When I saw the cover photograph of Under Dogs and read in the blurb the comparison between this book and previous favourites like Underwater Dogs and Shake it was a no brainer for me. I had to have this book and start it immediately!

I’ll admit it. I’m a dog person. I also love cats that are happy to hang out on your lap for hours while you read and cuddle them but the pets who have always owned me have been dogs. I practically melt each time a dog comes up to me and deems me worthy of giving them a cuddle.

Andrius Burba’s photography is gorgeous! While it’s very difficult to take a bad photo of a dog regardless of your skill level, Andrius’ perspective and composition was wonderful. I loved the stark black background as there was nothing to distract me from the sweet, quirky and interesting expressions on the dogs.

There are fluffballs with feet, dogs who couldn’t care less that there’s a photographer and/or camera equipment beneath them and others who are peering down with bemused, intrigued or dorky looks on their faces. There are a couple who look to me like they have fear in their eyes and I can only hope if this is true that someone was there to cuddle them in my absence after their photo was taken.

I have two favourite dogs in this book. The first is a Basenji who looks a little like it’s been jumping on a trampoline and is currently midair. It’s got the cutest little tummy wrinkles and head wrinkles. Its pads are still mostly new puppy pink with the beginnings of the darker patches that come with experiencing the world. The look on its face is one that appears to be a mix of curiosity and a wary concern about what’s going on beneath their feet. With a shiny black nose and eyes that seem all pupil, this is the dog I most wanted to cuddle and borrow forever.

My second favourite is an Italian Greyhound momma that’s sitting with her back left leg lifted in the typical ‘I’m about to lick my genitals’ position. I’m sure I’m not the only one that makes up stories about what’s really happening in pictures I see and what I loved about this photo is the timing and the angle that shows her lifted paw directly in front of her eyes. Her head is turned to the left. You can almost imagine that she’s camera shy and is hiding her eyes in the most awkward way possible in an ‘if I can’t see you then you can’t see me’ moment.

A couple of elements were missing in this book that I’ve appreciated in other dog photography books. While each portrait is accompanied by the breed of dog it features, at no point do we learn the name, age or any fun facts about any of the dogs. There also isn’t the introduction I’ve come to expect from the photographer explaining why they chose this perspective, how they accomplished it or any anecdotes about misbehaving or funny outtakes.

I expect this is going to be one of the more popular gift books of 2018 and I am almost positive I’ll be buying it myself once it’s released. For those of you who aren’t dog people, I’ve found a cat version by the same photographer, Unter Katzen, that you may want to check out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an English version of this one printed soon.

P.S. The marketing machine appears to have begun for this series. 2019 calendars for both Underdogs and Undercats are already available for preorder on Amazon.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to be one of the first to adore this book.