Investigations of a Dog

"Investigations of a Dog" (German: "Forschungen eines Hundes") is a short story by Franz Kafka written in 1922. It was published posthumously in "Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer" (Berlin, 1931). Told from the perspective of a dog, the story concerns the nature and limits of knowledge, by way of the dog's inquiries into the practices of his culture. "Investigations of a Dog" was written in September and October 1922, soon after Kafka ended work on his unfinished novel "The Castle." Similar to other Kafka stories such as "A Report to an Academy," "Josephine the Singer," and "The Burrow," the protagonist is an animal.