Sign inDogs in history
Dogs have walked beside people through every age. These guides tell their true stories, era by era, and every fact links to its source.
What is TimeWalkies?
TimeWalkies paints your dog into a famous moment from history and sends it as a postcard. A new place and time every morning.
How TimeWalkies works
Choose a photo of your dog.
You get your first TimeWalkies postcard immediately!
Then you get another one for free.
If you like them, keep them coming every day for $99 for a whole year (about 27¢ per day, one‑off payment, no auto‑renewal).
2 free postcards. No credit card.
Contents
56 guides
Age of exploration dog breeds: dogs that sailed with explorers
Learn which dogs, including mastiffs and the Alano Español, traveled with Spanish explorers and how they were used during the conquest of the Americas.
American Wild West dog breeds: what settlers actually kept
Learn what dog breeds actually existed on the American frontier, from mixed herding dogs to the earliest AKC-recognized hunting breeds.
Anubis and dogs: why Egypt's jackal god looks like a dog
Learn why Anubis was shown with a jackal or wild dog's head, what the Saqqara dog catacombs reveal, and how the myth differs from real Egyptian dogs.
Belka and Strelka: the dogs who orbited Earth and came home
Learn who Belka and Strelka were, how their 1960 spaceflight differed from Laika's, and what happened to Strelka's puppy Pushinka afterward.
Blitz rescue dogs: how they searched London's bombed streets in WWII
Learn how blitz rescue dogs like Rip searched bombed buildings for survivors in WWII, and which dogs received the PDSA Dickin Medal for this work.
Cave canem mosaic: the story behind Pompeii's 'beware of dog' art
Learn what the cave canem mosaic shows, where it was found in Pompeii, and why Romans placed dog warnings at their own front doors.
Cerberus: the myth of the three-headed dog guarding the underworld
Learn who Cerberus was in Greek myth, how his head count changed over time, and how Heracles captured him as his twelfth labour.
Colonial America dog breeds: what dogs settlers actually kept
Learn what dogs colonists in early America actually kept, from English mastiffs and hounds to the hunting types that became the American Foxhound.
Did Egyptians mummify dogs? What the evidence shows
Yes, ancient Egyptians mummified millions of dogs, mostly as offerings to Anubis. Learn how scans reveal their ages, causes of death, and mummification methods.
Dog breeds of the 1960s: which dogs Americans actually kept
Discover which dog breed ranked first in the 1960s, how long the Poodle held that title, and which era breeds are still popular today.
Dogs in ancient Egypt: their role in daily life and religion
Learn how dogs served ancient Egyptians as guards and hunters, why Anubis has a jackal head, and how one royal dog received a pharaoh's funeral.
Dogs in ancient Mesopotamia: Assyrian mastiffs and the goddess Gula
Learn how dogs appear in ancient Mesopotamia, from the mastiffs carved into Ashurbanipal's lion hunt reliefs to the healing goddess Gula and her sacred dogs.
Dogs in Aztec and Maya culture: their sacred and social roles
Learn how dogs served as underworld guides, sacred symbols, companions, and food across Aztec and Maya culture, based on myth, art, and archaeology.
Dogs in Heian Japan: companions, courts, and culture
Learn what Heian-era court writings say about dogs in Japan, including the Pillow Book tale of Okinamaro and what remains unknown about early breeds.
Dogs in Maya culture: their roles in myth, art, and daily life
Learn how dogs served the ancient Maya as companions, food, hunting aides, and guides for souls, and see how they appear in Maya myth, art, and ritual.
Dogs in medieval times: how they lived alongside people
Learn how medieval dogs worked, why forest law restricted ownership, and how hunting manuscripts shaped the breeds you know today.
Dogs in medieval warfare: what the historical record shows
Learn what historical sources say about dogs in medieval and early warfare, from guard duty and hunting to tracking fugitives on the border.
Dogs in Mesopotamia: sacred hounds of the ancient Near East
Learn how dogs worked, healed, and guarded in ancient Mesopotamia, from Gula's sacred hounds to the inscribed clay dogs buried at Nineveh.
Dogs in Renaissance paintings: what they meant and why they're there
Discover why Renaissance painters placed dogs beside sitters, from marriage symbolism to wealth, with examples from the Arnolfini Portrait and Venus of Urbino.
Dogs in the 1960s: popular breeds and space dogs
Learn which dog breeds topped the charts in the 1960s and how Soviet dogs Veterok and Ugolyok spent 22 days in orbit aboard Kosmos 110 in 1966.
Dogs in the Mongol Empire: hunting, herding, and war dogs
Learn how Kublai Khan's dogs took part in imperial hunts, and how the ancient Bankhar guardian dog still protects Mongolian herds today.
Dogs in the Renaissance: their roles, breeds, and status
Learn how dogs appeared in the Renaissance, from small companion dogs painted in Venice to hunting dogs shown in Gessner's Historia animalium.
Dogs in the roaring twenties: pets, fashion, and film stars
Learn how a rescued German shepherd named Rin Tin Tin shaped dog ownership in the 1920s, plus how dog food brands and dog shows took shape in the decade.
Dogs in the Wild West: their real roles on the American frontier
Learn what dogs actually did on the American frontier, from herding cattle to hunting with famous frontiersmen, and how their work shaped modern breeds.
Dogs in Viking ship burials: what the graves reveal
Learn how dogs were buried in Viking ship graves like Oseberg and Ladby, why they were included, and what the animal remains tell us about Norse burial customs.
Dogs on the Oregon Trail: What the Records Show
Learn what pioneer letters, diaries, and Ezra Meeker's own account say about dogs on the Oregon Trail, from a faithful travel companion to a chewed canoe.
Dogs on the Titanic: the true story of the ship's canine passengers
Learn how many dogs sailed on the Titanic, which three survived, and why most of the ship's other dogs had little chance when the disaster struck.
Egyptian dog names: real names from ancient Egypt and their meanings
Learn real dog names recorded in ancient Egypt, what they meant, and how historians know a name belonged to a dog rather than a person.
Fortuné: the pug who bit Napoleon on his wedding night
Learn how Fortuné, Joséphine's pug, bit Napoleon on their wedding night and how the dog carried secret letters during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror.
French Revolution dog breeds: which dogs lived through it
Learn which dog breeds and individual dogs lived through the French Revolution, from Marie Antoinette's spaniels to the sheepdogs of the Brie region.
Garmr in Norse mythology: the dog who guards the gates of death
Learn who Garmr is in Norse mythology, how he differs from the wolf Fenrir, and what the Poetic Edda says about his role at Ragnarok.
Gilded age dog breeds: which dogs the Victorians actually kept
Learn which dog breeds were fashionable in the gilded age, how Westminster and the AKC began, and which individual dogs from that era are still remembered.
Lap dogs of medieval ladies: pampered pets or status symbols
Learn what a medieval lap dog was, why noblewomen kept them, how they appear in art and tombs, and why some clergy objected to the practice.
Marie Antoinette's dogs: pugs, papillons, and one Leonberger
Learn which dogs Marie Antoinette really kept at Versailles, from a pug and papillon-type spaniels to a Leonberger, and which stories are later legend.
Medieval Europe dog breeds: what dogs looked like before standard
Learn how medieval Europe grouped dogs by job, not pedigree, and what greyhounds, mastiffs, and lapdogs meant before modern breed standards existed.
Napoleon and dogs: the pug, the battlefield, and the truth
Learn what Napoleon Bonaparte really thought of dogs, from Josephine's pug Fortuné's wedding-night bite to the dog that moved him to tears in battle.
Paratrooper dogs: the history of dogs who jumped into war
Learn how paratrooper dogs like Bing were trained, equipped, and used in the Second World War, and what became of them once the fighting ended.
Pharaoh hound history: from Egyptian myth to Maltese hound
Learn how the pharaoh hound got its name, what DNA studies reveal about its real origins in Malta, and how it became a recognised working breed.
Queen Victoria's dogs: the history of her royal companions
Learn how Queen Victoria's dogs, from her childhood spaniel Dash to her collies and Pomeranians, are remembered in history.
Roman war dogs: the Molossus in battle
Learn what ancient writers say about the Molossus, the Greek dog type Rome prized, and why its war-dog reputation is harder to prove than its guarding role.
Samurai dogs: the role of dogs in feudal Japan
Learn how dogs served as guards, hunters, and companions in samurai-era Japan, and how one shogun's laws reshaped their legal status for good.
Sergeant Stubby: the true story of America's war dog hero
Learn who Sergeant Stubby was, what he did in the trenches of World War One, and which parts of his famous story are confirmed by historians.
The Crusades dog breeds: which dogs went with knights on campaign
Learn what the sources actually say about dogs and the Crusades, from medieval mastiffs and alaunts to the myths later breeds built around them.
The history of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
Learn how the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show began in 1877, why it carries that name, and which dogs made history at America's oldest dog show.
The Laconian dog: Sparta's ancient hunting hound
Learn what ancient sources actually say about the Laconian dog, a hunting hound from Sparta, and why it is not a recognized modern breed.
Titian's dogs: the breeds and meaning behind his painted companions
Learn which dogs appear in Titian's paintings, from the sleeping lapdog in Venus of Urbino to the dog beside Charles V, and what they meant.
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi: Japan's 'dog shogun' and his laws
Learn who Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was, why Japan called him the dog shogun, and how his edicts to protect dogs shaped life in Edo-period Japan.
Top dog breeds of the 1920s: the decade's most popular dogs
Discover which dog breeds topped the charts in the 1920s, from the German Shepherd's rise with Rin Tin Tin to the Chow Chow's peak popularity.
Tudor dogs and Henry VIII: which breeds shared his court
Learn which dogs shared Henry VIII's court, how forest law shaped hunting with dogs, and what Tudor household records reveal about life at Hampton Court.
Tudor England dog breeds: which dogs the Tudors actually kept
Learn which dogs Tudor England actually kept, from mastiffs and spaniels to toy comforters, and how class and law shaped who could own them.