Before the era of “set it and forget it” countertop rotisserie ovens, kitchen gadgets required a lot more manpower—and if not manpower, then dogpower. The turnspit, a breed of dog dating for ...

The breed eventually died out around 1900 with the invention of a mechanized spit turner. It didn’t help ... preferred truffle hunter in Italy, any dog with a great sense of smell and ...

In England the practice was so common that a special breed was developed to handle this duty: a turnspit dog. Turnspits were short and stocky ... around 1900 with the invention of a mechanized spit ...