Book excerpt: This book (Toy Group) provides you with the thorough descriptions and positive attributes of these breeds, including origin, purpose, history, normal heights and weights, acceptable colors, and behavioral traits. Our books differ from most books on dog breeds because this book also provides you with a comprehensive and authoritative source of all the known, predisposed hereditary health syndromes for these breeds. You will find extensive references for each problem described. We also provide the breed club address for these breeds and a list of laboratories and organizations that can provide professional help and information. As a small-animal veterinarian, I have always been intrigued by the way dogs have been bred to fill a purpose in life, and I am further impressed that they also tend to love performing that service. Greyhounds and other sight hounds are built for speed, with aerodynamic bodies consisting of a small head, deep chest, narrow waist, and large leg muscles. On the other hand, dachshunds take their name from German words meaning badger dog, and they use their long nose, long body, and short legs to both track, enter, and dig into badger dens. After developing a practice that catered to clients with show dogs, my interest in each breed continued to grow as I studied and observed more and more about the unique predisposition and incidence of health problems in each breed. Breeders of purebred dogs for show were a challenge and inspiration for me to research and help them with their unique health problems. Historically, references to hereditary problems are scattered throughout various veterinary medical texts and journals, such as ophthalmology, neurology, gastroenterology, cardiovascular, and dermatology. This book, as well as the other books and articles I have written, has been researched and compiled with the intention to provide both veterinarians and dog owners with comprehensive and authoritative predisposed information under the breed name. At the date of this publication, the American Kennel Club, Canine Health Foundation, and the Kennel Club of England report over four hundred known hereditary health syndromes throughout the dog kingdom. During the writing of my first book in 1983, less than fifty hereditary issues were able to be predicted or diagnosed. Sequencing of the canine genome; DNA tests; metabolic testing, including blood tests and urine testing; and phenotypic examinations, such as radiographs, ultrasound, and CERF or OFA eye registry exams by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist have advanced the science of breed-related health and behavioral problems. This book will provide veterinarians, researchers, pet owners, and breeders with a comprehensive guide to all the known problems veterinarians and dog owners should consider during pet selection and throughout each life stage of our canine friends.