Not too long ago, I decided it might be a great idea to illustrate my way through one of my favourite books of all time. Since dogs were thin on the ground in both Mansfield Park (one pug) and War and Peace (hunting dogs for sure, any others though?), it had to be Dog Breeds of the World.

Well, I’m still going strong, and am now happily into my 40s, in many senses.

Here are the pictures of my teens. We start with the Dachshunds – three of them, for no other reason than that I would rather like to have a dachshund – a wire-haired one please.

The expression on the face of the wire-haired one makes me laugh. It also faintly reminds me of the illustrations for Mr Benn, David McKee (he of Elmer fame). Without getting lost in the archives (aka Googling), I think he slightly reminds me of that spooky shop-owner chap who used to facilitate all Mr Benn’s adventures. I’m not sure this is a good thing, but it’s sweet enough in a dachshund.

The other two are more straightforward. Here’s the blondie (memo to self – need a larger frame when undertaking a dachshund):

Then there were the Ibizan Hound,

the Grand Bleu de Gascogne (who rather outgrew his canvas)

The Whippet and Greyhound:

And the Otterhound (half otter, half hound, I’m guessing – a great mix.)

And that’s the end of the hounds. There are more, and I’m happy to go back for any neglected classics, but at the time it just felt like the Gundogs were calling me. Here are a German Pointer, and a Hungarian Vizla.

It felt wrong to rob the Vizla of its colour, especially when the book has this to say of a Vizla: “The sight of a Vizla when the sun is at its zenith is a flash of the richest red.” So here goes:

And finally the English Setter. I fell for this one.