Incredible Photos of Dog Breeds In Their Ancestral Homelands

Photographer Travels the World to Document Dogs in Their Native Lands

By Jessica Stewart on November 19, 2024

Alaskan Malamute

Pet photographer Craig Turner-Bullock has merged his love for travel and dogs with a clever project. Dogs of the World sees the New Zealand-based photographer documenting different dog breeds in their homelands. What started as a coincidence while traveling has now transformed into visits to 20 countries, over 50 cities, images of 60 beloved dog breeds, and, now, a book.

Dogs of the World began when he happened to photograph a French bulldog in Paris, a pit bull in New York, and a corgi in London. Realizing that he had the beginnings of something special, Turner-Bullock began actively seeking out breeds to create Dogs of the World.

“Some of the dogs have been photographed in the exact places the breeds were founded, like meeting dandy Dinmont terriers at Bowhill House in Scotland,” he shares. “Others are in iconic locations in their country of origin, and occasionally, I’ve used a little creative license to photograph them in places they’ve become strongly connected to.”

For example, he chose London for corgis due to their connection to Queen Elizabeth II, but the breed actually has its roots in Wales. Similarly, while the Australian shepherd is a breed created in the United States, Turner-Bullock chose to photograph herding dogs in Australia as an homage to their ancestors.

“In the case of dogs like the Australian Shepherd, which was created and first recognized in the USA, they got their name after some of the collies used in their creation were imported from Australia,” he told PetaPixel. “I photographed them in Australia, seeing as that was their namesake country.”

Turner-Bullock recently ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for his Dogs of the World book, which he hopes to have in readers' hands by December 2025. Prior to that, he has plans to fit in a few more photoshoots in order to end up with 80 to 90 breeds in the book.

“I’m excited to photograph the Indian Ghost Hound and the Japanese Shiba Inu and Akita in the early part of 2025,” he tells My Modern Met. “There are a couple of breeds I really hope to add to the book, and I have rough plans to capture those; the Dalmatian in Croatia and in Tibet, the humongous Tibetan Mastiff.”

While current events make a few breeds, such as the Russian Borzoi and Samoyed, off limits, plenty of others remain left to capture. Those include many of the breeds with their roots in Germany—German Shepherd, Boxer, Schnauzer, Rottweiler, Doberman, and Dachshund. In fact, Turner-Bullock hopes to be able to make a return trip to Germany to document some more of these breeds.

Much pet photography is linked to studio portraits, but Tuner-Bullock hopes that his artistic work not only honors the heritage of these breeds, but also inspires the public to think about the wonderful diversity in the world.

Personally, for Turner-Bullock the book is the culmination of a decade of work. Having poured his heart into the series, from setting up logistics to connecting with dogs owners, each image is connected to a memory. “In all honesty, every one is special, pushed my creative skills, made me need to find solutions to work in extremes of weather, or connect with the dog differently, and they will all remain with me forever.”