# NC
Own in hardback.

Paleontologists provide us with an interesting insight. They tell us that as far back as 14,000 years ago, a Stone Age man was sitting next to a fire. He was looking at an animal that, if we were to see it today, we would easily recognize as a dog. This shows the long history of the relationship between humans and dogs.

However, there is a caution to be noted. Although dogs may possess fine mental abilities and precise thought processes, we cannot assume that just because a dog and a human reach the same conclusion, the dog arrived at that conclusion in the same way as a human. We must be careful not to anthropomorphize dogs and assume that their thought processes are exactly the same as ours. While dogs may be intelligent and capable of learning and understanding, their way of thinking may be different due to their unique evolutionary history and biology.

#
NC
Own in hardback.

FS: \\"Paleontologists tell us that 14,000 years ago a Stone Age man sat next to a fire looking at an animal that we would readily recognize as a dog if we were to see it now.\\"

FS: \\"The caution is clear: Although dogs may have fine mental abilities and precise thought processes, just because a dog and a human reach the same conclusion does not mean that the dog arrived there by thinking in the same way that a human does.\\"

A must-read for every dog lover or dog owner! It is packed with information and should actually be compulsory reading for dog owners, although I understand that many people will probably find it difficult to get through this information-rich book. There are an incredibly large number of studies used, interspersed with nice anecdotes. Despite his enthusiasm for the dog, Coren remains scientific and critical (as a behavioural scientist should). The book slowly goes through all the senses of the dog (how do they see, how do they hear? etc), then deals with how dogs (and humans) learn and finally the big question of whether a dog has "consciousness" is addressed (Coren's answer: in many ways, "yes"). I think that last question is anyway a very interesting one, because philosophy here strongly touches on biology, because what is consciousness? How do you define it? And how do you prove it? It's great to add this book to the series of books I have already read that deal with this subject.

Dogs aren't color blind.

They actually have 2/3 of the cones that humans have. This means they can distinguish certain colors, such as blue from a field of grass. However, they have difficulty distinguishing red or orange.

Dogs have genetically evolved to be much closer to humans than their ancestors. It is inaccurate to simply say "It's just a dog" as there is scientific basis to support the idea that they possess human-like qualities.

Interestingly, it was only relatively recently, in the 1990s, that the public became better informed about this.

Plato was more accurate on this subject than the common person in the 1800s.

However, things took a wrong turn for dogs when Descartes contributed an uninformed perspective on the subject of dog intelligence and emotions.

Caveat: I have two very intelligent and sensitive dogs, a rescue herding mix and a Labrador retriever. Naturally, I am inclined towards information that confirms my personal bias.

For those who believe everything the Dog Whisperer, Caesar Milan, says, it is advisable to take it with a grain of salt. I used to think he was the ultimate authority and still appreciate his shows, but some of his ideas may be a bit off the mark.

I absolutely adored this book!

Every single page was filled to the brim with fascinating information about dogs. The majority of it was completely new to me, presented in a delightfully fun style with real-life stories.

The amount of research that went into writing this book is truly remarkable. Stanley Coren is highly respected in the field of dog studies, and as an author, he has a unique ability to convey the information in an engaging and entertaining way.

This book is an absolute must-read for anyone who is considering getting a dog, those who are already dog owners, or even for people like me who simply love dogs and are eager to learn more about how they think and function.

It's definitely a five-star book!