Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition (Oxford Biology) (Hardcover)

by Adam Miklosi (Author) "This book is about the biological study of dog behaviour, based on the programme summarized so clearly by Tinbergen in 1963..." (more)
Key Phrases: unselected foxes, recent wolves, extant wolves, North America, New World, Clever Hans (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Miklosi goes beyond summarizing experimental results to also comment and reflect on their meaning. The work is punctuated with segues that introduce conceptual and methodological questions. These thoughtful commentaries, as well as the occasional historical context provided, are among the highlights of the book."--Quarterly Review of Biology
"Dr. Miklosi uses a unique approach to studying the relationships of dogs and people and decribes canine behavior in the context of the convergent evolution of dogs with humans. This book fills a unique need in the field of behavioral science." -- Doody's Review Service


Product Description
This is the first book to collate and synthesise the recent burgeoning primary research literature on dog behaviour, evolution and cognition. The author presents a new ecological approach to the understanding of dog behaviour, demonstrating how dogs can be the subject of rigorous and productive scientific study without the need to confine them to a laboratory environment.
Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition starts with an overview of the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the study of the dog, followed by a brief description of their role in human society--almost a third of human families share their daily life with a dog! An evolutionary perspective is then introduced with a summary of current research into the process of domestication. The central part of the book is devoted to issues relating to the cognitive aspects of behavior which have received particular attention in recent years from both psychologists and ethologists. The book's final chapters introduce the reader to many novel approaches to dog behavior, set in the context of behavioral development and genetics.
Directions for future research are highlighted throughout the text which also incorporates links to human and primate research by drawing on homologies and analogies in both evolution and behavior. The book will therefore be of relevance and use to anyone with an interest in behavioral ecology including graduate students of animal behavior and cognition, as well as a more general audience of dog enthusiasts, biologists, psychologists and sociologists.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (February 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199295859
• ISBN-13: 978-0199295852
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #241,975 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Big Picture, January 18, 2009

By	James Webster "Jamesw2" (Birmingham Al) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Miklosi sees the big picture and recognizes that what we think we know about dog behavior is flawed and more research needs to be done. Scott- Fuller needs to be expanded upon and Pavlov needs to be looked at. Wolf behavior based training philosophy is flawed because of the way previous research was done. What is called babymorphism training philosophy needs more experiments. Miklosi calls "to develop behavioral models based on a different approach" Until this is done dog owners are on their own to devise their own ways to train and use dogs. That includes everything from using dogs as human food, in some cultures, to using dogs as child substitutes in other cultures.

The book is a wake up call to scientists around the world to accept the dog as a valid scientific research tool on behavior not as a animal behaviorally corrupted through domestication and living with humans. Living with humans dogs have found their niche.

1 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative but soporific, December 18, 2008

By	agnes bonaparte - See all my reviews

Very interesting, scientifically sound, somewhat dry. Every time I read it I started to fall asleep.