I'm only 160 pages in, but it's really enlightening so far. The author is a scientist (Animal Behavior) of 30 years, and a dog lover. It is not an easy read, as he uses a lot of scientific terms, but he explains everything well. It's also somewhat redundant, especially about how we can not base our interpretation of domestic dog behaviors on wolf behavior.

Definitely worth the read.

I'll post a full blown review when I am done.

Anyone else read it? Thoughts?

 Quote: David Winners

I'm only 160 pages in, but it's really enlightening so far. The author is a scientist (Animal Behavior) of 30 years, and a dog lover. It is not an easy read, as he uses a lot of scientific terms, but he explains everything well. It's also somewhat redundant, especially about how we can not base our interpretation of domestic dog behaviors on wolf behavior.

Definitely worth the read.

I'll post a full blown review when I am done.

Anyone else read it? Thoughts?

"Anyone else read it? "

Not yet, but I just ordered it on Amazon when I read your post.

$5.73! Less than Kindle!!

I think you will enjoy it Connie. I actually thought of you while reading.

And it's guaranteed to be here Saturday!

Free shipping!

How great is Amazon "Prime"?

I love Amazon, and my Kindle. I don't know what I was thinking when I left it back in Ohio. We have a great library on post, so I'm not short on reading materials.

I should have Dog Sense finished tomorrow. It is interesting to see how everything fits together. I never believed that dogs were wolves in Bichon clothing, but the book clearly explains how that theory is impossible. I have learned a lot from this book.

I'm interested in your opinion after you read it Connie, so please share

Hrmm... a dog book I don't have.

I also reccomend:

The Dog Who Loved Too Much: Tales, Treatments and the Psychology of Dogs - Nicholas Dodman (Very interesting stories!)

The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs - Patricia McConnell (Dog owners bible)

For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend - Patricia McConnell

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know - Alexandra Horowitz

The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior (Howell Reference Books)- Bruce Fogle, Anne B. Wilson

Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training - Karen Pryor

Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs - Suzanne Clothier

How To Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog-Human Communication - Stanley Coren

All of the books by Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D. are also good, though short. Turid Rugaas has a interesting insight in canine
body language.

If you have kids - Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle - Brian Dennis (Very cute story!)

Ok , I'll stop now.

"Dog Sense" by John Bradshaw has been on my list of books to read for a while now. (Ahh, so many books, so little time...) I seem to remember hearing a discussion with the author on NPR. In fact, I think we may have talked about it here on the board when it first came out. Thanks for reminding me of it!

 Quote: Ben McDonald

Hrmm... a dog book I don't have.

I also reccomend:

The Dog Who Loved Too Much: Tales, Treatments and the Psychology of Dogs - Nicholas Dodman (Very interesting stories!)

The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs - Patricia McConnell (Dog owners bible)

For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend - Patricia McConnell

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know - Alexandra Horowitz

The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior (Howell Reference Books)- Bruce Fogle, Anne B. Wilson

Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training - Karen Pryor

Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs - Suzanne Clothier

How To Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog-Human Communication - Stanley Coren

All of the books by Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D. are also good, though short. Turid Rugaas has a interesting insight in canine
body language.

If you have kids - Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle - Brian Dennis (Very cute story!)

Ok , I'll stop now.

Don't forget
http://leerburg.com/952.htm
http://leerburg.com/952a.htm
http://leerburg.com/952b.htm

It took me forever to get these (mostly with holiday and birthday LB gift certificates I demanded/begged over the years), but they are prized possessions.

All three are great, but the third one is just terrific. JMO!

I read Bradshaw's book over the winter. I think you guys have nailed what's good about this book, but there are a number of things that make me give this book a mediocre rating. I think he is too harsh on physical corrections and dismisses a whole school of thought with a straw-man argument. I tend to put this book in with Horowitz's Inside of a Dog, which does the same thing. I think the new 100% positive reinforcement thinking is not very productive, but I also think 100% negative is just as unproductive. What Bradshaw points out about dogs NOT being wolves is a good point that is well taken, but I think he misunderstands some wolf research. He says that all we know about wolves comes from studies of them in captivity, but I've read David Mech's Way of the Wolf (which is great) and he studied wolves in the wild and came to similar conclusions as wolves studied in captivity.

The only other big flaw is that in order to dismiss the wolf metaphor, Bradshaw and Horowitz cite studies of wild dog "packs." I think that's faulty research because, as Bradshaw points out, its not good research to study a wild wolf in captivity so I think it is equally not good to study a domesticated species in the wild. I think we still need studies of working and pet dogs instead of wild dogs.

Its worth reading, but I think the book dismisses pack structure and negative reinforcement too quickly. Am I just being nitpicky??? Or did you guys get this sense too? The more I think about it... the more I didn't really like this book! haha. Still a worthwhile read though.

I listened to the book on my iPhone and have gleaned many useful insights from it. What stood out for me was the long history of human-dog relationships, going back at least 10,000 years, and possibly longer. What that means to me is that our emotional/psychological evolution is much closer than we might assume if we are thinking of our dogs as 'baby wolves'.

I agree, there as been very little study of domestic dogs in domestic environments with their human companions. I think this would be a very interesting field of research. I wish someone would get at it! I am particularly interested in the ways we bond with our dogs, and our dogs bond with us, psychologically and emotionally. It seems to me, if we had a better understanding of the ways we build productive, healthy relationships with our dogs, we will have a much better sense of how to help our dogs modify their behaviour to succeed in our constantly evolving human societies.

I had problems with Bradshaw's adherence to positive only approaches, as that is not how we live our lives, nor how we learn. On the other hand, pain and punishment have not been shown to build healthy relationships, nor sustain change in attitude or behaviour. Clearly we need a more nuanced approach than historic practices of dominance through intimidation, or more recent oppositional reactions of positive-only.

My dog is my trainer, and I get other humans to help me learn what he is teaching me so I can help him succeed in my society. He gives me plenty of information, it is what I do with it that is of critical concern.