Customer Reviews

How Dogs Think: What the World Looks Like to Them and Why They Act the Way They Do

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

In his usual thorough and "text-booky" approach, before he takes on the real question of how dogs think, Coren wants us to fully understand how information, used in the thought process, gets into the mind of the dog in the first place. To this end, he takes us on a detailed study of eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch. Many implications for animal trainers are strewn throughout the entire manuscript. Along the way, he imbeds other useful suggestions for dog owners on how to get finicky eaters to eat, how to test your elderly dog's eyesight and hearing and how to compensate for weaknesses that commonly afflict elderly dogs. He even addresses the question of whether dogs have a sixth sense that allows them to predict earthquakes or anticipate exactly when their master will arrive home. Yes, I love the way he puts this section together and, no, I won't divulge his conclusion.

Did I say "text-booky"? How Dogs Think has been very thoroughly researched with over 241 citations. It would make a fine text book as part of an extensive canine trainer certification program like that offered by the Animal Behavior College http://animalbehaviorcollege.com for example. Coren can be rather technical at times, using and defining terms like "invisible displacement test", "implicit", "explicit", "episodic", and "semantic" memory. Bottom line, it's his approach that's both the good and the bad about the book. While it's what I was looking for, it may not be what you are looking for.

Finally, on page 290 (with less than 10% left to read), Coren asks the real question: are dogs conscious and do they have a mind similar to our own? His conclusion, they are considerably different from us in degree but not really all that different in kind. For example, although not necessarily something to be proud of, he cites evidence that dogs do lie. I've seen that myself.

One cold winter evening, our two youngest dogs were lying by my feet taking up all the high priced real estate. Their mother, who generally staked her claim first, came in and found her favorite spot taken. Her next step was to walk out on the back porch and bark "something interesting is going on out here". < cite Coren > The young ones flew out to see what was going on and, while they were barking it up, mom came back in and lay at my feet.

Dogs are excellent keep-away players. How could this be so unless dogs are constantly working to figure out how we think? Empirical evidence says they play that complex game much better than we do. Coren's conclusion is that dogs understand how we think far better than we understand how they think. I'm willing to believe that.

He sites evidence that challenges many common beliefs. Dogs are not actually color blind but rather have eyes that evolution has optimized for hunting at dawn and dusk when color offers little survival advantage. Dogs learn very well from observation, particularly from watching humans. The "Theory of mind" actually does apply to dogs at least to some extent. This is so because the social brain of the dog is similar to that of a human in that both have evolved to solve social problems. Dogs can distinguish more from less, they can count, and even perform minimal addition. Finally, dogs can pass a very limited version of the Turing test.

Major author's message: dogs are much like we are. They are a little worse in some ways (dogs could never even come close to passing a eye test for a driver's license), but better in others (like hearing, smell, and seeing things in motion). Perhaps dogs don't so much think that they are people, but rather, think that we are dogs with some amazing strengths and some absolutely baffling weaknesses.

I have 3 beagles and often wonder why they behave they way they do. This book answered my questions and then some. It is chock-full of information and is written in a chatty style that is easy to read yet does not patronize. I learned a lot - for example, dogs don't see particularly well, which explains why my beagle looks so puzzled when I stand very still behind a window. I was so impressed with the book that I bought an extra copy for my vet, who loved it. Every dog lover should read this book.

This is an excellent book to give an overview of how dogs views the world as well as how that view compares to the view of humans. Dr. Cohen not only explains how dogs think but also how their senses work to perceive the world, again as compared to humans. The information is not just based on casual observations and anecdotal tales, although those are used, but also based on many laboratory studies over the years to give a good solid foundation.

This book is invaluable if you live with a dog, train dogs, work with dogs, or just love and admire dogs. I would consider this a must read for dog owners and especially trainers - after all you cannot teach if you don't understand how the mind receives and process the information you are trying get across. Dr. Cohen also does a beautiful job of dispelling many myths - like dogs don't see color - and provides the scientific proof to back it up.

Many of the studies used in this book go towards demonstrating how brilliant nature is in creating and how amazing the mind is - whether it is canine or primate!

As the owner of an established pet care business, and the parent of a rescue dog with severe aggression issues, I've read just about every book on dogs you can imagine. How To Speak Dog is without a doubt the single most informative and interesting book relating to dogs that I've ever read. Coren's detailed and precise explanation of canine body language has helped me aniticipate and prevent acts of aggression by my troubled dog a countless number of times; the book has opened my eyes to all the communicating our client's dogs have been doing with us and each other, and we've been able to resolve a number of behavioral issues with our clients simply because we are able to understand what the dog is telling us about why it does what it does. The book is also an enjoyable read; remarkably, Coren manages to make reading ultra detailed scientific information pleasant, not tedious. Every dog owner should have this book on their coffee table, and every dog professional should have it in a holster at their hip.

Fantastic Book! If you're a dog owner, dog lover or BOTH then this is the book for you. If you want to understand your dog like never before then do yourself a favour and purchase this book. It gives a wonderful incite through the dogs eyes how they see us and why they do certain things. This book certainly goes hand in hand with How to Speak Dog. A must read.

The author cites research of mine on deafness, but gets the facts about my research wrong and gets the reference citation wrong. Hopefully he does a better job with the other research he quotes.

Very interesting book. I know a lot about dogs, but it gave me several pieces of information that were new to me, and set the record straight on some other facts. Seems a little too thorough at the beginning if you expect training tips, but work through it and you will be rewarded with much more knowledge about the canines, which then leads to a better understanding and easier training. Can only recommend.

I have an 18 months old Westie, a dog known for it's independence and "having a mind of it's own". I am interested in understanding the thought process of my dog so as to understands her behavior.
The subject of the book is very well researched and well organized and well written. I learned a great deal from it and understand my dog's behavior much better.

Coren is a master of communication. His fluid style with easy to understand 'technical' terms, interspersed with some light hearted explanations and asides makes this book one of the very best for anyone with even a passing interest in dogs, how they think and how they interact.

Coren is undoubtedly one of the great Masters when it comes to the canine world and this, one of his many books ranks as one of his best.

The subjects covered here leave the reader with an incredibly clear insight into what every dog owner needs to and should know.

This is one of those books that should be on the shelf of every school library as the importance of understanding dogs in our society is so very much underestimated.

"How Dogs Think: What the World Looks Like to Them and Why They Act the Way They Do" offers one of those rare insights into "Man's best friend", that is a joy to have.

Read it and understand what goes on in "Fido's" mind and you will share a far better bond with your dog than you can imagine.

Reviewed by: Australian Canine Psychology Centre & Paws Are Us - Animal Behaviour Consultants.

This book makes so much sense. The author writes in language clearly understandable to laypersons, with lots of examples and cited studies. This book has answered a lot of the questions I have about what my dog is doing; what she senses; and what she might be thinking. The author shows how genetics and instinct translate from wolves and wild dogs all the way down to the cute little furballs we keep around our houses.