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The book was a nicely balanced discussion on the purpose of a dog with science, culture, and morals all taking their respective places.
We learn early on that the author might be "slightly" biased in that the dog on the cover is his dog Stella, a rescue mixed breed transferred from Tennessee to NYC, and to which he ascribes mostly lab characteristics. But who can blame any owner for feeling his/her own dog is special, yet he doesn't let this get in the way of the points he makes on science and the genetics.
The book is filled with a myriad of facts and statistics all nicely placed within the narrative, so as to render them part and parcel of each topic of discussion. I would like to give a few examples of the many offered as:
1. In 2010 the U.S. dog population totaled approximately 77 million, and increase of 24 million from just 1996. 2. This increase in population accounted for annual spending of about 38 Billion for pet food/supplies/care. 3. Almost all dog owners talk to their dogs [the ones who don't admit this are probably prevaricating] and almost 80% of the owners consider their dog a true member of the family. 4. Domestic dogs only vary from their genetic antecedents, the gray wolf, by only .2% of their DNA. 5. Dogs and wolves primarily differ in behavioral characteristics in that the wolf is far more independent of man than a dog. When trying to solve a problem a domesticated dog will normally look to his/her human companion for guidance while a wolf even one somewhat domesticated would not, as wolves will not make eye contact long enough, as that would be considered a challenge or threat to a wild animal. 6. Only 3 genes account for over 95% of the different types of fur on dogs. 7.Read more ›
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John Homans is not a "dog professional", but has done his research. His book somewhat reminds me of the excellent book, If Dogs Could Talk: Exploring the Canine Mind, by Vilmos Csanyi. Homans is insightful and raises good questions. He gives intelligent coverage to his variety of topics, going into the topics more deeply than other similar books on the topic that I have read. There has been a slew of books of this type in the last few years.
Much of the beginning of the book addresses dog cognition and related topics. As Homans states on page 45, "A central objective of the conference, and of much thinking in the dog world nowadays, is to address communication problems between dogs and people -- the kind of neurotic interchange that arises from radically different frames of reference." He goes in depth into the researchers and research on this, and passes on much info on the topic. It's a personable, easy to read, enjoyable coverage of many recent studies of dog cognition and human-dog interaction. He addresses the science of clicker training (which I have used to train my dog to an AKC obedience title), but sees that it is not the end all and be all of dog-human interaction, stating, "But I didn't necessarily believe I was reaching her whole brain - or rather, the parts that bonded us. She had other structures there too, ways of processing her world and reacting accordingly that click-treat didn't address. Her elaborate greeting, for instance, is a means not of asking for treats but of bonding with me."
Homan goes deep into the evolution of the dog from the wolf and the role of the dog-human relationship in the dog's evolution.Read more ›
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56 of 60 people found the following review helpful
"Canine science is intended to shed light not only on what makes dogs dogs but on what makes people people," says John Homans. What's a Dog For? reviews a wealth of canine science. Some of it pertains to wolves, the dog's genetic ancestor, but wolves don't necessarily tell us much about dogs, at least from a behavioral perspective. Some of it examines a dog's cognitive skills, including the ability to interpret human gestures. Some of it addresses the reasons people seek canine companionship. Dogs are a hedge against loneliness. Dogs are part of our families, but they also fill the gaps when our families disintegrate. When we gaze into a dog's eyes, our levels of oxytocin -- a hormone that promotes bonding and attachment --spike. Perhaps a dog's purpose is to sustain the mental health of dog lovers. While the health benefits of dog ownership are disputed, one study result stands out in my mind as being undeniably correct: dogs are better stress relievers than spouses.
We bestow honorary personhood upon dogs (at least the dogs we love), but are they entitled to it? The central question, according to Homans, is whether dogs, during the course of their long association with humans, have taken on human qualities. It's clear that dogs have developed communicative and cooperative abilities that surpass those of their ancestral wolves, but those abilities appear to be an outgrowth of tameness and are not necessarily unique to dogs (tame Siberian foxes, for instance, exhibit some of the same traits). But that may mean that dogs (and some other tame animals) are much like humans in this sense: they have evolved a capacity for cooperation that supplants the instinctive trait of competition.Read more ›
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This item: What's a Dog For?: The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man's Best Friend
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