Darwin's Dogs
September 7, 2025
reviewed by William P. Meyers

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Darwin's Dogs by Emma Townshend, Frances Lincoln Limited Publishers, London, 2009

I like dogs. Most people like most dogs, and most dogs like most people. Individuals, of course, vary. The close relationships between dogs and humans, begun during human prehistory, has greatly informed our knowledge of dogs, animals more generally, and nature.

Darwin's Dogs by Emma Townshend tells the story of the life of Charles Darwin, with an emphasis on his love of animals, particularly dogs. It is a short book, written at a level that should not intimidate high school students. It leads the reader to an understanding of how Darwin's study of nature eventually led him to his famous theory of evolution through natural selection. Dogs played a great part in that story.

Charles grew up with dogs and trained them to hunt with him. Though his family's house was just outside of the town of Shrewsbury, by turning in the opposite direction he could venture into the Shropshire countryside. He trained his dogs not just to be good pets, but to not chase a bird or animal unless he gave permission.

There was little to sign that Charles would become a great scientist. His father, a prominent doctor, sent him to Scotland to take pre-medical courses when he was 16, but he gave that up after two years. Then he went to a different college, Cambridge, and studied to become an Anglican minister. He was, it is true, more interested in collecting rocks and insects than in pursuing his studies. It is an accident of history that, after graduating, while waiting for a placement in the ministry, he was offered the position of scientist on the famous voyage of The Beagle. That took five years. Upon his return to England he joined the society of scientists, but it was decades before he published his theory of evolution by natural selection.

Ms. Townshend helps readers connect with Darwin through dogs. She explains how the vast differences in size and appearance of dogs had already impacted biological thought. Trying to define the difference between species, and mere varieties within a species, dogs were an enigma. Darwin talked and corresponded with dog breeders. He learned how they selectively bred to keep breeds pure, or to get desired traits, whether physical or behaviors like friendliness or hunting skill. Darwin looked at this for other domesticated animals as well, from pigeons to cows and horses.

Darwin's Origin of Species did not state that Homo sapiens descended from animal ancestors, but scientists and clerics alike saw the implication and immediately started arguing their cases. Some scientists agreed with the priests that man had special qualities and must have been created separately. Darwin waited years before publishing The Descent of Man. In it he helps readers see that the mental gap between man and animals, while wide, is not a chasm. He describes what every dog owner knows: that dogs have intelligence, empathy, irritability, and even a sense of humor.

Despite my interest in Charles Darwin, I came across Darwin's Dogs by chance. It was in a neighbor's tiny library lending box (there are several in the neighborhood). It was published in 2009 and likely got a bit of publicity at the time. I think every school child should be offered it when they take biology. It is one of those rare science books that is easy to read, yet highly informative.

There are a few used hardcover copies at local used book stores or online at sites like Abe Books. You can also get a Kindle copy of Darwin's Dogs. It would be great if a publisher would make physical copies available again, and school teachers would assign it.

In memory of Tiny and Hugo, my two former pet dogs.