First published under the pseudonym Robert Calder in 1977, and then as a Dell paperback in 1978, The Dogs appears to be a 1970s animals-on-the-rampage novel. In scarcely 200 pages, the story includes secret government programs; a classic anti-hero protagonist with a shady past; sexual escapades; and a portrayal of a canine hero, Orph, a government-bred super dog.