Puppy Love: An Illustrated Guide to Picking Your Perfect Canine Companion

by Melissa Maxwell, Sara Mulvanny (Illustrator)

Overview

Taking its cues from the wonderful world of online dating, Puppy Love hilariously explores the pros and cons of puppy-parenting different types of canine companions. The perfect gift for any dog lover, these illustrated doggie dating profiles will have you howling with laughter.

Puppy Love delves into the doggie dating scene by first setting the foundation for a successful relationship, including the keys to successful cohabitation and how to know when you’ve found The One.

To aid in your quest for the paw-fect match, more than 40 pooch profiles cover everything from grooming, personality, and deal breakers. Love long walks? The short-legged Corgi might struggle to keep up. Have a penchant for expensive, fragile home décor? The gentle giant Great Dane might break your stuff—and your heart. Far more useful than your average Tinder profile—there won’t be any dogfishing here—Puppy Love will help you decide if a relationship with a French Bulldog is more likely to be a fling or a forever kind of love. Not sure where to start? Take the Cosmo-inspired quiz to narrow down your matches.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423663546
Publisher:	Smith, Gibbs Publisher
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Melissa Maxwell is an editor and author of many different books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Sara Mulvanny has worked on a wide range of projects from books and magazines to large-scale illustrations for museums and restaurants. When not in her studio, she loves to go for walks in the surrounding countryside with Mabel, her Airedale puppy. You can check out her work at saramulvanny.com.

Editorial Reviews

03/06/2023

Book editor Maxwell debuts with this playful if slight guide to choosing the right dog breed. She provides tongue-in-cheek dating app profiles for 43 breeds, indicating their size, typical lifespan, activity level, and personality. Pomeranians, Maxwell writes, have “Big Dog Energy,” love being the center of attention, and are bad with kids. An “ideal first date” with an English bulldog consists of a stroll around the block, and they do best in air-conditioned homes because they overheat easily. There’s plenty of silliness throughout, such as when Maxwell jokes that Botox is a trend the wrinkly shar-pei can’t get behind (“Are you telling me that humans are trying to remove wrinkles? Make it make sense!”) and pokes fun at pugs’ fondness for napping by listing “zzzzzzzzz” as a “social cause I care about.” The illustrations are sweet and colorful, but the cutesy presentation comes at the expense of more in-depth, practical information on the care each dog requires. Additionally, the dating profile conceit leads to some cringe-worthy moments, as when Maxwell describes golden retrievers as “DTF: Down to Fetch.” This quirky outing might make for a fun gift, but there’s not enough substance to recommend it for prospective dog owners. (May)

Publishers Weekly

... a fun book about dogs ... The illustrations are lovely ...

Edelweiss - Mayke Vos

04/01/2023

This short book from editor and children's book author Maxwell (Finny the Shark) aims to help individuals and families choose a new canine friend. It is filled with brief information that will help those who are brand-new to the dog world. Quick information on what to consider when deciding where to get a dog—with an easy-to-understand explanation of what it means to purchase from a reputable breeder vs. a pet store, if not going the shelter route—might not help the seasoned dog owner but will point a newcomer to the process in the right direction. Cute illustrations by Mulvanny, paired with "dating profiles" for different breeds, are fun to peruse, but they don't go in-depth enough to provide new insights. A "Paw-Fect Match Quiz" offers further pooch-picking guidance, and a quick-reference guide to breed characteristics adds a convenient detail to finish out the book. VERDICT An adorable read with colorful illustrations and brief breed descriptions, this book might be helpful for first-time dog owners, although it's not an essential guide.—Elizabeth Majka

Library Journal