How Dogs Think: What the World Looks like to Them and Why They Act the Way They Do Book

This is a fascinating book! I actually finished reading it a few weeks ago and just haven't gotten around to writing about (sometimes the dissertation does have to take priority).

The book is written by Stanley Coren, Ph.D. Dr. Coren is a psychologist and member of the faculty at the University of British Columbia. He's a renowned and well-known expert on dog psychology and dog-human interactions.

At first, I was a little afraid the book would be something like the drivel that shows up on that Dog Whisperer show. But I was pleasantly surprised. It's a smart, informative and interesting read. Maybe that's because I'm a dog owner and lover as well as a psychologist. But I don't think anyone could read the book and not be impressed with the sensory and perceptual ability of dogs and the One who created them and all else.

The book spends a lot of time discussing the sensory systems and abilities of dogs. A chapter is committed to each of the five senses, all supported with solid empirical research and flavored with interesting anecdotes. For example, did you know young dogs have a heat-sensing ability in their noses that unfortunately disappears as they get older? It's how they find a warm mother when they are blind and deaf newborns.

The book also spends a lot of time discussing the evolution of dogs, paying particular attention to the ways humans of directed that evolution to serve our own purposes. Things like the incredible smelling abilities of hounds, rescue skills of St. Bernard's, the hunting prowess of dachshunds, and herding talents of the herd dogs are explained in evolutionary and genetic terms....all in an understandable way for those who aren't evolutionary psychologists or biologists.

If you're an animal enthusiast or an armchair psychologist, I think you'll like this book. At the very least, it'll fill your mind with lots of facts that might come in handy the next time you play Trivial Pursuit!