Dog World Magazine Gives Wonder Dogs Four Paws

Wonder Dogs is an entertaining, meticulously researched work on canine movie history. We've all heard of Rin tin Tin, but what about Sandow, Thunder and Ace? Author Jordan Taylor trains canine actors, but her devotion to the field goes far beyond that. Her archive of German Shepherd Dog film history dates back to the debut of the legendary silent-film star Strongheart in 1921.

Taylor notes that before talking pictures gave human actors an advantage, dogs often had top billing. "For almost one hundred years, German Shepherd Dogs have been starring in movies of every genre, all over the world." Her concise film reviews are packed with rare historical photos and fascinating gems of information to capture the essence of each decade.

The meteoric career of Peter the Great who began as a working sheepdog, is just one intriguing example. Rumored to be Rin Tin Tin's stunt double, Peter was billed as "The Miracle Dog" and "King of the Silver Screen." Taylor writes, "It seems like Peter had the highest expectations to live up to of all the silent GSD stars." Peter starred in six films and was under contract for six more when he was accidentally shot and killed in 1926.

Equally interesting is Harvey, a 140-pound GSD film star of the 1950s whose antics rivaled any human celebrity's naughty behavior. "As popular as he was with audiences, Harvey had a bad reputation on the set." After biting numerous cast and crew members, he was kept muzzled off-camera throughout his 180 movies and TV shows. Harvey's owner and trainer, actress Dorothy Crider, also developed the famed Chinook White Shadow bloodline of white GSD.

Wonder Dogs is sure to appeal to anyone interested in GSD or movie trivia. But it is equally valuable for insights into the evolution of dog-training methodology and GSD breed type.

Amy Fernandez

Dog World Magazine, August 2010

Wonder Dogs is now available for purchase on Amazon.com! Order your copy today!