles II’s spaniels and celebrity terriers in Victorian pubs.
Drawing on her own experience as a pug-owner, pet historian Stephanie Howard-Smith reveals how small dogs have shaped our lives as much as we have theirs, challenging social dynamics, changing the way we spend our leisure time, contributing to a global industry now worth over £250 billion, and offering valuable companionship and a chance for self-expression.
A must-read for any lover of small dogs, Yap! is a paean to the unbreakable bond between humans and their petite pets.
Praise for Yap!
“Every bit as charming, smart, perfect, and delightful as its subject. What a respite from the woes of the world, to dive into this brilliantly researched and wittily written study of the history of our love affair with small dogs. I loved it.”
“Takes the unleashed reader on a delightful romp through the lives of people and their pugs, spaniels, beagles, Maltese and other smaller canines whose joie de vivre has carried dogdom into the most intimate corners of people’s lives.”
“As a relatively recent convert to the joys of small dogs, I had no idea what a rich, complicated, and long tradition I was joining. But now I do! Erudite, and also engaging.”
“If you love little dogs, you will love this book - and if you don’t, these delightful, surprising, and informative pages will change your mind! Scholarly but highly readable, Howard-Smith’s historical research, charmingly presented, shows just how deep, and real, our adoration of toy breeds runs, and why some folks’ dislike of them says far more about the human condition than the canine.”
“A brilliant, juicy bone of a book, with lashings of history, culture and canine chronicles.”
“A delicious must read for those of us who adore our littler pets.”
“Any dog owner worth his or her salt will empathise and enjoy Stephanie Howard-Smith’s intelligent, often funny review of the place of the very small in the human heart and home...”
“‘[A] wonderful book with tales from history as well as modern fashion and scandals galore... Sparkling”
“Yap! traces the long history of our love affair with and criticism of clever, obedient and affectionate little dogs. If this witty chronicle doesn’t end up in every dog lover’s Christmas stocking I’m a chihuahua.”
“Wonderfully engaging… There’s a stealthy quality to Howard-Smith’s writing: she tells little stories that have important messages hiding within… The book is packed with quirky detail… I’m not a fan of lapdogs, but I adored this book. It reveals a great deal about dogs — but even more about humans.”