Cat Warren

What the Dog Knows is both a memoir of the author and her German shepherd dog and an interesting account into the lives of working dogs, particularly cadaver and police dogs. Whatever Warren and her husband were expecting when she went to collect her third German shepherd, what she got was not it. An only puppy, he had tons of energy and no sense of boundaries. It turns out that single puppies frequently have behavior problems because they lack any siblings to figure life out with. After all show more obedience training failed, she remembered a dog park acquaintance and began training him to be a cadaver dog: that is, a dog who searches for bodies. This marking the beginning of a new hobby/obsession for her and an outlet for him.

In the process of hearing Warren's story readers also learn a lot about dogs, what human science knows about dogs, and how police dogs are trained. I've lived with dogs my entire life (mostly setters and hounds) and I still learned a lot here. Perfect for anyone with an interest in dogs (particularly shepherds) or in the training and lives of working dogs. show less

Cat Warren's book covers the history of cadaver dogs from working dogs in general, especially military ones. Then, she chronicles her entrance into the career with her German shepherd pup Solo, a singleton. She explores the realities and mysteries of this art from detecting 800-year-old bodies and water-covered corpses (amazing!) to the landscape of courtroom standards, inadvertent cuing, and outright fraud including the case of internationally known handler who admitted she planted bones show more and other phony evidence at crime scenes across Michigan and Ohio. This was the case of Sandra Marie Anderson of Sanford and her Doberman-German shorthair dog, Eagle. The story ends with Cat committed to her career and the good that it is doing as Solo helps train a new worker. show less

What a fascinating book. The author adopted a dog who was an "only child" in its litter and thus not well socialized. But she found a niche for this dog as a cadaver dog and shares the experience and the knowledge she gained with the reader. It took dedication and hours of training for both Ms Warren and her dog Solo; she manages to convey both the rewards and tribulations they endured in a straight forward, unemotional manner.

Great book! Good amount of history, science and personal stories as she trains her dog to do cadaver work. I like these books like these because it gives you different insights into training. This one is in now on my list of favorite books on dogs. (At this point it is one of my 240 books on dogs of which I have read at least 140).