Here’s a great value for you- a book written by John Bradshaw entitled Dog Sense: How the new science of dog behavior can make you a better friend to your pet. Lengthy title, and not a small book either, at 352 meaty pages. Seriously, I read some of the paragraphs twice to get all the information.
This is not the best book for the casual reader or the person casually interested in dogs. However, if you really want to delve into what makes your dog who they are and how they think, this is a great resource! Patricia McConnell recently did a review of this book too, but I wish she’d have waited until she read the whole book. Dog Sense does a wonderful job of delving into the science and research behind the canine we share our lives with. I loved how he included all the canines in his discussion, not just wolves, and I also really enjoyed his thoughts on how dogs descended from wolves, yes, but the wolves they descended from are no longer around to study. The wolves that are around are shyer than those that were around, because the friendly ones either became dogs or were hunted and killed off!
His argument against domination theory is impressive and basically air-tight. I was discussing this with another trainer, and we both agreed- that’s it for that theory! I’d highly recommend anyone interested in dominance theory to pick up the book, read his argument against it, and see if they don’t change their minds.
While there are some things I don’t completely buy into, the book makes sense, lays everything out in a fantastic format, and summarizes every topic at the end, which is great. I learned a ton reading this book, and there are some things I changed my views on because of his arguments, and others I solidified my views on.
To sum up: Excellent, excellent buy for the serious canine enthusiast or student of canine behavior! Anyone and everyone interested in canine behavior and training should read this book. I myself really need to buy a copy for my own library (the copy I read was loaned to me), as this is the type of book that I love to scribble little notes in and highlight information from (yes, I am that type of person!). Plus, at $15 and a half bucks on Amazon (right now), you really can’t go wrong!