Do Dogs Dream?: Nearly Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know Book

Preface xiii

Part 1 How Do Dogs Perceive the World?

Do Dogs See Colors? 3

How Good Is a Dog's Vision? 6

Why Do Dogs' Eyes Glow in the Dark? 9

Do Dogs Understand What They See on Television? 12

How Do You Test a Dog's Hearing? 15

Compared to a Human, How Good Is a Dog's Hearing? 18

How Sensitive Is a Dog's Sense of Smell? 22

Do Some Dog Breeds Have Better Noses Than Others? 25

Can Dogs Detect Cancer? 27

How Good Is a Dog's Sense of Taste? 31

Why Do Dogs Have Whiskers? 35

Do Dogs Sense Pain the Way Humans Do? 38

Do Dogs Recognize Themselves in a Mirror? 42

Part 2 Do Dogs Really Think and Have Feelings?

Do Dogs Have the Same Emotions That People Have? 49

Does Genetics Determine a Dog's Personality? 53

Why Are Some Dogs So Anxious and Fearful? 56

What Signs Indicate That a Dog Is Aggressive? 60

Are Some Dog Breeds More Aggressive Than Others? 63

Do Dogs Feel Jealousy and Envy? 67

Can a Dog Really Suffer from Depression? 71

Can Dogs Laugh? 74

Do Dogs Know Mathematics? 77

Do Dogs Have a Sense of Music? 81

Do Dogs Have ESP Abilities? 85

Do Dogs Dream? 89

Can You Make Your Dog More Intelligent? 92

Part 3 How Do Dogs Communicate?

What Are Dogs Trying to Say When They Bark? 99

Why Do Dogs Bark, and What Can We Do about It? 103

What Does a Wagging Tail Mean? 106

Why Are Some Dogs' Tails Docked? 110

Why Do Dogs Howl? 114

What's the Difference between Howling and Baying? 117

Does a Howling Dog Mean That Someone Is About to Die? 120

Do Dogs Really Use Urine to Communicate Information? 123

Why Do Some Male Dogs Lift Their Legs to Urinate? 126

Why Do Dogs Like to Sniff Crotches? 129

Why Does My Neutered Dog Mount Other Dogs? 132

Why Do Dogs Roll in Garbage, Manure, and Other Smelly Stuff? 136

Why Do Dogs Touch Noses? 139

How Well Do Dogs Understand Human Body Language and Communication Signals? 142

Part 4 How Do Dogs Learn?

Compared to Other Animals, How Smart Are Dogs? 149

Are Some Dog Breeds More Intelligent Than Others? 153

Which Works Better-Reward Training or Discipline-Based Training? 159

What Is Clicker Training? 164

What Is Behavior Capture? 168

What Is Lure Training? 172

What Is Physical Prompting? 176

What Is Shaping? 179

What Are the Limits of Canine Learning? 184

Part 5 Is There Something Special About Puppies and Old Dogs?

How Are Puppies Created? 191

Why Are the Pups in Some Litters So Dissimilar and Mismatched? 195

Why Are Puppies Born with Their Eyes and Ears Closed? 198

Why Do Puppies' Eyes Start Out Blue? 201

Why Do Puppies Sleep in a Pile? 203

Why Do Some Puppies Go Limp When You Pick Them Up? 205

Why Do Mother Dogs Clean Up after Their Puppies for the First Few Weeks? 207

How Old Is Your Dog? 210

Can Old Dogs Develop Alzheimer's Disease? 213

Part 6 What Else Does My Dog Want Me To Know?

Are Dogs Just Tame Wolves? 221

Are There More Wolves Than Dogs? 224

How Many Dogs Are There in the World? 226

Why Are There So Many Dogs in the World? 229

What Is a Hound? 232

Which Are the Heaviest, Lightest, Tallest, Shortest Dogs? 235

How Many Dog Breeds Are There? 238

Could Dogs Be the Fastest Land Animals in the World? 250

Do Dogs Sweat? 253

Why Do Dogs Sometimes Sleep on Their Backs? 256

Why Do Dogs Have Dewclaws? 258

If a Dog Licks My Cut or Wound, Will It Heal Faster? 261

Why Do Dogs Love Bones? 265

Can My Dog Make Me Healthier? 269

Selected Bibliography and Suggestions for Further Reading 273

Index 279