What do you think?
Rate this book
Chaser
Chaser has a way with words. She knows over a thousand of them—more than any other animal of any species except humans. In addition to common nouns like house, ball, and tree, she has memorised the names of more than one thousand toys and can retrieve any of them on command. Based on that learning, she and her owner and trainer, retired psychologist John Pilley, have moved on to further impressive feats, demonstrating her ability to understand sentences with multiple elements of grammar and to learn new behaviours by imitation.
John’s ingenuity and tenacity as a researcher are as impressive as Chaser’s accomplishments. His groundbreaking approach has opened the door to a new understanding of animal intelligence, one that requires us to reconsider what actually goes on in a dog’s mind. Chaser’s achievements reveal her use of deductive reasoning and complex problem-solving skills to address novel challenges.
Yet astonishingly, Chaser isn’t unique. John’s training methods can be adopted by any dog lover. Through the poignant story of how he trained Chaser, raised her as a member of the Pilley family, and proved her abilities to the scientific community, he reveals the positive impact of incorporating learning into play and more effectively channeling a dog’s natural drives.
John’s work with Chaser offers a fresh perspective on what’s possible in the relationship between a dog and a human. His story points us toward a new way of relating to our canine companions that takes into account our evolving understanding of the way animals and humans learn.
John’s ingenuity and tenacity as a researcher are as impressive as Chaser’s accomplishments. His groundbreaking approach has opened the door to a new understanding of animal intelligence, one that requires us to reconsider what actually goes on in a dog’s mind. Chaser’s achievements reveal her use of deductive reasoning and complex problem-solving skills to address novel challenges.
Yet astonishingly, Chaser isn’t unique. John’s training methods can be adopted by any dog lover. Through the poignant story of how he trained Chaser, raised her as a member of the Pilley family, and proved her abilities to the scientific community, he reveals the positive impact of incorporating learning into play and more effectively channeling a dog’s natural drives.
John’s work with Chaser offers a fresh perspective on what’s possible in the relationship between a dog and a human. His story points us toward a new way of relating to our canine companions that takes into account our evolving understanding of the way animals and humans learn.
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2013
544 people are currently reading
2150 people want to read
About the author
John W. Pilley
2 books17 followersJOHN W. PILLEY is an emeritus professor of psychology at Wofford College. He has been working with Chaser since 2004 and has published the findings from their work in the journal Behavioural Processes.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
August 29, 2023
This beautiful story was loaned to me by a friend.
It is an amazing story of a very smart Border collie who redefined animal intelligence.
And even more poignant is that Chaser just recently passed over the Rainbow Bridge – so we can only hope that this story can also hold teaching tools for those interested in working with their dogs in this way.
Chaser knew the names of over one thousand of her toys. She could fetch them, paw at them or nose them on command- by others too, not just her dad/trainer.
This is the story of how Dr. Pilley (who has since passed on), as a retired psychology professor trained and tested Chaser.
But even with all her smarts, the most important thing was that she was a beloved pet. For those who don’t think dogs have feelings or smarts, Chaser proves there is more to dogs than a wagging tail or a wiggly butt.
It is an amazing story of a very smart Border collie who redefined animal intelligence.
And even more poignant is that Chaser just recently passed over the Rainbow Bridge – so we can only hope that this story can also hold teaching tools for those interested in working with their dogs in this way.
Chaser knew the names of over one thousand of her toys. She could fetch them, paw at them or nose them on command- by others too, not just her dad/trainer.
This is the story of how Dr. Pilley (who has since passed on), as a retired psychology professor trained and tested Chaser.
But even with all her smarts, the most important thing was that she was a beloved pet. For those who don’t think dogs have feelings or smarts, Chaser proves there is more to dogs than a wagging tail or a wiggly butt.
May 20, 2024
Chaser by John W.Pilley with Hilary Hinzman is a fascinating and joyful read. I saw a snippet of his work with Chaser on You-Tube and had to get the book from the library. Chaser is a Border Collie who knows over 1,000 words and understands sentences with multiple elements.The story is amazing and I am so glad to have read all about Chaser and John Pilley’s wok together. Enjoy!!
December 5, 2013
John Pilley uses old-school psychology to train his border collie in Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words, co-authored with Hilary Hinzmann. What a coincidence that the methods he uses, based on his experience as a professor of human psychology, look a lot like force-free dog training!
With one exception: Like Ted Kerasote in Merle’s Door, Pilley turns to an aversive method to curb Chaser’s “chase drive.” While Kerasote used a shock collar, Pilley uses a mighty jerk of a long line and a stern “No.” It’s hard for me to say these techniques are wrong, wrong, wrong, because as far as reported, they prevented the dogs from chasing things, and neither Merle nor Chaser developed aggressive or fearful tendencies as a result. I can say that knowing what I now know, I would never use either method on a dog.
Otherwise, the book is a joy to read. I love that this retired professor refers to himself as Chaser’s “Pop Pop” (because that’s what his grandson calls him). Throughout, Pilley emphasizes how much fun it is for Chaser to learn new words. He turns down an offer to let another scientist work with her, which would have meant more academic acclaim, because that would mean having Chaser live with someone else temporarily. Above all, Chaser is a family dog.
When Chaser appears on the Today Show, Pilley feels bad that Chaser doesn’t have a chance to play with her toys after fetching them by name for Matt Lauer. Chaser is supposed to get to play with her toys as her reward for fetching the right toy.
I’ve heard dog trainers brag about how many words their dogs know. How do they really know? I wondered. Beyond their names and basic obedience commands, most dogs know “outside” or “walk” or “dinner,” but how do you keep track of the number of words? Pilley set about it scientifically, by giving each toy a unique name. He has a list of 1,022 different toy names that Chaser understands. He also teaches her categories of words: she knows a racquetball by its name “Blue,” and also knows that it is a “toy” and a “ball.”
Pilley works with Chaser for hours a day. With that much dedication, I bet any dog of above average intelligence could learn quite a few words.
With one exception: Like Ted Kerasote in Merle’s Door, Pilley turns to an aversive method to curb Chaser’s “chase drive.” While Kerasote used a shock collar, Pilley uses a mighty jerk of a long line and a stern “No.” It’s hard for me to say these techniques are wrong, wrong, wrong, because as far as reported, they prevented the dogs from chasing things, and neither Merle nor Chaser developed aggressive or fearful tendencies as a result. I can say that knowing what I now know, I would never use either method on a dog.
Otherwise, the book is a joy to read. I love that this retired professor refers to himself as Chaser’s “Pop Pop” (because that’s what his grandson calls him). Throughout, Pilley emphasizes how much fun it is for Chaser to learn new words. He turns down an offer to let another scientist work with her, which would have meant more academic acclaim, because that would mean having Chaser live with someone else temporarily. Above all, Chaser is a family dog.
When Chaser appears on the Today Show, Pilley feels bad that Chaser doesn’t have a chance to play with her toys after fetching them by name for Matt Lauer. Chaser is supposed to get to play with her toys as her reward for fetching the right toy.
I’ve heard dog trainers brag about how many words their dogs know. How do they really know? I wondered. Beyond their names and basic obedience commands, most dogs know “outside” or “walk” or “dinner,” but how do you keep track of the number of words? Pilley set about it scientifically, by giving each toy a unique name. He has a list of 1,022 different toy names that Chaser understands. He also teaches her categories of words: she knows a racquetball by its name “Blue,” and also knows that it is a “toy” and a “ball.”
Pilley works with Chaser for hours a day. With that much dedication, I bet any dog of above average intelligence could learn quite a few words.
January 7, 2014
This was an enjoyable and educational read. Dr. Pilley, a retired psychology professor who loves dogs, takes the time to not only educate his border collie, but document her learning so that there is some scientific contribution made in terms of what animals can understand about language and how they learn. The book is far more in depth than any videos you can see about Chaser, yet accessible to the average reader vs. scientist in terms of methodology. It is clear that Chaser is a loved family member and that her aptitude is capitalized on. Not every dog or every border collie will be able to achieve these results. However, what was interesting is the way he trained her and one can get some good ideas about communication training to use with your own dog if you'd like to try. His techniques are positive and tailored to the dog. Chaser is more toy motivated than treat motivated - dogs like that can be harder to train but Pilley has really done a wonderful job with Chaser, making the most of that strong toy drive.
One thing I enjoyed about the book was that, although in no way portrayed as a negative, it should be obvious to the average reader that a border collie is not a good dog for most people. They have such drive and energy, what it takes to keep them happy is way more than most people can provide. Chaser is very lucky - she has an owner who worked with her natural play and herding drives to make learning fun for her, and also documented it to make it useful for scientific research. He clearly recognizes that when she is asked to perform and not rewarded with play it's not fair. It should also be clear that even a dog like Chaser, who is trained hours per day, can be a handful - she has a will of her own. She is not always obedient. She can be very demanding. She will not let you watch TV and ignore her. This is the truth about most herding breeds - they really are very demanding and in the wrong homes they become neurotic or destructive. I hope that Chaser's popularity doesn't motivate people to get border collies for the wrong reasons - hopefully anyone who reads the book will realize that, as with all smart animals, they are a HUGE commitment!
If you like really smart dogs, are interested in dog training, or you have an interest in language skills and animal vs. human language learning, you are sure to enjoy this. I think even most dog lovers would enjoy it, though there is a lot of emphasis on training techniques. I found it enjoyable throughout.
One thing I enjoyed about the book was that, although in no way portrayed as a negative, it should be obvious to the average reader that a border collie is not a good dog for most people. They have such drive and energy, what it takes to keep them happy is way more than most people can provide. Chaser is very lucky - she has an owner who worked with her natural play and herding drives to make learning fun for her, and also documented it to make it useful for scientific research. He clearly recognizes that when she is asked to perform and not rewarded with play it's not fair. It should also be clear that even a dog like Chaser, who is trained hours per day, can be a handful - she has a will of her own. She is not always obedient. She can be very demanding. She will not let you watch TV and ignore her. This is the truth about most herding breeds - they really are very demanding and in the wrong homes they become neurotic or destructive. I hope that Chaser's popularity doesn't motivate people to get border collies for the wrong reasons - hopefully anyone who reads the book will realize that, as with all smart animals, they are a HUGE commitment!
If you like really smart dogs, are interested in dog training, or you have an interest in language skills and animal vs. human language learning, you are sure to enjoy this. I think even most dog lovers would enjoy it, though there is a lot of emphasis on training techniques. I found it enjoyable throughout.
January 18, 2015
The information provided on Chaser and his ability to learn was very interesting to me personally. However, I found the positive influence this project had on the author, Johm Pilley, equally fascinating. Pilley did his extensive work with Chaser in his late 70s, and it is still continuing into his mid-80s. The research, as well as his incredibly strong relationship with his dog, have kept him physically, mentally, and spiritually energized. As a senior citizen who works with active large dogs, I find that very encouraging.
This is a book worth reading for anyone interested in animal intelligence or simply in learning more about dogs as our companions--or both. I enjoyed it and admire Professor Pilley for his impressive dedication to his new career, furthering our understanding of canine language acquisition. In my opinion, he models the perfect "retirement." It sure beats sitting on a beach or lounging on the front porch. He is quite an inspiration.
This is a book worth reading for anyone interested in animal intelligence or simply in learning more about dogs as our companions--or both. I enjoyed it and admire Professor Pilley for his impressive dedication to his new career, furthering our understanding of canine language acquisition. In my opinion, he models the perfect "retirement." It sure beats sitting on a beach or lounging on the front porch. He is quite an inspiration.
May 22, 2017
The story does have a scientific background in language learning, but it's primarily a memory, author's personal experience of the communication with the dog, through training. It's difficult to avoid the comparison between own dog with Chaser - which is extremely susceptibility to learning, but I'm convinced that we all see our own pets as the smartest (and the most beautiful) animal in the world, and that we all can share our own breathtaking experience of our pets in communicating with us. The story is full of joy and love, and perfectly illustrates the relationship between man and dog, how great (sometimes moody and too demanding) companions are dogs.
December 3, 2021
One of my all time favorite books on dogs. I think a must read for all dog lovers. So much showed the immense possibilities with dogs.
October 17, 2019
Chaser is a border collie who knows the names of over one thousand of her toys. She can fetch them, paw at them or nose them on command- by others too not just her dad/trainer. This is the story of how Dr. Pilley, a retired psychology professor trained and tested Chaser. It also covers how they got published and the shows they were on.
It is very interesting if a little long winded. Chaser knows a bunch of balls by ball, an individual name and toy. How Dr. Pilley taught this to Chaser was gone over in detail. Again very interesting. And then all over again for the frisbees. That happened more than once.
What I like the most is above all else Chaser is a pet. She doesn't live in a lab and Dr. Pilley refers to her as his research partner. Just as I think it should be!!
One final thought...all of Chaser's toys are labeled. Anyone else think she's just reading the names?!
RIP Chaser 7/23/19 😢A dog I would have loved to have met! Also RIP Dr. Pilley 6/17/18.
It is very interesting if a little long winded. Chaser knows a bunch of balls by ball, an individual name and toy. How Dr. Pilley taught this to Chaser was gone over in detail. Again very interesting. And then all over again for the frisbees. That happened more than once.
What I like the most is above all else Chaser is a pet. She doesn't live in a lab and Dr. Pilley refers to her as his research partner. Just as I think it should be!!
One final thought...all of Chaser's toys are labeled. Anyone else think she's just reading the names?!
RIP Chaser 7/23/19 😢A dog I would have loved to have met! Also RIP Dr. Pilley 6/17/18.
March 16, 2014
Interesting book, VERY interesting dog. Lucky dog to have come into the life of the perfect human being for her. He is a mostly retired psychology professor who loves dogs and has a lot of time on his hands, literally 4-5+ hours a day to work with the dog, plus students to help him. It's the perfect storm of people, animal, and passion for each other's well-being.
Some aspects of the book were a bit tedious. He'd start out talking about something mundane and I'd be thinking, something is going to happen here, and well, nothing does. But on the whole, if you're a dog lover and into all the new research going on in the field of canine ethology, or you just really love cool dogs, this is a good read.
Some aspects of the book were a bit tedious. He'd start out talking about something mundane and I'd be thinking, something is going to happen here, and well, nothing does. But on the whole, if you're a dog lover and into all the new research going on in the field of canine ethology, or you just really love cool dogs, this is a good read.
May 19, 2021
Just a thoroughly entertaining read. If you're interested in animal intelligence, or language, this is a delightful but still substantive book that examines and expands the understanding of how much of spoken language dogs can understand.
April 7, 2015
An amazing book about an amazing animal. What this book is really good at doing is comparing your own, untrained animals to the wit of Chaser. I mean sure, Danny understands 'Get a Ball', but I've never discriminated against any of his toys. They are all 'Ball' and a stick does just as well. That this dog knows each of its toys by name, and knows the difference between nosing or taking the toy amazes me. I knew Border Collies were intelligent (two of my boys are half Border Collie) but this dog is beyond amazing. The book passes quickly in a rush of everything learned and experienced. I highly recommend it for any animal lover or dog enthusiast!
October 20, 2018
This is the second time round reading this book. It's the story of an incredibly, patient and loving scientist, a brilliant man and his dog. So sorry to hear of Dr Pilley's recent passing but what an extraordinary contribution this man and his dog have made to the understanding of the intelligence, awareness, empathy, and learning ability of man's best friend. Dr. Pilley's respect for his dog and his connection of fun and learning are amongst some of wonderful aspects of this story that will remain with you long after you have put the book down.
May 1, 2014
I really don't think there was enough here to fill an entire book, so there was a lot of filler that I found myself skipping over. Still, I enjoyed it, and am trying some of the things I learned here with my own dog. I loved the photo on the back flap; it made me smile every time I looked at it.
July 4, 2024
Unfortunately not enough here to fill a book without grasping at straws but still a really interesting story & impressively smart dog.
July 8, 2019
So much nicer an ending than Dogs of Babel! We need to learn the language of dogs instead of thinking they need to speak the language of humans.
December 21, 2019
I don’t think there are many who would deny that pets can understand some things that we say. And some pets are smarter than others. Dogs particularly seem to have a gift of intelligence, especially breeds like border collies.
A friend has a border collie who I have “dog-sat” several times over the years. Flash amazes me with her soulful eyes and the way she seems to understand. Once this summer I came in to take care of her. I couldn’t find the ball she loved to play with so I asked her, “Flash, where is your ball?” She immediately went over to the couch, crouched down, and put her nose to the ground. I looked under the couch at that spot and guess what was under the couch, about 12 inches back? Yep — the ball. It really was amazing.
Chaser is also a border collie. Her owner, professor John Pilley, worked with her to the point where she had learned over 1000 words. Pilley had owned several dogs, but when his beloved dog died while Pilley was in his 70s, he said he would not get another. His wife, however, decided he needed one and so they adopted Chaser.
Pilley was retired and devoted hours each day (4-5 hours of language training daily, and 2-3 hours of other physical activity) to training Chaser. “Dogs of all breeds and mixtures of breeds can be highly intelligent, but no dogs have shown greater skill and creativity at problem solving than Border collies.” He knew he had the ideal subject in Chaser. Pilley was no passive trainer either; when he wanted Chaser to roll over, etc., Pilley would get onto the ground and do the thing too.
It was fun reading how Pilley scavenged at thrift shops for toys for Chaser (imagine having over 1000 unique dog toys in your house) and trained him. After a research paper came out, Chaser became famous, appearing on TV shows. This book did seem to get repetitive at times, but honestly given the repetitive nature of training a pet, this kind of seemed appropriate. I loved reading about Chaser, but just as much I enjoyed reading about John Pilley and his joy at working with his dog.
A friend has a border collie who I have “dog-sat” several times over the years. Flash amazes me with her soulful eyes and the way she seems to understand. Once this summer I came in to take care of her. I couldn’t find the ball she loved to play with so I asked her, “Flash, where is your ball?” She immediately went over to the couch, crouched down, and put her nose to the ground. I looked under the couch at that spot and guess what was under the couch, about 12 inches back? Yep — the ball. It really was amazing.
Chaser is also a border collie. Her owner, professor John Pilley, worked with her to the point where she had learned over 1000 words. Pilley had owned several dogs, but when his beloved dog died while Pilley was in his 70s, he said he would not get another. His wife, however, decided he needed one and so they adopted Chaser.
Pilley was retired and devoted hours each day (4-5 hours of language training daily, and 2-3 hours of other physical activity) to training Chaser. “Dogs of all breeds and mixtures of breeds can be highly intelligent, but no dogs have shown greater skill and creativity at problem solving than Border collies.” He knew he had the ideal subject in Chaser. Pilley was no passive trainer either; when he wanted Chaser to roll over, etc., Pilley would get onto the ground and do the thing too.
It was fun reading how Pilley scavenged at thrift shops for toys for Chaser (imagine having over 1000 unique dog toys in your house) and trained him. After a research paper came out, Chaser became famous, appearing on TV shows. This book did seem to get repetitive at times, but honestly given the repetitive nature of training a pet, this kind of seemed appropriate. I loved reading about Chaser, but just as much I enjoyed reading about John Pilley and his joy at working with his dog.
July 6, 2016
What a wonderful mix of dog story and psychology this was. Not to mention, it's delightful to read a story written by and about a senior adult that is so vital and alert. I wish this book and the research behind it had been around when I was studying comparative psychology in the 80s. It's about time that the scientific community ditched its unfounded, out-of-date prejudices about animal intelligence and learning and embraced what the general population has known forever - our dogs are a lot smarter than anyone believes. This is the first time I've read a psychologist discuss pattern matching in dogs. My Rat Terrier taught himself pattern matching without prompting, and, yes, he is a genius, but that's still a natural behavior, not something I had to teach him. He also has learned many, many words just by hearing them. You can't even spell laser around him without him going into high alert, and the first time he heard me spell bubbles, he ran to the counter where they were kept and danced with excitement. I wish I had the time and patience to develop his native intelligence the way this author was able to work with Chaser, because it would be amazing to see what he could do. Maybe, as other scientists explore the implications of Chaser's training and accomplishments, the average dopes like myself will expand on what we teach our own dogs to do. It is an exciting time for dogs and their people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2020
I enjoyed learning about Chaser and his cognitive abilities, which I believe most dogs likely have if we humans knew how to properly engage with them, as Dr. Pilley did. However, I did not much care for the writing style of this book; it was hard to stay engaged and interested in the story. A better writer could make this into a much better book.
July 20, 2020
terribly written but super interesting. especially for the dog lovers!
May 5, 2023
Chaser is the dog (a border collie, naturally) who has learned over 1000 words as well as many different ways of combining words. She was trained by a retired psychology professor who started out with the intention of just getting a puppy and seeing how far he could go in teaching her to understand human speech, and she has gone further than any previous dog. This book made me both extremely impressed (although not surprised) and a little bit guilty because, really, I should be spending as much time every dog training my dog as this guy did with his.
June 29, 2018
Chaser is a Very Good Dog.
September 4, 2021
I saw a lot of my border collie in the descriptions of Chaser. All dog owners know they know words. Chaser is a bit extreme, but obviously can do thousands!!
October 12, 2018
Fascinating. Heart warming. And a pretty good read, too! Really enjoyed Pilley's journey and Chaser's responses as she learned to have enormous fun doing what she was bred to do: herding sheep... but without the sheep! I especially loved Pilley's descriptions of Chaser's celebrity appearances on network TV. If you truly love dogs, don't miss this book! In the author's own words...
"The journey with Chaser always has the same number one priority: fun. Sally and I find fun with her every day, a routine that never becomes stale." ~ John W Pilley, "Chaser Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words"
"The journey with Chaser always has the same number one priority: fun. Sally and I find fun with her every day, a routine that never becomes stale." ~ John W Pilley, "Chaser Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words"
October 30, 2013
MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT
Bottom Line: Dogs are much smarter than they are given credit. John Pilley explains exactly how quickly they learn and given the chance can communicate with us. Pilley explains how he used his dogs as research subjects in his lab in his job as a psychology professor. His students observed them and dissected their abilities. After his last dog dies, his wife insists he is getting a new puppy for Christmas and they both agree that a local breeder of Border Collies is their best choice. With infinite patience and his training as a scientist, he teaches his new pup to relate objects to words.
Border Collies are working dogs and love routines, without structure in their lives, they can be almost destructive. Their natural curiosity and ability to be trained is both a gift and a curse. I had an Australian Shepherd with a similar personality and if we didn't do our routine each day, he was a very unhappy dog. I had taught my dog probably 100 words and he could easily follow commands to retrieve certain objects. I never imagined that a dog could place names to over a thousand objects.
There is a science background to this book, so as well as being a memoir, it also has some wonderful information based on fact to go along with it. Chaser was featured on a NOVA program about her unique abilities. This is one fascinating look at how you can train a dog to learn more than you thought possible with a little extra time and energy. Dog and memoir fans are going to adore this story.
LOVED IT
Bottom Line: Dogs are much smarter than they are given credit. John Pilley explains exactly how quickly they learn and given the chance can communicate with us. Pilley explains how he used his dogs as research subjects in his lab in his job as a psychology professor. His students observed them and dissected their abilities. After his last dog dies, his wife insists he is getting a new puppy for Christmas and they both agree that a local breeder of Border Collies is their best choice. With infinite patience and his training as a scientist, he teaches his new pup to relate objects to words.
Border Collies are working dogs and love routines, without structure in their lives, they can be almost destructive. Their natural curiosity and ability to be trained is both a gift and a curse. I had an Australian Shepherd with a similar personality and if we didn't do our routine each day, he was a very unhappy dog. I had taught my dog probably 100 words and he could easily follow commands to retrieve certain objects. I never imagined that a dog could place names to over a thousand objects.
There is a science background to this book, so as well as being a memoir, it also has some wonderful information based on fact to go along with it. Chaser was featured on a NOVA program about her unique abilities. This is one fascinating look at how you can train a dog to learn more than you thought possible with a little extra time and energy. Dog and memoir fans are going to adore this story.
December 18, 2019
I really wanted to like this book but there are some major problems with it.
First of all, Pilley isn't a good writer and can't make good decisions on what to include and what to leave out.
The irony is that his paper to Science was rejected just because of this. To give a few examples. He often talks like talking to a child explaining things about dogs and trying to give it a cute feel. Then he switches to semantics.
If the audience is more like the kid he will not understand one bit of the science part. If the audience is a somewhat scientific adult the tone of the book is off. But it gets worse when Chaser becomes viral.
Pilley finds it important to name every magazine, every reporter and every photographer by name. So there is the reporter from the Daily Mail, which is the second biggest newspaper in the UK, with reporter so and so, and the photographer is called this. Chaser liked the photographer. And it goes on and on.
The research is interesting enough, together with some anecdotes that would tell a bit of Chaser's life story this could be a great read. But sadly there wasn't an editor that helped Pilley to write that good book.
It could also be a cool kids book. An introduction to learning and not only to teach your dog stuff but really help him/her to learn.
Now it's none of the above. And either way, the interesting part for me is also the smallest.
First of all, Pilley isn't a good writer and can't make good decisions on what to include and what to leave out.
The irony is that his paper to Science was rejected just because of this. To give a few examples. He often talks like talking to a child explaining things about dogs and trying to give it a cute feel. Then he switches to semantics.
If the audience is more like the kid he will not understand one bit of the science part. If the audience is a somewhat scientific adult the tone of the book is off. But it gets worse when Chaser becomes viral.
Pilley finds it important to name every magazine, every reporter and every photographer by name. So there is the reporter from the Daily Mail, which is the second biggest newspaper in the UK, with reporter so and so, and the photographer is called this. Chaser liked the photographer. And it goes on and on.
The research is interesting enough, together with some anecdotes that would tell a bit of Chaser's life story this could be a great read. But sadly there wasn't an editor that helped Pilley to write that good book.
It could also be a cool kids book. An introduction to learning and not only to teach your dog stuff but really help him/her to learn.
Now it's none of the above. And either way, the interesting part for me is also the smallest.
November 27, 2015
I'm afraid I just didn't care for the way it was written. I tried two times to read it, even just picked a random page forward and I couldn't get into it. I have seen the dog and the owner on talk shows or what not and know the story , and I appreciate all the studies and the animal is amazing of course. So don't really go by my review, as always you have to come to your own conclusion by reading it yourself.
October 4, 2020
Could not bring myself to finish this book. I am a big dog person and have read quite a few dog information books, but this one was a bit of a bore.
Also, the viewpoint of the author was very clear throughout the book (evolutionist), and I could not help but want to argue with him over some of his points.
Also, the viewpoint of the author was very clear throughout the book (evolutionist), and I could not help but want to argue with him over some of his points.
February 28, 2014
Perfect book for an English teacher and a dog lover such as myself. Might be a bit of a slog for someone not quite as interested in how language is learned (by humans or by dogs). What a smart dog you are, Chaser!
April 8, 2014
Anyone interested in dogs and/or animal behavior should read this book. The author gets bogged down with too much detail about the everyday, notably Chaser's appearances on TV, but the information on how he taught Chaser and what Chaser is capable of is extremely interesting.
May 15, 2017
Now that's one smart dog and an incredibly dedicated, patient, loving owner. All of this came out loud and clear in this book. I can't say I was riveted to the story but it was interesting to read about the training.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews