What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secret Language of Dogs: Unlocking the Canine Mind for a Happier Pet
The star of Smithsonian Channel’s Dogs With Extraordinary Jobs reveals how to both interpret and “speak” the hidden language of dogs.
Recent studies into the minds of canines show that they have a rich social intelligence and a physical and vocal language as complex and subtle as our own. In this fun and fascinating guide, world-renowned trainer Victoria Stilwell explores the inner world of dogs. This book is your guide to understanding your pooch, communicating effectively, strengthening your bond, and helping dogs learn in the most effective way possible so they feel confident navigating the human world with success.
Along the way, you’ll learn the answers to questions such
• What do different tail wags mean?
• What does being right-pawed say about my dog’s personality?
• How can I tell the difference between boredom barking and warning barking?
• What does it mean when my dog spins around, arches his back, or gives me the whale eye?
• Do dogs feel guilt?
• How do dogs perceive human faces?
• Why do some scientists think dogs’ emotional experience is even greater than ours?
Filled with adorable full-color photographs and instructive illustrations, this insightful “dog decoder” will soon make you dog’s best friend.
Recent studies into the minds of canines show that they have a rich social intelligence and a physical and vocal language as complex and subtle as our own. In this fun and fascinating guide, world-renowned trainer Victoria Stilwell explores the inner world of dogs. This book is your guide to understanding your pooch, communicating effectively, strengthening your bond, and helping dogs learn in the most effective way possible so they feel confident navigating the human world with success.
Along the way, you’ll learn the answers to questions such
• What do different tail wags mean?
• What does being right-pawed say about my dog’s personality?
• How can I tell the difference between boredom barking and warning barking?
• What does it mean when my dog spins around, arches his back, or gives me the whale eye?
• Do dogs feel guilt?
• How do dogs perceive human faces?
• Why do some scientists think dogs’ emotional experience is even greater than ours?
Filled with adorable full-color photographs and instructive illustrations, this insightful “dog decoder” will soon make you dog’s best friend.
151 pages, Paperback
Published October 11, 2016
217 people are currently reading
589 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
October 27, 2016
I don't know if any of you ever watched Victoria Stilwell on Animal Planet's "It's Me Or The Dog" but I did and I loved it.
This book is not about training but about a how a dog works. There are different chapters with sections in them. I have to say my favorite one was the Zoomies! =) This happens when your dog is full of energy and needs to burn it off, or my favorite is the after bath "thank God it's over" zoomies.
Unfortunately, my Lucy doesn't get zoom after her bath because the front yard is just woods and mud and mulch, so, NO. And there is only one section of carpet in our bedroom area. She does a good bit of bouncing around on the tile in the kitchen and the carpet though and then this ↓
There are many sections in this book under each chapter as I have mentioned. But, Chapter 3 - The Emotional Dog is a very good one. It tells all about different emotions like anxiety, jealousy etc.
Dogs can suffer from emotional problems similar to those of people, such as anxiety, depression, fears and phobias, anger, obsessions, compulsions, and a broad range of stress-related problems. Canine emotion, however, is not complicated by irrational or rational thought. Human emotions are more complex because they have a greater capacity for imagining scenarios that sustain or exacerbate a negative emotion. We might think someone is talking about us when in reality the person might not have thought about us at all. Our minds do a great deal of story building that takes a toll on our emotions, whereas canine emotion is more like a young child's: raw, simple, and truthful. Dogs in a multidog household, for example, might fight one minute and then be best friends the next; the fight has been forgotten and the dogs move on.
The Chapters in the book are:
PART 1: THE SECRET INNER EXPERIENCE OF DOGS
1) The Loving Dog
2) The Thinking Dog
3) The Emotional Dog
4) The Sensing Dog
PART 2: THE SECRET MEANINGS OF BODY AND VOCAL LANGUAGE
5) Lateral Language
6) The Language of Socialization
7) The Language of Fear
8) The Language of Aggression
9) The Language of Vocalization
10) The Language of Pain
11) The Language of Aging
12) Strange Behavior Explained
13) How to Speak Dog
I thought there were some really interested things in this book about doggers. I would never know unless I really researched.
*I got a print copy of this book through the BloggingForBooks program*
And why wouldn't I ~ I LOVE DOGS ♥
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
This book is not about training but about a how a dog works. There are different chapters with sections in them. I have to say my favorite one was the Zoomies! =) This happens when your dog is full of energy and needs to burn it off, or my favorite is the after bath "thank God it's over" zoomies.
Unfortunately, my Lucy doesn't get zoom after her bath because the front yard is just woods and mud and mulch, so, NO. And there is only one section of carpet in our bedroom area. She does a good bit of bouncing around on the tile in the kitchen and the carpet though and then this ↓
There are many sections in this book under each chapter as I have mentioned. But, Chapter 3 - The Emotional Dog is a very good one. It tells all about different emotions like anxiety, jealousy etc.
Dogs can suffer from emotional problems similar to those of people, such as anxiety, depression, fears and phobias, anger, obsessions, compulsions, and a broad range of stress-related problems. Canine emotion, however, is not complicated by irrational or rational thought. Human emotions are more complex because they have a greater capacity for imagining scenarios that sustain or exacerbate a negative emotion. We might think someone is talking about us when in reality the person might not have thought about us at all. Our minds do a great deal of story building that takes a toll on our emotions, whereas canine emotion is more like a young child's: raw, simple, and truthful. Dogs in a multidog household, for example, might fight one minute and then be best friends the next; the fight has been forgotten and the dogs move on.
The Chapters in the book are:
PART 1: THE SECRET INNER EXPERIENCE OF DOGS
1) The Loving Dog
2) The Thinking Dog
3) The Emotional Dog
4) The Sensing Dog
PART 2: THE SECRET MEANINGS OF BODY AND VOCAL LANGUAGE
5) Lateral Language
6) The Language of Socialization
7) The Language of Fear
8) The Language of Aggression
9) The Language of Vocalization
10) The Language of Pain
11) The Language of Aging
12) Strange Behavior Explained
13) How to Speak Dog
I thought there were some really interested things in this book about doggers. I would never know unless I really researched.
*I got a print copy of this book through the BloggingForBooks program*
And why wouldn't I ~ I LOVE DOGS ♥
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
September 30, 2016
4.5 Stars
“…the best way to understand your dog is by learning how she thinks and experiences the world and what her body language means—which is what this book is about.”
I’ve had dogs all my life – I grew up on a dog, not that we didn’t have a crib when I was a baby, but around that time my parents acquired a 9 month old Irish Setter who had spent all but his initial 8 weeks at some “dog camp” being trained to be the perfect dog. I wish I knew more about where he went before he ever laid eyes on the people who had initially purchased him, or why they walked away without ever seeing him. He was returned to the owner of the sire, as his “payment,” for no other reason than a change of heart. Our neighbor, who was also a pilot, contacted my Dad first, being all of two houses away this was no challenge. My Dad had also had dogs for much of his life, and didn’t hesitate to say yes. And so Wilco came to live with us around the same time I arrived. As a family, we had one other dog that arrived and stayed, after he was gone. Wilco was a perfect dog, loving and gentle, he never barked – he’d been trained to click his jaws together if he needed to / wanted to go outside. He went on the tailgate or his station wagon with the mailman on his route around our neighborhood.
I’ve had other dogs since then, and I know most dogs need to learn many things in order to make humans happy. And, on the flip side, to paraphrase another commonly used phrase, if your dog ain’t happy, nobody’s happy. It becomes an endless tug of war.
I didn’t gain a brand new insight. For someone who hasn’t read a lot on this topic, this is a great place to start. Even with real-life experience, multiple books devoted to the intelligence of dogs, breeds of dogs, the nature of dogs I still learned a few things.
Victoria Stillwell’s “The Secret Language of Dogs” will give you new insight into what goes into some of the basic things your dog does. Why they do the things they do. If you’ve ever felt like your dog was comforting you, worried about you, those are just some of the areas she explains her perspective on.
If dogs could write a book on dogs, explaining their expressions, the things they do, this is what they’d write.
Oh, and yes, the photographs are pretty wonderful, too!
Pub Date: 11 Oct 2016
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Ten Speed Press, NetGalley and author Victoria Stillwell
“…the best way to understand your dog is by learning how she thinks and experiences the world and what her body language means—which is what this book is about.”
I’ve had dogs all my life – I grew up on a dog, not that we didn’t have a crib when I was a baby, but around that time my parents acquired a 9 month old Irish Setter who had spent all but his initial 8 weeks at some “dog camp” being trained to be the perfect dog. I wish I knew more about where he went before he ever laid eyes on the people who had initially purchased him, or why they walked away without ever seeing him. He was returned to the owner of the sire, as his “payment,” for no other reason than a change of heart. Our neighbor, who was also a pilot, contacted my Dad first, being all of two houses away this was no challenge. My Dad had also had dogs for much of his life, and didn’t hesitate to say yes. And so Wilco came to live with us around the same time I arrived. As a family, we had one other dog that arrived and stayed, after he was gone. Wilco was a perfect dog, loving and gentle, he never barked – he’d been trained to click his jaws together if he needed to / wanted to go outside. He went on the tailgate or his station wagon with the mailman on his route around our neighborhood.
I’ve had other dogs since then, and I know most dogs need to learn many things in order to make humans happy. And, on the flip side, to paraphrase another commonly used phrase, if your dog ain’t happy, nobody’s happy. It becomes an endless tug of war.
I didn’t gain a brand new insight. For someone who hasn’t read a lot on this topic, this is a great place to start. Even with real-life experience, multiple books devoted to the intelligence of dogs, breeds of dogs, the nature of dogs I still learned a few things.
Victoria Stillwell’s “The Secret Language of Dogs” will give you new insight into what goes into some of the basic things your dog does. Why they do the things they do. If you’ve ever felt like your dog was comforting you, worried about you, those are just some of the areas she explains her perspective on.
If dogs could write a book on dogs, explaining their expressions, the things they do, this is what they’d write.
Oh, and yes, the photographs are pretty wonderful, too!
Pub Date: 11 Oct 2016
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Ten Speed Press, NetGalley and author Victoria Stillwell
October 31, 2016
~3.5
For the last few years, the dog-training world has been rife with conflict. One contingent, following the teachings of the likes of celebrity "dog-whisperer" Cesar Millan, believe that dogs and humans are in a constant struggle for dominance and that an integral part of training is teaching your dog that you're the alpha. Others, given voice by renowned animal behaviourists like Alexandra Horowitz and celebrity trainers like Victoria Stillwell, argue that positive reinforcement is the only sane, logical, and humane way to train. Full disclosure: I'm one hundred percent on the side of positive reinforcement. The old dominance chestnut stems mainly from flawed behaviour studies of captive wolves in fractured packs, overgeneralized not only to wild wolves but also to dogs. While I've read a lot of books by dog behaviorists, I haven't recently read all that many books by trainers, so I was interested to hear Stillwell's perspective.
The Secret Language of Dogs is a short, reasonably engaging treatise on basic dog training and behavior. I strongly suspect that I'm not the target audience-- I work one day a week in an animal shelter and this is far from my first dog book, so I wasn't overly impressed by the common-sense points that Stillwell presents. More problematically, it uses a tactic that I term "Proof by Expert": she presents a "fact" that she tells us was proved by scientific authorities rather than discussing the study itself. I think she is so focused on opposing Cesar Millan's abusive alpha-dog training style that she ends up sacrificing accuracy for simplicity and expediency. For example, Stillwell states that dogs aren't trying to dominate people because she says they are incapable of planning:
Like Horowitz, Stillwell also warns against personifying your dog. Again, I applaud her motivations; all too often, people expect dogs to behave like little humans and that's just not fair. However, I question some of her statements. Stillwell says that
If you aren't in the habit of reading dog books, then I think this could be useful. It is engagingly written and--thankfully!-- pushes positive reinforcement rather than brutal "alpha" tactics. It is full of cute doggy pictures that are fun to flip through, and also has a quite a few fun facts. My personal favourite: the "zoomies," what we called "Bichon blitzes" with my dog, have the more formal name of "frenetic random activity periods," or FRAPs. While I think the book tends towards oversimplification, it also probably isn't intended to be a pop-science book in the vein of Horowitz. If you're looking for a fast and engaging starter book on dog behaviour, The Secret Language of Dogs is worth a look.
~~I received this book through Netgalley from the publisher, Ten Speed Press, in exchange for my honest review. Quotes were taken from an advanced reader copy and while they may not reflect the final phrasing, I believe they speak to the spirit of the book as a whole.~~
Cross-posted on BookLikes.
For the last few years, the dog-training world has been rife with conflict. One contingent, following the teachings of the likes of celebrity "dog-whisperer" Cesar Millan, believe that dogs and humans are in a constant struggle for dominance and that an integral part of training is teaching your dog that you're the alpha. Others, given voice by renowned animal behaviourists like Alexandra Horowitz and celebrity trainers like Victoria Stillwell, argue that positive reinforcement is the only sane, logical, and humane way to train. Full disclosure: I'm one hundred percent on the side of positive reinforcement. The old dominance chestnut stems mainly from flawed behaviour studies of captive wolves in fractured packs, overgeneralized not only to wild wolves but also to dogs. While I've read a lot of books by dog behaviorists, I haven't recently read all that many books by trainers, so I was interested to hear Stillwell's perspective.
The Secret Language of Dogs is a short, reasonably engaging treatise on basic dog training and behavior. I strongly suspect that I'm not the target audience-- I work one day a week in an animal shelter and this is far from my first dog book, so I wasn't overly impressed by the common-sense points that Stillwell presents. More problematically, it uses a tactic that I term "Proof by Expert": she presents a "fact" that she tells us was proved by scientific authorities rather than discussing the study itself. I think she is so focused on opposing Cesar Millan's abusive alpha-dog training style that she ends up sacrificing accuracy for simplicity and expediency. For example, Stillwell states that dogs aren't trying to dominate people because she says they are incapable of planning:
"A dog's cerebral cortex is not as intricate as a human's, so dogs can't strategize with such complexity."This is specious reasoning in two ways. First, the statement she seeks to disprove says nothing about domination requiring equivalent brainpower to humans. Second, while it's at least a little better than the old weigh-the-brain chestnut that caused men to claim women were less intelligent for so many years, gross anatomical comparisons of brains aren't a great way to judge intelligence. A better argument would be to discuss the origin of the theory in the flawed captive wolf studies, or to examine some of the studies that compared training methods.
Like Horowitz, Stillwell also warns against personifying your dog. Again, I applaud her motivations; all too often, people expect dogs to behave like little humans and that's just not fair. However, I question some of her statements. Stillwell says that
"it is unlikely that dogs are truly aware of how their behavior affects others,"despite the fact that there have been several studies indicating that dogs' emotional intelligence surpasses this level. She says that dogs are not "empathetic in the true sense of the word," when it's not even clear how you could objectively quantify such a characterization.
If you aren't in the habit of reading dog books, then I think this could be useful. It is engagingly written and--thankfully!-- pushes positive reinforcement rather than brutal "alpha" tactics. It is full of cute doggy pictures that are fun to flip through, and also has a quite a few fun facts. My personal favourite: the "zoomies," what we called "Bichon blitzes" with my dog, have the more formal name of "frenetic random activity periods," or FRAPs. While I think the book tends towards oversimplification, it also probably isn't intended to be a pop-science book in the vein of Horowitz. If you're looking for a fast and engaging starter book on dog behaviour, The Secret Language of Dogs is worth a look.
~~I received this book through Netgalley from the publisher, Ten Speed Press, in exchange for my honest review. Quotes were taken from an advanced reader copy and while they may not reflect the final phrasing, I believe they speak to the spirit of the book as a whole.~~
Cross-posted on BookLikes.
November 12, 2016
Having a dog as a member of the family I felt I needed to know more about his secret codes and language. I really enjoyed reading about the different ways of interacting with your dog. Different options on training and proving that not one way is the best way. So much detail about the rationale of the dog, it really improved my insight. I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
I loved the pictures and the easy to follow language. Each page had illustrations or dogs in various actions that helped drive the points home. Victoria Stilwell made me more comfortable with reacting to my dog's special needs and his special language.
I loved the pictures and the easy to follow language. Each page had illustrations or dogs in various actions that helped drive the points home. Victoria Stilwell made me more comfortable with reacting to my dog's special needs and his special language.
August 19, 2019
Any experienced dog owner would know most of what is contained in the pages of this book. But it's an ideal book for families bringing their first dog into the family. A lot of information laid out in a way that is easy to consume.
December 4, 2023
Básico.
January 7, 2017
I have this rescue dog who is just full of nervous ticks which we've been trying to figure out. So I've been reading this author's book hoping for some insight. The problem is some of the stuff that she says that mean fear also mean excitement. My little guy does lick his nose constantly when two people are sitting together. He sometimes lunges at my husband whom he loves. He coughs constantly when he's in distress. He's a tiny little thing but this is a loud "old man" cough. He was terribly abused by his previous owners who abandoned him with a bag of food (that ran out) in a box in the apartment they had lived in without letting anyone know he was there. So, he was extremely skinny when we got him. The pound thought he was about 10 years old. He's blind in one eye, nearly blind in the other, lost most of his teeth - he's just a mess. So we give him a lot of love and patience. I just want to help him not be so stressed.
This book was helpful but like I said, it was a little contradictory.
This book was helpful but like I said, it was a little contradictory.
January 2, 2021
we have two rescue dogs. one was poorly socialized and we’ve worked for a year on reactivity and the other has anxiety with lots of sounds and guarding behavior. we’ve worked with a behaviorist but this book gave me some tips to mix some things up. nothing profoundly new but also some helpful photos on body language.
going to have my bf read it as he has some old beliefs in dog language and training and i think this short book wool be helpful.
going to have my bf read it as he has some old beliefs in dog language and training and i think this short book wool be helpful.
April 1, 2024
Fav dog book I’ve read so far! Learned a lot and had fun while doing it 🥂🍾🫧
December 7, 2025
I’ve watched and enjoyed Victoria Stilwell’s work for most of my life, and I thought this book was really insightful, especially with the context of having a new pup of my own
June 12, 2020
This was informative, but with a lot of repetitive listing and long sentences with the former contributing to the latter.
June 19, 2022
I really liked this book. So much information for dog owners: beginners and experienced onces. If you want to know your dog and interpret their behaviors and such this is the book for you.
December 6, 2016
This review and more can be found at A Reader's Diary!
Being a dog mom is one of the best feelings in the world. You get to do life with your best friend, hang out and get to know all their little quirks. But why are they doing these things? The silly little things we see our dogs do are things that come natural to them.
In The Secret Language of Dogs, Victoria Stilwell explains the inner workings of dogs and their brains. Dogs and humans have coexisted for an incredibly long time now, so we must know a little bit about our canine companions! But did you know dogs can have phobias, fears, emotions, and disorders? Dogs are far more complex than we give them credit for. Each dog learns differently, feel differently, and interact differently.
This book taught me how to care for my pup in a completely new way. I rescued my mini poodle, Sophie, in January 2016. She needed so much help. Her hair was matted and dreaded; she was all of 5 pounds (not much bigger now, just healthier); you could see her ribs and irritation on her skin. But the worst part of all was that she was skiddish. Her socialization skills were so skewed that walking too loudly next to her would scare the beejezus out of her! But Victoria Stilwell knows there is still hope for dogs like this! By teaching dogs that there is at least one person that cares for them, they will not feel as insecure as before.
So this book is for all you fellow dog lovers out there.
Dog Moms, Dog Dads, Fur babies everywhere.
I am so thankful that Blogging for Books provided me a copy of this wonderful book!
P.S. It's filled with dog pictures too!!!
If you wanna see pictures of my precious pup check out:
areadersdiary1.blogspot.com
OR
IG: areaders.diary
Being a dog mom is one of the best feelings in the world. You get to do life with your best friend, hang out and get to know all their little quirks. But why are they doing these things? The silly little things we see our dogs do are things that come natural to them.
In The Secret Language of Dogs, Victoria Stilwell explains the inner workings of dogs and their brains. Dogs and humans have coexisted for an incredibly long time now, so we must know a little bit about our canine companions! But did you know dogs can have phobias, fears, emotions, and disorders? Dogs are far more complex than we give them credit for. Each dog learns differently, feel differently, and interact differently.
This book taught me how to care for my pup in a completely new way. I rescued my mini poodle, Sophie, in January 2016. She needed so much help. Her hair was matted and dreaded; she was all of 5 pounds (not much bigger now, just healthier); you could see her ribs and irritation on her skin. But the worst part of all was that she was skiddish. Her socialization skills were so skewed that walking too loudly next to her would scare the beejezus out of her! But Victoria Stilwell knows there is still hope for dogs like this! By teaching dogs that there is at least one person that cares for them, they will not feel as insecure as before.
So this book is for all you fellow dog lovers out there.
Dog Moms, Dog Dads, Fur babies everywhere.
I am so thankful that Blogging for Books provided me a copy of this wonderful book!
P.S. It's filled with dog pictures too!!!
If you wanna see pictures of my precious pup check out:
areadersdiary1.blogspot.com
OR
IG: areaders.diary
January 31, 2017
Really 3.5 stars. Thank you to Blogging for Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I was so pleased to see this offered here on Blogging for Books. My daughter and I have long been fans of Victoria Stillwell and her TV show, It's Me of the Dog. My daughter adotped a dog, a little over a year ago, and we found ourselves reaching back into our memories of Victoria's advice on the show, as we got accustomed to Diesel the malti-poo and he to us. He had a bit of training and is smart as a whip, so it's been easier than we thought. This book is not a training manual, but an insight into what dogs think and how they interact with things and people in their world. I really enjoyed learning more about a dog's behavior. My favorite chapter was Strange Behavior Explained. This is a book I'd recommend to any dog owner so they can better understand their dog and get more joy out of them at the same time.
I was so pleased to see this offered here on Blogging for Books. My daughter and I have long been fans of Victoria Stillwell and her TV show, It's Me of the Dog. My daughter adotped a dog, a little over a year ago, and we found ourselves reaching back into our memories of Victoria's advice on the show, as we got accustomed to Diesel the malti-poo and he to us. He had a bit of training and is smart as a whip, so it's been easier than we thought. This book is not a training manual, but an insight into what dogs think and how they interact with things and people in their world. I really enjoyed learning more about a dog's behavior. My favorite chapter was Strange Behavior Explained. This is a book I'd recommend to any dog owner so they can better understand their dog and get more joy out of them at the same time.
November 7, 2016
Everyone who owns a pet should read this book! While there was a lot of information I already knew, I learned some new things as well. I laughed when I saw the section on "ESP" for pets. I've always said that our beagle can sense ghosts and must have ESP. Now I know why she is always doing the crazy things she does...like jumping up alongside a wall and barking like a wild thing (when there is absolutely nothing there). This title includes a multitude of great information and I loved the pictures of adorable dogs throughout the book.
January 7, 2017
An enjoyable read but the content was quite basic, especially if you've read other books by Victoria.
February 26, 2021
A legjobb és legszórakoztatóbb kutyás könyv, amit eddig olvastam! És most már van kin gyakorolni... Érdekes információkat tartalmaz az érzékszervekről, a kutya és ember működésének különbségeiről. Pontosan megírt szöveggel, megfelelő mennyiségben, rengeteg jó fotóval körítve. Kicsinek és nagynak egyaránt szórakoztató és hasznos olvasmány.
April 13, 2024
I love reading books about dogs and this book was well-written and informative. I had no idea dogs could be left or right pawed. So many insights in this book, it should be a must-read for every dog owner.
March 20, 2018
The Secret Language of Dogs is another book by Victoria Stilwell being a compilation both of basic and complete information about canine behavior, supported by exemplary tips and competent sources.
The book is composed of a pair of thematic sections related to canine cognition and canine communication, narrating about social behavior - canine body language and signals, like lateral language of left/right biases in wagging a tail or head turning, as examples. "This underscores why using food to encourage learning and to help dogs overcome fears is so beneficial - a good smell can promote positive feelings!" - Victoria writes in case of nostril process preferences.
Worth reading. Elegantly illustrated. Especially, if it comes to depiction of particular dog body language or mimics - visual illustrations are easy to memorise.
"..dog training professionals on both sides of the debate are now so focused on 'training' dogs that some dogs have lost the ability to think for themselves, relying completely on people to direct them." [..] "Shifting away from more structured training" [modern dog training] "and towards developing dogs' natural social skills and problem-solving abilities will create even happier and more confident pets."
The book is composed of a pair of thematic sections related to canine cognition and canine communication, narrating about social behavior - canine body language and signals, like lateral language of left/right biases in wagging a tail or head turning, as examples. "This underscores why using food to encourage learning and to help dogs overcome fears is so beneficial - a good smell can promote positive feelings!" - Victoria writes in case of nostril process preferences.
Worth reading. Elegantly illustrated. Especially, if it comes to depiction of particular dog body language or mimics - visual illustrations are easy to memorise.
"..dog training professionals on both sides of the debate are now so focused on 'training' dogs that some dogs have lost the ability to think for themselves, relying completely on people to direct them." [..] "Shifting away from more structured training" [modern dog training] "and towards developing dogs' natural social skills and problem-solving abilities will create even happier and more confident pets."
December 7, 2016
Victoria Stilwell is the host of well known show 'It's Me Or The Dog'. If your looking for a book based on her popular show, then 'The Secret Language of Dogs' is NOT that book.
But if your looking for an informative book to try and understand dogs or more importantly your dog, then this may be for you.
With beautiful full colour pictures and some line drawings for explanation, this book provides an insight to dogs and gives some training tips at the end of each chapter. I got the most out of chapters titled 'The Secret Meaning of Body and Vocal Language' and 'How to Speak to Your Dog'. It was interesting trying to interpret the way my dog wagged his tail. I knew there were different types of tail wagging and positions but I never knew that tail wagging prominently to the left or right meant different things.
The key is never stop observing your dog's behaviour.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy to read and review.
But if your looking for an informative book to try and understand dogs or more importantly your dog, then this may be for you.
With beautiful full colour pictures and some line drawings for explanation, this book provides an insight to dogs and gives some training tips at the end of each chapter. I got the most out of chapters titled 'The Secret Meaning of Body and Vocal Language' and 'How to Speak to Your Dog'. It was interesting trying to interpret the way my dog wagged his tail. I knew there were different types of tail wagging and positions but I never knew that tail wagging prominently to the left or right meant different things.
The key is never stop observing your dog's behaviour.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy to read and review.
November 20, 2016
This is the perfect book for me, I am a dog person, and yes I have a cat, but dogs are my guys. From first look the cover of the darling pooch drew me in.
This should be mandatory for everyone who owns a dog, almost like an appliance manual, only more for love. We all have those days that our pet is trying to tell me something, only now we have a handbook to turn to. This book is packed with information, and full of enlightenment, and a place to turn for your questions.
Once you start perusing this one, your going to be looking for more and more answers, and of course, your going to be saying, “I knew that”, or “I didn’t know that”. So much facts packed into a handy sized paper book, full of beautiful pictures, and thoughts for unlocking the canine mind. If anything, I found I have a lot of misinformation, and now I know why things didn’t work.
I received this book through Blogging For Books, and was not required to give a positive review.
This should be mandatory for everyone who owns a dog, almost like an appliance manual, only more for love. We all have those days that our pet is trying to tell me something, only now we have a handbook to turn to. This book is packed with information, and full of enlightenment, and a place to turn for your questions.
Once you start perusing this one, your going to be looking for more and more answers, and of course, your going to be saying, “I knew that”, or “I didn’t know that”. So much facts packed into a handy sized paper book, full of beautiful pictures, and thoughts for unlocking the canine mind. If anything, I found I have a lot of misinformation, and now I know why things didn’t work.
I received this book through Blogging For Books, and was not required to give a positive review.
December 1, 2017
I was shocked to discover this book was published in 2016. Victoria clearly states that dogs develop a social hierarchy. There have been countless studies that this is not true. The most evident study to this is that wolves only develop a social hierarchy when placed in captivity. Dogs never develop a social hierarchy, even when in captivity. Displaying dominating/submitting behaviour and actually wanting to establish a social hierarchy are two completely different things. It irritates me to no end when so called “dog professionals” are so behind on the science of what they are supposed to know about. It’s unfortunate that she felt the need to bring this up so early in her book, because then I had a hard time reading the rest of what she wrote and taking it seriously. Putting any mention of this utter-nonsense to the side, this book did have some very interesting insights to the many ways dogs communicate.
February 16, 2021
Good insights, esp for newer dog owner.
June 18, 2018
Clear and to the point
Going into this book, I knew some areas would be familiar to me but that there would also be some nuggets and/or different ways of thinking to discover.
Well written, even somebody who has no understanding of dog training or behaviour will be able to use what they learn in this book with ease.
I love that the author covers the tail in particular with pictures - so often when I am taking my in-training ex-stray out, people will approach and (usually) ask to say hi or pet him. For a dog that used to be a stray, it’s more likely my pup will see their approach as something to fear so though I can read his body language before I give the stranger a yes or no, everyone assumes his wagging tail means he wants to be interacted with. This isn’t always the case - tail wagging can also mean nervous, feeling threatened and other less positive feelings.
The downside: those people that most need to learn dog body language (AKA those that approach dogs they don’t know) aren’t likely to read a book about the topic, even if it is great! I will be recommending this book to owners of dogs I’m helping to train as a must-read and those I encounter on walks that do ask about dog body language.
Going into this book, I knew some areas would be familiar to me but that there would also be some nuggets and/or different ways of thinking to discover.
Well written, even somebody who has no understanding of dog training or behaviour will be able to use what they learn in this book with ease.
I love that the author covers the tail in particular with pictures - so often when I am taking my in-training ex-stray out, people will approach and (usually) ask to say hi or pet him. For a dog that used to be a stray, it’s more likely my pup will see their approach as something to fear so though I can read his body language before I give the stranger a yes or no, everyone assumes his wagging tail means he wants to be interacted with. This isn’t always the case - tail wagging can also mean nervous, feeling threatened and other less positive feelings.
The downside: those people that most need to learn dog body language (AKA those that approach dogs they don’t know) aren’t likely to read a book about the topic, even if it is great! I will be recommending this book to owners of dogs I’m helping to train as a must-read and those I encounter on walks that do ask about dog body language.
March 7, 2017
I have a Siberian Husky named Chocnut for 2 years now and I'm happy that she is part of us. Definitely worth reading if you are a dog lover. After reading this, I'm so glad I didn't let other people train my dog. I love my dogs just normal as they are coz I just can't stand the fact that dogs should be rigidly taught on how they should act and behave. I don't like my dogs being robotic, following each and every command and gesture I make. I like them to be free to choose and communicate what they want.
I adopted a dog because a chose to have a new member of the family as humanely treated as possible. "NOT" a pet slave who gives their owners' satisfaction. If I am to teach my dog, I want to teach her just as I would teach and guide people too. That is through proper communication with a clear sense of freedom of choice. If I become a bad dog owner or parent, that is my fault so there is more responsibility involved.
So yeah its ok for me, if once in a while my dogs don't follow me coz' being disobedient is also a sign intelligence.
I adopted a dog because a chose to have a new member of the family as humanely treated as possible. "NOT" a pet slave who gives their owners' satisfaction. If I am to teach my dog, I want to teach her just as I would teach and guide people too. That is through proper communication with a clear sense of freedom of choice. If I become a bad dog owner or parent, that is my fault so there is more responsibility involved.
So yeah its ok for me, if once in a while my dogs don't follow me coz' being disobedient is also a sign intelligence.
March 3, 2021
I did not enjoy this book. The experience started off well, author explained why positive reinforcement is the most effective training tool. But things started to go downhill. The author attemptscto cover a large number of topics, and it felt like we quickly descend into a page or two just scratching the surface, with no concrete tips or suggestions. Same with behavior you may see in your dog, for example. I especially took exception when it is stated dogs hug only when ready to mate, fight or mount. My dog hugs ( and is hugged back) as part of play, generally when wrestling with a dog he plays with often. I suspect author is an excellent trainer and translating into a book just didn't turn out.
October 6, 2022
The Secret Language of Dogs is a quick, breezy introduction to canine language for first-time dog owners such as myself, but I suspect it may be a bit basic for people who have spent much of their lives with woman's best friend. I also wasn't necessarily convinced that the "research" Stilwell periodically referenced was quite as settled or definitive as she made it out to be.
Most disappointingly, the book didn't give much concrete advice on how to use canine communication to help train a dog. Mostly, it seemed to boil down to, "If you're dog is misbehaving, you aren't meeting its needs." Well, I could use something a little more specific than that.
Still, a decent place to start, although I think it's now time for me to seek out something slightly more rigorous.
Most disappointingly, the book didn't give much concrete advice on how to use canine communication to help train a dog. Mostly, it seemed to boil down to, "If you're dog is misbehaving, you aren't meeting its needs." Well, I could use something a little more specific than that.
Still, a decent place to start, although I think it's now time for me to seek out something slightly more rigorous.
August 30, 2017
The language in this book is simple and easy to understand. While not in any great depth, it does contain valuable information that can help families that include our canine friends. I found the majority to be basic information with several relevant pictures or images to help reinforce the topic or position of the dog. I liked that a wide variety of breeds were represented. This would be a good start for a new owner, especially a younger one. There is a wide selection of books on the same topic and several top quality ones with greater depth available, some of which I use in our own blended family. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 1, 2016
Ms. Stillwell does an excellent job explaining how dogs, like people, learn in different ways from dog to dog. It makes complete sense that some dogs are so distracted by scents (our bloodhound, Jack, for example) that he is unable to pay attention to our voices. This is a wonderful, short handbook for dog owners that truly want to communicate with their dogs...not just be "alpha" (and she explains why this is an unacceptable concept, too). And the photos are fantastic!!
I obtained my free copy of the book from Blogging for Books to review.
I obtained my free copy of the book from Blogging for Books to review.
April 28, 2022
This would have been a better book to read when we were getting a new dog, not after having that dog for 10 years. Still, along with the basic things to teach a new dog coming into your home, the author goes into thing like the meaning of body and vocal language, what tail wagging really means, how to deal with aggression, and various odd behaviors (like rolling in bad smelling things). The thing I learned from this book is that I've pretty much been doing it all right and that I interpreted many of our dog's behaviors accurately, though now I know why.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews