If Dogs Could Talk: Exploring the Canine Mind (Paperback)

by Vilmos Csanyi (Author), Richard E. Quandt (Translator) "Humans have coexisted for tens of thousands of years with a peculiar social predator descended from wolves, namely the dog..." (more)
Key Phrases: Seeing Eye, Parrot That Understands Words, Department of Ethology (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this intriguing book, Hungarian ethologist Csányi approaches the question of canine sentience using more science and less wishful thinking than one usually finds in the pet section of the bookstore. "Individual dog stories or anecdotes must be handled with considerable care when we want scientific proof," he warns. Even with this in mind, however, Csányi is most willing to see intelligence in his own beloved dogs, Flip and Jerry, who romp through the pages in charming anecdotes. So how smart are dogs, really? "The average dog living in a human environment understands at least forty to fifty expressions... and is able to act appropriately even in complicated situations." Csányi draws parallels between human and canine evolution in terms of reasoning ability, visual observations and other brain functions. Just as in early humans, individual bonding and group dynamics are the emotional and intellectual drivers for dogs, Csányi notes—a fact that will come as no surprise to pet owners. He demonstrates that dogs can imitate us, feel emotions, cooperate and obey commands, but he follows Darwin in recommending that we not assign morals to animal behaviors. Dogs will develop morals when they develop speech, he says, and he's actually quite enthusiastic about the prospect, going so far as to recommend a breeding program to produce talking dogs. Illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
This book by canine ethologist Csanyi has been popular in his native Hungary and is now translated for American readers. As the author points out, canine ethologists must also have familiarity with human behavior, as the natural environment of the dog is human society. To be successful, the proto-dog had to develop the ability to understand and empathize with what humans expected of it, and these basic intellectual skills were honed and refined over the thousands of years that dogs have been domesticated. The author substantiates this alliance of two minds, as he calls it, with synopses of his own research, the findings of other scientists, and anecdotes from the behavior of his own dogs and other pet dogs. Csanyi is a careful scientist, but also a dog lover, and his attention to the coevolution of human and dog behavior provides a very different view of dogs from what is found in standard dog books. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: North Point Press (December 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865477299
• ISBN-13: 978-0865477292
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #358,060 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Information -- Thought Provoking, March 13, 2008

By	Nico James (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Mostly, "If Dogs Could Talk" is book which explores many aspects of how to approach the complex issues that surround studying what dogs might be thinking and feeling. Csanyi is Hungarian, and one of the world's foremost ethologists studying canine behavior. The book is well-translated, in that it is quite readable, in spite of its many challenges.

By far, the most exciting aspect of the book concerns the examples of his own and other dogs he has known. I found that I learned to think about dogs and their behavior in wholly new ways: what they might be trying to "say" to me through their physical indications -- this was the most valuable aspect of the book for me.

On the flip side, Csanyi is dismissive in his discussion of some of the most famous ethology work done with primates and birds. I suspect that this negativity, though it is not overtly stated, seems to stem from the time that the study of individual animals takes in these cases, and that only many trials with many subjects yields real data. However, he might have explored his bias rather than diminishing the work of others and had a much better outcome.

One of the other Amazon reviewers said that even with its problems, he learned so much more than from reading anything else he had to give this book a high rating, and after all my reservations, I agree with him.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, March 28, 2005

By	D "D" (Davis, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Dogs Could Talk: Exploring the Canine Mind (Hardcover)

Learned a great deal about the mental abilities of dogs. The book gets into great detail with experiments that are not easy to follow for the non-science reader. I gave it 5 stars because I learned so much more from this book than anywhere else.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Facts, but quite a few crazy ideas too., January 5, 2008

By	Dwayne A. Wolters (idaho) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think it has REALLY good facts, but could be better. If you want to learn about canine behavior facts, this is really good for you to read. It has a lot of author opinions and a little crazy ideas. But overall worth your time in reading.