Stanley Coren

I've known of Dr. Coren's research into the intelligence of dogs for a long time. That knowledge came from articles and interviews and at least one other of his books, The Intelligence of Dogs. I have always found him to be an excellent communicator but in this book I learned much more about the man than just his research and communication skills.

Although this book is subtitled "My Adventures with an Irrepressible and Unforgettable Dog" Dr. Coren introduces us to a number of dogs who have show more shared his life. But it was his Cairn terrier Flint, a gift from the woman who would become his wife, who seemed to capture his heart. I imagine most dog lovers would say that although they owned a number of dogs in their lifetime there was one special dog for them. For me, the Border Collie that inspired my screen name was that dog. So I could really relate to Coren's bond with Flint. Flint wasn't a perfect dog; certainly Coren's wife Joan would testify to that. Dr. Coren had to use all his skills of behaviour modification to allow Flint and Joan to coexist in the same house. Despite the reputation that terriers have for being difficult to train Flint passed obedience trials of increasing difficulty. However, that process did involve a lot of work and patience and ingenuity. I am in awe of Dr. Coren's ability to "think like a dog" in order to get Flint to do these exercises.

I probably should have read this book long ago in order to train some of my own dogs better. Maybe it's not too late for our current pooch! show less

Coren very systematically looks at the "language" of dogs- how well they understand spoken human words and human gestures, or can be trained to do so. What the wide variety of sounds they make specifically mean, plus all the different uses of body language, and the combinations thereof- which can vary meaning and nuance more than I had realized. How cross-communication works, why cats and dogs are classic enemies (many of their basic body signals mean opposite things). How dogs communicate show more with scent (hilarious story in here about a man who tried urinating around his wife's flower bed to deter neighborhood dogs from digging in it). He uses scientific studies, personal observations and carefully examined anecdotes to demonstrate the discussed communications (or miscommunications, as it were). Even points out why some methods used by humans to dominate their dogs, or teach them who's "leader of the pack" such as flipping a dog forcefully on its back or biting it on the nose (!) are misguided and won't get the result you want. Through it all there are interesting passages on the evolution of dogs, comparison of dogs to wolves, comparison of dog intelligence to that of children (about equal to a two-year-old's, although their concerns with social status and the doings of other dogs are more adult in nature), descriptions of studies on animal intelligence and communication with other species.

To sum it all up- yes, dogs have their own form of language. They understand a lot, and can read incredibly subtle body language... I was surprised at how many kinds of dog expression are often misunderstood by humans... Fascinating stuff. A book I think every dog owner should read.

from the Dogear Diary show less

As a dog lover I found this book highly entertaining, informative, rewarding, enlightening, and renewing. As a retired history teacher and wanna-be archaeologist/anthropologist, I have often concluded that there developed in our evolutionary past three distinct branches of human beings. These being homo sapien sapien, homo sapien neanderthal, and homo sapien canine :). So I found it especially interesting that early in the book the author, Stanley Coren, mentions a theory that our show more domestication of dogs might have been far earlier than commonly accepted. Perhaps as far back as 100,000 years ago. And because of this early date, we relied more and more on their smelling and tracking skills for the hunt than our own, which allowed our early human ancestors to evolve different facial features which resulted in the ability to form complex speech patterns. Our other human ancestors, Neanderthal, never developed a relationship with dogs, and they disappeared! (pp. 17-19). Could it be we owe our very survival to our domestication of dogs? show less

Sometimes I think I was the last American southpaw to be forced in kintegarten to be forced to write right-handed. I have met others that went through it. But, I recall being the only one in my class and I've never met anyone younger than I that went through it. It means I will never forget the name of that insistent teacher: Mrs. Cole. So, I thought from the title maybe this was related to that. Forcing right-handedness on students is really a footnote to the main thrust of this book: show more left-handedness as a deadly pathology. That is, birth stressors causing left-handedness land the person in a world of dangerous right-handed power tools and carrying the seeds of destruction from those same stressors so that when 10% or so children are lefties, but only something like 0.5% of octogenarians. Apparently, Coren's research was quite controversial back in the day and I suppose if it were as widely read now it'd be at least as controversial as the bell curve. Some of the minor facts are real groaners, like suggesting the etymology of "footman" is from Roman servants posted to observe that the propitious foot leads into the house, etc. So, that makes me have to take with a grain of salt what I am not taking the time to research. Still, as science writing for a popular audience, I greatly appreciate the author's success is engaging, clear material distilled from many studies and research. show less