Dogs and dog breeding in interwar Poland

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article examines the world of dog breeding in interwar Poland. It argues that studying relations between species – human and canine – tells us a great deal about historical constructions of culture and identity. When we talk about dogs as a species, and when we scrutinize various approaches to breeding dogs, what we are really exploring is humans, their identities, anxieties, and desires; what we are describing is the mental landscape of time and place. Dog breeders in the Polish Second Republic (1918–39) understood purebreds as an essential element of modern culture and regarded dog breeding as a civilized and rational pursuit that contributed directly to raising Poland’s status in Europe. In particular, interwar breeders promoted purebred dogs as useful working animals – “canine citizens” – that, through the various forms of service they provided (in policing and military services, for example), offered tangible benefits to the state and its people. Breeders believed that they, together with the dogs that they bred, contributed to the collective good.