Humans and dogs have a long, wonderful, and sometimes problematic
association. At a personal level, dogs have been integral to our lives,
and our parents' lives, for as long as the two of us can remember. As
sociologists, we also recognize that dogs are important at the macro
level. Here, we introduce a selection of early sociological arguments
about dogs and their social relationships with humankind by Harriet
Martineau, Charles Darwin, Frances Power Cobbe, Roscoe Pound, Charlotte
Perkins Gilman, Annie Marion MacLean, and George Herbert Mead. This book
is a smorgasbord of sociological standpoints, all written by some of
sociology's most perceptive practitioners, from 1865 to 1934. We are
delighted with the opportunity to make these essays more widely
available.