Cary Neeper's Blog: Reviewing World-changing Nonfiction - Posts Tagged "dogs"

Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words by John W. Pilley with Hilary Hinzmann, New York, Houghton Mifflin, 2014.

Retired psychology professor John Pilley treats us to a personal story that includes a detailed accounting of how he used play and enthusiastic praise to train a border collie pup to pick out toys by name, to recognize when an addition was made by its new name, and to act on short requests like "To Pop-Pop (Pilley), take Big Ball."

We learn how to train a puppy, how to stretch the abilities of a talented youngster, and to keep engaged an older dog eager to learn something new and able to invent her own games. The book is a delight to read, while we are engaged in enough detail to carry away with us lessons learned—not only about training details, but about sensing a dog's mental state.

We also have an insiders view of problems faced and solved in getting published by scientific journals, then on handling fame and high demand when the news of Chaser's large vocabulary goes viral. The list of 1000+ names remembered is added to the back of the book. The word Genius is well-deserved by both dog and trainer, for Pilley's dedication to detail and timing and repetition and careful wording is certainly responsible for Chaser's enthusiasm and accurate performance.

Pilley joins the many current authors like de Waals who have recognized that we humans are not alone in our appreciation of animal sentience. How difficult it has been to overcome the statement of Rene Descartes, 17th century mathematician and philosopher: "...nonhuman animals cannot reason or feel but are...machines made out of meat." We have good evidence to the contrary, and our behavior is beginning to change, thanks to the dedication of ethologists like John Pilley.

Talking to Animals: How You Can Understand Animals and They Can Understand You by Jan Katz, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2017

This book could have been entitled“Listening to Animals’ Body Language.” The author shares his life experience, while dealing with both drugs and farm animals, to tell us“how you can “Understand Animals and They Can Understand You,” (the subtitle).

Katz’s introduction is riveting and central to his message.What would his new dog do now, on their evening walk through the wood? What should they both do, as three coyotes stood in their path?

When the dog began to step forward, Katz said “Stay” and let his instincts take over. He told himself to “think strength, feel strong.”

The dog reacted by standing her ground with him. She growled, then whined,but she did not move. Though terrified, Katz realized the coyotes were soon gone, probably off to get an easier meal.

The rest of the book describes how Katz “cultivated with many different animals a similar dialog” by being aware of their needs and mental state. Their reactions, their demeanor and their obvious physical messages are the way they communicate.

This book is a good read, a rich reminder of how we should be more open to our pets’ body languages.