THE YEAR OF THE DOGS

by Vincent J. Musi (Chronicle £21.99)

VINCE MUSI used to be a photographer for the National Geographic and travelled the world in search of the perfect snap of the water-buffalo or the three-toed sloth.

Then, his son turned 16 and he thought, hang on, I’ve missed this boy’s entire childhood. So he stayed at home for a year and photographed dogs. This delightful book is little more than 190 photographs of ordinary neighbourhood dogs. But what character! What grace! What ferocious canine intelligence!

This one is Otis, ‘a two-year-old Doberman Pinscher who, when faced with a challenging situation, would charm the pants off you’. Or bite your leg off. One of the two.