What Is a Dog?

What Is a Dog?

Author: Raymond Coppinger

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2016-04-19

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 022635900X

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“An informative, well-written book on the evolution of all canids, including the wild types (wolves, coyotes, jackals, and dingoes)…Recommended.”—Choice Of the world’s dogs, fewer than two hundred million are pets, living with humans who provide food, shelter, squeaky toys, and fashionable sweaters. But roaming the planet are four times as many dogs who are their own masters—neighborhood dogs, dump dogs, mountain dogs. They are dogs, not companions, and these dogs, like pigeons or squirrels, are highly adapted scavengers who have evolved to fit particular niches in the vicinity of humans. This book present an eye-opening analysis of the evolution and adaptations of these unleashed dogs and what they can reveal about the species as a whole. Exploring the natural history of these animals, canine behavior experts Raymond and Lorna Coppingers explain how the village dogs of Vietnam, India, Africa, and Mexico are strikingly similar. These feral dogs, argue the Coppingers, are in fact the truly archetypal dogs, nearly uniform in size and shape and incredibly self-sufficient. Drawing on nearly five decades of research, they show how dogs actually domesticated themselves in order to become such efficient scavengers of human refuse. The Coppingers also examine the behavioral characteristics that enable dogs to live successfully and to reproduce, unconstrained by humans, in environments that we ordinarily do not think of as dog friendly. A fascinating exploration of what it actually means, genetically and behaviorally, to be a dog, What Is a Dog? is likely to change the way beagle or bulldog owners reflect on their four-legged friends.


Beloved Dog

Beloved Dog

Author: Maira Kalman

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2017-10-31

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 014310988X

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Maira Kalman, with wit and great sensitivity, reveals why dogs bring out the best in us Maira Kalman + Dogs = Bliss Dogs have lessons for us all. In Beloved Dog, renowned artist and author Maira Kalman illuminates our cherished companions as only she can. From the dogs lovingly illustrated in her acclaimed children’s books to the real-life pets who inspire her still, Kalman’s Beloved Dog is joyful, beautifully illustrated, and, as always, deeply philosophical. Here is Max Stravinsky, the dog poet of Oh-La-La (Max in Love)-fame, and her own Irish Wheaton Pete (almost named Einstein, until he revealed himself to be “clearly no Einstein”), who also made an appearance in the delightful What Pete Ate: From A to Z. And of course, there is Boganch, Kalman’s in-laws’ “big black slobbering Hungarian Beast.” And that’s just the beginning. With humor and intelligence, Kalman gives voice to the dogs she adores, noting that they are constant reminders that life reveals the best of itself when we live fully in the moment and extend unconditional love. “And it is very true,” she writes, “that the most tender, complicated, most generous part of our being blossoms without any effort, when it comes to the love of a dog.”


What It's Like to Be a Dog

What It's Like to Be a Dog

Author: Gregory Berns

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2017-09-05

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 0465096255

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"Dog lovers and neuroscientists should both read this important book." -- Dr. Temple Grandin What is it like to be a dog? A bat? Or a dolphin? To find out, neuroscientist and bestselling author Gregory Berns and his team did something nobody had ever attempted: they trained dogs to go into an MRI scanner -- completely awake -- so they could figure out what they think and feel. And dogs were just the beginning. In What It's Like to Be a Dog, Berns takes us into the minds of wild animals: sea lions who can learn to dance, dolphins who can see with sound, and even the now extinct Tasmanian tiger. Berns's latest scientific breakthroughs prove definitively that animals have feelings very much like we do -- a revelation that forces us to reconsider how we think about and treat animals. Written with insight, empathy, and humor, What It's Like to Be a Dog is the new manifesto for animal liberation of the twenty-first century.


Inside of a Dog

Inside of a Dog

Author: Alexandra Horowitz

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2010-02-18

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1847379575

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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.


What's a Dog For?

What's a Dog For?

Author: John Homans

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2013-10-29

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0143124129

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As dogs take their place as coddled family members and their numbers balloon to over 77 million in the United States alone, it’s no surprise that canine culture is undergoing a massive transformation. Now subject to many of the same questions of rights and ethics as people, the politics of dogs are more tumultuous and public than ever—with fierce moral battles raging over kill shelters, puppy mills, and breed standards. Incorporating interviews and research from scientists, activists, breeders, and trainers, What’s a Dog For? investigates how dogs have reached this exalted status, and why they hold such fascination for us humans.


How Dogs Work

How Dogs Work

Author: Raymond Coppinger

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2015-10-22

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 022632270X

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An “entertaining and informative” look at the evolutionary biology that explains canine behavior, with photos included (Lynette Hart, author of The Perfect Puppy). What actually drives dogs to do the things they do? What’s going on in their fur-covered heads as they look at us with their big, expressive eyes? Biologist Raymond Coppinger and cognitive scientist Mark Feinstein know something about these questions, and this is their guide to understanding your dog and its behavior. Approaching dogs as a biological species rather than just as pets, Coppinger and Feinstein distill decades of research and field experiments to explain in simple terms the evolutionary foundations underlying dog behaviors. They examine the central importance of the shape of dogs: how their physical body (including the genes and the brain) affects behavior, how shape interacts with the environment as animals grow, and how all of this has developed over time. Shape, they tell us, is what makes a champion sled dog or a Border collie that can successfully herd sheep. Other chapters explore such mysteries as why dogs play; whether dogs have minds, and if so what kinds of things they might know; why dogs bark; how dogs feed and forage; and the influence of the early relationship between mother and pup. Going far beyond the cozy lap dog, Coppinger and Feinstein are equally fascinated by what we can learn from the adaptations of dogs, wolves, coyotes, jackals, dingoes, and even pumas in the wild, as well as the behavior of working animals like guarding and herding dogs. Isn’t it time we knew more about who Fido and Trixie really are? How Dogs Work provides some keys to unlocking the origins of many of our dogs’ most common, most puzzling, and most endearing behaviors.


What Is a Dog?

What Is a Dog?

Author: Bobbie Kalman

Publisher: New York ; St. Catharines, Ont. : Crabtree Publishing Company

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 9780865059795

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Introduces different kinds of domestic dogs, their behavior, physiology, uses, diet, and young.


A Dog in the Cave

A Dog in the Cave

Author: Kay Frydenborg

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2017-03-14

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1328694909

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“A compelling look at the origins of and the ongoing unique relationship between humans and dogs . . . [a] lively blend of science and history.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) We know dogs are our best animal friends, but have you ever thought about what that might mean? Fossils show we’ve shared our work and homes with dogs for tens of thousands of years. Now there’s growing evidence that we influenced dogs’ evolution—and they, in turn, changed ours. Even more than our closest relatives, the apes, dogs are the species with whom we communicate best. Combining history, paleontology, biology, and cutting-edge medical science, Kay Frydenborg paints a picture of how two different species became deeply entwined—and how we coevolved into the species we are today. “Narrative nonfiction at its best—high interest and engaging, with meaty interdisciplinary science exploration. A top choice for tweens and teens.”—School Library Journal (starred review) “This narrative blend of history and science belongs on all shelves.”—Booklist (starred review) “A fascinating study of the ways in which a relationship with canines has been pivotal to humanity’s development . . . Sidebars and color photographs supplement and expand on the central narrative, which is all but certain to leave readers thinking about their dogs, and themselves, in entirely new ways.”—Publishers Weekly “Evident throughout [A Dog in the Cave] are the author’s passion and curiosity.”—The Horn Book


What the Dog Knows

What the Dog Knows

Author: Cat Warren

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-03-10

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1451667329

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Published in hardcover as What the dog knows: the science and wonder of working dogs by Simon & Schuster, New York, c2013.


Wet Dog

Wet Dog

Author: Sophie Gamand

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Published: 2015-10-13

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 1455531464

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An adorable and hilarious collection of dog photographs. Every dog owner knows too well the fun and misery of bath time: the wriggles, the poignant looks, the playful splashes. Wet Dog, by photographer Sophie Gamand, is a stunning and touching capture of this intimate moment. Elevating dog photography to the status of art, these expressive portraits of our canine friends mirror our very own human emotions.