Combining heroic stories of dogs with the latest scientific and psychological information, this book has provoked controversy with its lists that rank more than 100 breeds and its exciting new insights into the thoughts, emotions, and inner lives of dogs.
Chaser has a way with words. She knows over a thousand of them—more than any other animal of any species except humans. In addition to common nouns like house, ball, and tree, she has memorized the names of more than one thousand toys and can retrieve any of them on command. Based on that learning, she and her owner and trainer, retired psychologist John Pilley, have moved on to further impressive feats, demonstrating her ability to understand sentences with multiple elements of grammar and to learn new behaviors by imitation. John’s ingenuity and tenacity as a researcher are as impressive as Chaser’s accomplishments. His groundbreaking approach has opened the door to a new understanding of animal intelligence, one that requires us to reconsider what actually goes on in a dog’s mind. Chaser’s achievements reveal her use of deductive reasoning and complex problem-solving skills to address novel challenges. Yet astonishingly, Chaser isn’t unique. John’s training methods can be adopted by any dog lover. Through the poignant story of how he trained Chaser, raised her as a member of the Pilley family, and proved her abilities to the scientific community, he reveals the positive impact of incorporating learning into play and more effectively channeling a dog’s natural drives. John’s work with Chaser offers a fresh perspective on what’s possible in the relationship between a dog and a human. His story points us toward a new way of relating to our canine companions that takes into account our evolving understanding of the way animals and humans learn.
The perfect gift for dog lovers and readers of Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz—this New York Times bestseller offers mesmerizing insights into the thoughts and lives of our smartest and most beloved pets. Does your dog feel guilt? Is she pretending she can't hear you? Does she want affection—or just your sandwich? In their New York Times bestselling book The Genius of Dogs, husband and wife team Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods lay out landmark discoveries from the Duke Canine Cognition Center and other research facilities around the world to reveal how your dog thinks and how we humans can have even deeper relationships with our best four-legged friends. Breakthroughs in cognitive science have proven dogs have a kind of genius for getting along with people that is unique in the animal kingdom. This dog genius revolution is transforming how we live and work with dogs of all breeds, and what it means for you in your daily life with your canine friend.
#1 New York Times Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations. FROM THE PUBLISHER: Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices. This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written. Brosh’s debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to. FROM THE AUTHOR: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative—like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it—but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book: Pictures Words Stories about things that happened to me Stories about things that happened to other people because of me Eight billion dollars* Stories about dogs The secret to eternal happiness* *These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!
In a conversational Q&A format, a leading dog expert answers the most commonly asked questions about how dogs think and act. Do dogs dream? Can they recognize themselves in the mirror or understand what they’re seeing on television? Are they more intelligent than cats? People have a great curiosity—and many misunderstandings—about how dogs think, act, and perceive the world. They also wonder about the social and emotional lives of dogs. Stanley Coren brings decades of scientific research on dogs to bear in his unprecedented foray into the inner lives of our canine companions, dispelling many common myths in the process. Coren answers the questions dog owners have most frequently asked during his nearly fifty-year career as a dog researcher, combining the authority of an expert with the delivery of a guest at a cocktail party.
A pioneering canine behaviorist draws on cutting-edge research to show that a single, simple trait--the capacity to love--is what makes dogs such perfect companions for humans, and to explain how people can better reciprocate their affection.affection.
Our understanding of how dogs think is littered with common misconceptions about the extent of their intellect and how they make sense of the world around them. How Dogs Think unravels the mystery of what a dog can understand and how much dogs can learn. World-renowned dog expert Stanley Coren explores the thought processes of dogs, describes how dogs solve problems, explains the depths and limits of their thinking and examines the kind of concepts which dogs can and cannot deal with. Along with practical advice for people who want to improve their dog's learning ability and working intelligence, How Dogs Think will answer such questions as: Do dogs have a notion of time? To what extent do dogs understand what you say? How sharp are their senses? What do they see and hear? Do dogs have a sense of music, humour, empathy, guilt or love? Do they learn by observation the way that people do? How much can they remember? Do dogs have ESP or the ability to predict earthquakes, and is it true that they can detect cancer or the onset of an epileptic fit in their owners? Drawing on all the latest scientific research, How Dogs Think will enable dog owners everywhere to understand more about what goes on in the mind of their best friend.
Communication is crucial in any relationship - especially when one of you happens to be a dog. Drawing on substantial research in animal behaviour, Stanley Coren demonstrates that the average house dog can distinguish at least 140 words and can interact at a level approaching that of a human two-year-old. While actual conversation of the sort Lassie seemed capable of in Hollywood myth-making remains in the realm of fantasy, this book shows us that a great deal of real communication is possible between humans and dogs beyond the simple giving and obeying of commands. How to Speak Dog not only explains the sounds, words, actions and movements which will help owners to communicate most effectively with their dogs; it also deciphers the signs and signals our dogs are giving to us. With easy-to-follow tips on how humans can mimic the language dogs use to talk to one another, original drawings illustrating the subleties of canine body language and a handy visual glossary, How to Speak Dog gives dog lovers a whole new range of essential skills with which to improve their relationship with their dogs.
As an unabashed dog lover, Alexandra Horowitz is naturally curious about what her dog thinks and what she knows. As a cognitive scientist she is intent on understanding the minds of animals who cannot say what they know or feel. This is a fresh look at the world of dogs -- from the dog's point of view. The book introduces the reader to the science of the dog -- their perceptual and cognitive Abilities -- and uses that introduction to draw a picture of what it might be like to bea dog. It answers questions no other dog book can -- such as: What is a dog's sense of time? Does she miss me? Want friends? Know when she's been bad? Horowitz's journey, and the insights she uncovered from studying her own dog, Pumpernickel, allowed her to understand her dog better, and appreciate her more through that understanding. The reader will be able to do the same with their own dog. This is not another dog training book. Instead, Inside of a Dogwill allow dog owners to look at their pets' behaviour in a different, and revealing light, enabling them to understand their dogs and enjoy their relationship even more.
The bestselling author of "The Intelligence of Dogs" now presents a charmingly illustrated gift book filled with little-known facts and folklore about all breeds of dogs--and what they really think about all day.