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Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behaviour, and Evolution
Offering a scientifically informed perspective on canines and their relations with humans, the authors take a close look at eight different types of dogs - household, village, livestock guarding, herding, sled pulling, pointing, retrieving and hound. They argue that dogs did not evolve directly from wolves, nor were they trained by early humans; instead they domesticated themselves to exploit a new ecological niche: Mesolithic village dumps. Tracing the evolution of today's breeds from these village dogs the authors show how characteristic shapes and behaviours - from pointing and baying to the sleek shapes of running dogs - arise from both genetic heritage and the environments in which pups are raised.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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July 9, 2023
This is worth reading for the first few chapters alone, in which the authors outline their theory on how dogs went from the wild to our living rooms. It's a bit more scientifically written than I needed, but still readable enough to be enjoyable. It was especially good paired with How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution.
Click here to hear more of my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
Click here to hear more of my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
August 16, 2021
I read this book as one of several that are on the CCPDT reading list for the CPDT-KA. Like many informational books about dogs, training, ethology, behavior, instruction, and more, this book has many gems of information in it that are absolutely invaluable, and many other bits of information that are indisputably incorrect, or outdated.
I'll try to, for the most part, keep my review organized similarly to the sections of the book.
Part I. The Evolution of the Basic Dog: Commensalism
Most of this section was well-sourced, well-written, well-argued, and fascinating.
Chapter 1. Wolves Evolve into Dogs - 4/5 stars
[POSITIVES] This chapter talks in depth about canids in general -- the many species and form that exist within the genus -- and how these do, or don't, relate to dogs. It discusses also, several ideas and hypotheses surrounding the evolutionary history of the dog, and why these matter in health, behavior, and training contexts for modern dogs.
The author discusses "The Pinnochio Hypothesis": the idea that humans domesticated dogs by taking puppies from wolf dens, taming them, training them, and breeding them into dogs through artificial selection. He talks in depth about why this hypothesis is unlikely, using information and personal experiences about wolves, as well as other canids like a New Guinea Singing Dog named Caruso, among others. He then talks about a much more likely hypothesis for the domestication of dogs - self-domestication in the dumps of mesolithic human villages... first, into village dogs, and then, from there, into modern dogs.
He also talks about the experiment Dmitri Belyaev did with foxes, breeding genetically tame foxes, relative to this, which is fascinating and absolutely relevant to understanding domestication of similar species.
He also goes in to why the evolutionary history of dogs matters, both in societal terms, and behavioral terms. Here are some of my favorite snippets about that:
[NEUTRALS & NEGATIVES] This chapter also introduces an idea that the author will repeat throughout the book here and there (which you may notice in the titles of Parts I-IV of the book), of looking at the relationships between dogs and people through the lens of an ecologist (which the author is), and considering if their relationship qualitifes as commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, amensalism, or dulosis. The author defines these terms all on pg. 27-28 of this chapter, but goes through them once again when each is brought up in later sections. I will admit, that at times, this gets tiresome, and it feels as though the author is walking in circles, not quite getting to the point of why he feels this is critical for the reader to think about.
He does, however, justify it in this chapter, which is easy for a reader to not recall things in detail from the beginning chapter as they go through the book, when it's an information-heavy book like this, that can take some folks a while to read if they really sit down to process it. He does get to the point near the end of the conclusion. Despite my own interest in ecology, background in biology, and vested interest from the perspective of a dog trainer, I sometimes found myself asking "Okay, but what is the point of this? What tangible difference does it make on our or dogs' lives?" in parts of the book.
Here's a small passage, justifying this, from pg. 29:
The only real qualm I have with this, is that the author takes the route of focusing on biological success (of a species) as his measure for this relationship, rather than individual success/wellbeing of individual animals. While this makes sense from an ecological perspective, it's rather distant from relevance to invidual dogs that people are spending their daily lives with, or spending their careers working with. "Reproductive success" isn't relevan to individual pet dogs in the same way that enrichment is, you know?
Still, it was a different perspective than the usual one we see about domestic species, to consider.
Chapter 2. Village Dogs 5/5 stars
The chapter on village dogs was incredibly interesting, well-researched, and informative. You get to learn about village dogs in much more detail than it's talked about many other places. The author has personally visted villages that have wild village dogs, and done a lot of research into it. He talks in depth about the differences physiologically, behaviorally, etc. between village dogs (especially those in Pemba), and wolves, or other canids. He also discusses the difference between how village dogs are regarded in places like Pemba vs. how pet dogs are regarded, in other areas.
Hopefully that sample of this chapter can give you an idea of how interesting, informative, and relevant this chapter is to our understanding of dogs. I really enjoyed this chapter.
Chapter 3. Natural Breeds 5/5 stars
This chapter expands upon what we were told in the chapter on village dogs. It goes through a lot of information on how these dogs may go from wild village dogs to "favored pups" to, perhaps, something similar to modern dogs. This chapter also shares a very interesting anecdote, which you'll have to check out the chapter for.
Part II. Working Dogs and People: Mutualism
This chapter talks a lot about behavior and development of dogs, over their different developmental periods and their lifetime.
pg. 100
Chapter 4. Developmental Environments 1/5 stars
There are several different types of working dogs that are talked about in this chapter, including Livestock-Guarding Dogs as well as Herding Dogs. Some of the anecdotes shared in this chapter are intriguing, and some of the background information on dog behavior is useful and interesting, but a lot of the specifics the author gives about working with LGDs is actually... simply a lot of inaccurate information, outdated suggestions, and incorrect assumptions. The author also contradicts himself several times in this chapter. I'll try to get into why, a bit, and offer a suggestion of a place one can get better LGD training advice, if needed. Unfortunately, there's just not as much good, published information on Livestock Guardian Dogs as those of us who have worked with or had them would prefer.
[NEGATIVES] At one point, the author refers to epigenetic as meaning "above the genes" (p. 110), which is note an accurate way to define this word.
The author also, at one point, pushes the concept of "can't teach an old dog new tricks," (p. 110) which most dog trainers can tell you, is factually incorrect. Dogs are predisposed to learn stronger associations in the form of socialization, or to respond more strongly to fearful stimuli during particular early developmental periods, but that most certainly does not mean they cannot "learn new tricks" or modify their behavior in other ways later in life.
pg. 111. I wish the author would have kept this in mind more in this chapter, when he instead chose to make inaccurate blanket statements.
The following quote is an example of LGDs being set up for failure by folks who expected them to simply know their exact behavioral needs before being fully developed, and without being trained in appropriate behavior. Instead, the author tends to blame these failures on the dogs being obtained too old, or not put in with the livestock as a baby without supervision or guidance or protection from predators itself, despite that young LGD puppies cannot defend themselves from a predator, let alone anything else.
The issue with this puppy was not that it wasn't in with sheep when it was an infant, but rather, that it was out with sheep, alone, unsupervised, unprotected, and without adequate fencing, far too young. It wasn't ready, hadn't bonded with its shepherd, and didn't know what was expected of it. A four-month old pup is young, and afraid, and has only been weaned from its mother (ideally) for 4-8 weeks.
In case anyone is unaware, I'd like to share a secret that our author didn't with you: puppies learn absolutely invaluable social and behavioral information from their mothers and littermates from 0-8 weeks. When possible, I, as a dog trainer, find it ideal to have a pup with its mother until 12 weeks, if the littermates will be there too. I, and other trainers, often meet people who are facing a lot of behavioral problems with their young puppies that they can't figure out, and the common strain in a lot of these puppies, is that they were either obtained too young, or weren't socialized well at a young age.
The secret, is that you want the breeder who has the pup with them at that time, to be also doing appropriate socialization with the litter while the puppies are with mom. If you are getting a dog from a breeder, asking what the breeder does with the dogs during their development, as far as socialization, enrichment, and otherwise, to set them up for success will give you a lot of information about whether or not they are setting the puppies up for success in the lifestyle you want your dogs to be in.
It's absolutely irresponsible that the author is suggesting that people obtain their livestock guardian dogs at four to five weeks of age. (pg. 119) This is setting anyone who obtains a dog of that age up for a lot of failure and heartbreak.
For more accurate information on the care, raising, and training of Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs), there's a very useful facebook group one can reference, known as Training Support for Livestock Guardian Dogs, that was made as a result of the unfortunate dearth of availability of accurate information on LGD training.
Chapter 5. The Physical Conformation of a Breed 5/5 stars
This chapter has a lot of information that comes from the author's personal experiences having raised and worked wtih sled dogs, which can be very interesting. The chapter talks about the ways in which physical conformation and abilities vary between breeds, and how that limites their behaviors to what is physically possible for them, among other things.
I'll put a few favorite snippets as examples of this chapter.
Chapter 6. Behavioral Conformation 5/5 stars
This chapter was extremely interesting. It's the chapter I was looking forward to most, when I picked up the book to read it, in fact. It goes over something that the author calls "motor patterns" and how these vary from breed to breed. Page 199 has a very interesting table, but it will make a lot more sense if you dig into the text around it to understand it further. Pages 206-211 go in to some depth about this, and are very interesting! Starting on page 211, the author goes into specifics of these motor patterns of the border collie.
pg. 217
Part III. Are People the Dog's Best Friend? Parasitism, Amensalism, and Dulosis
Chapter 7. Household Dogs 3/5 stars
Many folks who read this chapter will not enjoy the tone with which the author approaches household or "pet" dogs. Those who know the meanings of parasitism, amensalism, and dulosis can probably guess why. The following is an example the author gave of how a human-dog relationship could qualify as "parasitism" (and note here, that the author is, like in chapter 1, speaking in terms strictly of Biological Success/Survival/Reproduction, not in terms we often think of dogs in, such as the emotional benefit they bring us).
The thing is, the author does bring up some valid criticisms of how we interact with our pet dogs. In some ways, the ways we interact with them, like breeding practices that don't value the health of the dogs as much as a shape we have decided that we find pleasing of a dog.
The biggest qualm I have with this chapter, other than knowing that I, like many others, find the tone in some ways off-putting... is that once again, the author is giving incorrect advice that sets owners up for failure, like once again, telling people to "get a pup before it is eight weeks old". When advice like this makes its way to dog owners, trainers like myself and others will later have to help those owners undo the damage.
Please, do not get your dog before eight weeks of age.
That aside, for most of this chapter, it really feels as though the author is missing the point of having a dog as a pet. For other parts of it, the author is giving understandable critiques for the negative impacts that humans sometimes have on dogs.
If the inaccurate advice and off-putting tone had been left behind, I think readers could get more of value from this chapter.
Chapter 8. Assistance Dogs 3/5 stars
Part IV. The Tail Wags the Dog
Chapter 9 What's in the Name Canis familiaris? 5/5 stars
Chapter 10. The Age of the Dog 4/5 stars
Chapter 11. Why Dogs Look the Way They Do 4/5 stars
Chapter 12. Conclusion 4/5 stars
I'll try to, for the most part, keep my review organized similarly to the sections of the book.
Part I. The Evolution of the Basic Dog: Commensalism
Most of this section was well-sourced, well-written, well-argued, and fascinating.
Chapter 1. Wolves Evolve into Dogs - 4/5 stars
[POSITIVES] This chapter talks in depth about canids in general -- the many species and form that exist within the genus -- and how these do, or don't, relate to dogs. It discusses also, several ideas and hypotheses surrounding the evolutionary history of the dog, and why these matter in health, behavior, and training contexts for modern dogs.
The author discusses "The Pinnochio Hypothesis": the idea that humans domesticated dogs by taking puppies from wolf dens, taming them, training them, and breeding them into dogs through artificial selection. He talks in depth about why this hypothesis is unlikely, using information and personal experiences about wolves, as well as other canids like a New Guinea Singing Dog named Caruso, among others. He then talks about a much more likely hypothesis for the domestication of dogs - self-domestication in the dumps of mesolithic human villages... first, into village dogs, and then, from there, into modern dogs.
"Why are dogs better at feeding in the dump? Partly because dogs are genetically tamer, and outcompete the genetically shy (of people) wolves. Outcompete means that if a dog adn a wolf are feeding side by side in a dump, and a person approaches, the wolf would run first, and the dog would continue to eat. The dog not only would get more of the dump's resources, but wouldn't use up as much energy by running away. A shy animal cannot learn to be tame. Tame is a successful adaptation to feeding in the dump."
He also talks about the experiment Dmitri Belyaev did with foxes, breeding genetically tame foxes, relative to this, which is fascinating and absolutely relevant to understanding domestication of similar species.
He also goes in to why the evolutionary history of dogs matters, both in societal terms, and behavioral terms. Here are some of my favorite snippets about that:
Dogs do not think like wolves, nor do they behave like them. Books about training dogs would have us believe that dogs get their behavior directly from wolves. We are advised to act like the pack leader, the alpha male, and treat our dogs as subordinates. Since dogs came from wolves, they say, dogs should behave like wolves, think like wolves, and respond to wolflike signals. / But dogs can't think like wolves, because they do not have wolf brains.
I don't want my sled-dogs rolling on their backs and urinating in the air like some subordinate wolf every time I show up.
[NEUTRALS & NEGATIVES] This chapter also introduces an idea that the author will repeat throughout the book here and there (which you may notice in the titles of Parts I-IV of the book), of looking at the relationships between dogs and people through the lens of an ecologist (which the author is), and considering if their relationship qualitifes as commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, amensalism, or dulosis. The author defines these terms all on pg. 27-28 of this chapter, but goes through them once again when each is brought up in later sections. I will admit, that at times, this gets tiresome, and it feels as though the author is walking in circles, not quite getting to the point of why he feels this is critical for the reader to think about.
He does, however, justify it in this chapter, which is easy for a reader to not recall things in detail from the beginning chapter as they go through the book, when it's an information-heavy book like this, that can take some folks a while to read if they really sit down to process it. He does get to the point near the end of the conclusion. Despite my own interest in ecology, background in biology, and vested interest from the perspective of a dog trainer, I sometimes found myself asking "Okay, but what is the point of this? What tangible difference does it make on our or dogs' lives?" in parts of the book.
Here's a small passage, justifying this, from pg. 29:
"The fact that dogs are obligated to live with people means that people can exercise a certain power over them, and can force them into any kind of relationship. Many of these relatinoships are as heartwarming as anyone could possibly want. Others are difficult for both the people and the dogs."
The only real qualm I have with this, is that the author takes the route of focusing on biological success (of a species) as his measure for this relationship, rather than individual success/wellbeing of individual animals. While this makes sense from an ecological perspective, it's rather distant from relevance to invidual dogs that people are spending their daily lives with, or spending their careers working with. "Reproductive success" isn't relevan to individual pet dogs in the same way that enrichment is, you know?
Still, it was a different perspective than the usual one we see about domestic species, to consider.
Chapter 2. Village Dogs 5/5 stars
The chapter on village dogs was incredibly interesting, well-researched, and informative. You get to learn about village dogs in much more detail than it's talked about many other places. The author has personally visted villages that have wild village dogs, and done a lot of research into it. He talks in depth about the differences physiologically, behaviorally, etc. between village dogs (especially those in Pemba), and wolves, or other canids. He also discusses the difference between how village dogs are regarded in places like Pemba vs. how pet dogs are regarded, in other areas.
"Dogs hardly ned a social organization to feed on discarded chicken bones and mango skins. For dogs, other dogs are no help when it comes to feeding themselves or feeding pups. In fact, other dogs are not only no help in finding garbage, but they are the chief competitors for a limited quantity of food. Thus, packing behaviors are not to a village dog's selective advantage. There are few benefits in getting together to feed, and no motivation to feed someone else's pups.
How important this observation is for our understanding of the dog. The village dog is not a pack animal in the same sense a wolf is."
Hopefully that sample of this chapter can give you an idea of how interesting, informative, and relevant this chapter is to our understanding of dogs. I really enjoyed this chapter.
Chapter 3. Natural Breeds 5/5 stars
This chapter expands upon what we were told in the chapter on village dogs. It goes through a lot of information on how these dogs may go from wild village dogs to "favored pups" to, perhaps, something similar to modern dogs. This chapter also shares a very interesting anecdote, which you'll have to check out the chapter for.
Part II. Working Dogs and People: Mutualism
This chapter talks a lot about behavior and development of dogs, over their different developmental periods and their lifetime.
"But even among dogs of the correct nature, most cannot perform unless they are nurtured properly from birth."
pg. 100
Chapter 4. Developmental Environments 1/5 stars
There are several different types of working dogs that are talked about in this chapter, including Livestock-Guarding Dogs as well as Herding Dogs. Some of the anecdotes shared in this chapter are intriguing, and some of the background information on dog behavior is useful and interesting, but a lot of the specifics the author gives about working with LGDs is actually... simply a lot of inaccurate information, outdated suggestions, and incorrect assumptions. The author also contradicts himself several times in this chapter. I'll try to get into why, a bit, and offer a suggestion of a place one can get better LGD training advice, if needed. Unfortunately, there's just not as much good, published information on Livestock Guardian Dogs as those of us who have worked with or had them would prefer.
[NEGATIVES] At one point, the author refers to epigenetic as meaning "above the genes" (p. 110), which is note an accurate way to define this word.
The author also, at one point, pushes the concept of "can't teach an old dog new tricks," (p. 110) which most dog trainers can tell you, is factually incorrect. Dogs are predisposed to learn stronger associations in the form of socialization, or to respond more strongly to fearful stimuli during particular early developmental periods, but that most certainly does not mean they cannot "learn new tricks" or modify their behavior in other ways later in life.
"There is an important essential here. Early experience is vital not because it is the first learning, but rather because it affects the brain's development."
pg. 111. I wish the author would have kept this in mind more in this chapter, when he instead chose to make inaccurate blanket statements.
The following quote is an example of LGDs being set up for failure by folks who expected them to simply know their exact behavioral needs before being fully developed, and without being trained in appropriate behavior. Instead, the author tends to blame these failures on the dogs being obtained too old, or not put in with the livestock as a baby without supervision or guidance or protection from predators itself, despite that young LGD puppies cannot defend themselves from a predator, let alone anything else.
"At the same time, during our resarch program with the guardians, we received many telephone calls from producers with the following complaint. The caller had purchased an older pup -- say, a four-month-old Pyrenean from a breeder who told him it was a traditional livestock guardian -- and he couldn't get the dog to stay with the sheep even though the dog was from "good" breeding stock. Our first question to him: Was the dog in with sheep for its first four months? No? Then it had the wrong brain shape. You can't satisfactorily teach a dog a new social trick."
The issue with this puppy was not that it wasn't in with sheep when it was an infant, but rather, that it was out with sheep, alone, unsupervised, unprotected, and without adequate fencing, far too young. It wasn't ready, hadn't bonded with its shepherd, and didn't know what was expected of it. A four-month old pup is young, and afraid, and has only been weaned from its mother (ideally) for 4-8 weeks.
In case anyone is unaware, I'd like to share a secret that our author didn't with you: puppies learn absolutely invaluable social and behavioral information from their mothers and littermates from 0-8 weeks. When possible, I, as a dog trainer, find it ideal to have a pup with its mother until 12 weeks, if the littermates will be there too. I, and other trainers, often meet people who are facing a lot of behavioral problems with their young puppies that they can't figure out, and the common strain in a lot of these puppies, is that they were either obtained too young, or weren't socialized well at a young age.
The secret, is that you want the breeder who has the pup with them at that time, to be also doing appropriate socialization with the litter while the puppies are with mom. If you are getting a dog from a breeder, asking what the breeder does with the dogs during their development, as far as socialization, enrichment, and otherwise, to set them up for success will give you a lot of information about whether or not they are setting the puppies up for success in the lifestyle you want your dogs to be in.
It's absolutely irresponsible that the author is suggesting that people obtain their livestock guardian dogs at four to five weeks of age. (pg. 119) This is setting anyone who obtains a dog of that age up for a lot of failure and heartbreak.
For more accurate information on the care, raising, and training of Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs), there's a very useful facebook group one can reference, known as Training Support for Livestock Guardian Dogs, that was made as a result of the unfortunate dearth of availability of accurate information on LGD training.
Chapter 5. The Physical Conformation of a Breed 5/5 stars
This chapter has a lot of information that comes from the author's personal experiences having raised and worked wtih sled dogs, which can be very interesting. The chapter talks about the ways in which physical conformation and abilities vary between breeds, and how that limites their behaviors to what is physically possible for them, among other things.
I'll put a few favorite snippets as examples of this chapter.
"There are two essential reasons why greyhounds cannot win sled dog races. One, they have an inappropriate gait for pulling a sled. And two, they are too big and heavy."
"If you put a leap-leap dog like a greyhound or even a leap-walk dog in a harness, the instant that all four feet are off the ground, the back strap of hte harness will not only stop the flight, but pull the dog backward and off balance and it will fall sideways toward the central gang line. The dog will become unstable. [...] Animals that are pulling something must always keep one foot on the ground for stability."
"The whole process is this: the shape of the animal provides the limits of its behavior (its motion through space and time)."
Chapter 6. Behavioral Conformation 5/5 stars
This chapter was extremely interesting. It's the chapter I was looking forward to most, when I picked up the book to read it, in fact. It goes over something that the author calls "motor patterns" and how these vary from breed to breed. Page 199 has a very interesting table, but it will make a lot more sense if you dig into the text around it to understand it further. Pages 206-211 go in to some depth about this, and are very interesting! Starting on page 211, the author goes into specifics of these motor patterns of the border collie.
"Innate (genetic), internally motivated behaviors are defined by ethologists as motor patterns. Each motor pattern has an onset during the life of hte dog. Each motor pattern also has a rate of expression. The frequency of maternal behavior, for instance ,is episodic during hte life of a female dog. And each motor pattern has an offset point, after which you don't see it again."
pg. 217
Part III. Are People the Dog's Best Friend? Parasitism, Amensalism, and Dulosis
Chapter 7. Household Dogs 3/5 stars
Many folks who read this chapter will not enjoy the tone with which the author approaches household or "pet" dogs. Those who know the meanings of parasitism, amensalism, and dulosis can probably guess why. The following is an example the author gave of how a human-dog relationship could qualify as "parasitism" (and note here, that the author is, like in chapter 1, speaking in terms strictly of Biological Success/Survival/Reproduction, not in terms we often think of dogs in, such as the emotional benefit they bring us).
"The dog is a drain on my resources and my energy. The dog takes time and money that I should be investing in my children. It makes me less fit for survival."
The thing is, the author does bring up some valid criticisms of how we interact with our pet dogs. In some ways, the ways we interact with them, like breeding practices that don't value the health of the dogs as much as a shape we have decided that we find pleasing of a dog.
"[...]In order to enhance its robust, highly unuusal appearance, breeders have selected for those traits that emphasize the essence of the bulldog--the thick, massive head and short, pug nose. What they have achieved, probably accidentally, are dogs that often can barely breathe, can barely chew, whose puppies are hard to deliver, and females that have to eb artificially inseminated. Such animals cannot be living a comfortable life. Their "enhanced" abnormal shape traps them in a genetic dead end. Being caught and bred as household dogs is detrimental to their long-term reproductive survival."
The biggest qualm I have with this chapter, other than knowing that I, like many others, find the tone in some ways off-putting... is that once again, the author is giving incorrect advice that sets owners up for failure, like once again, telling people to "get a pup before it is eight weeks old". When advice like this makes its way to dog owners, trainers like myself and others will later have to help those owners undo the damage.
Please, do not get your dog before eight weeks of age.
That aside, for most of this chapter, it really feels as though the author is missing the point of having a dog as a pet. For other parts of it, the author is giving understandable critiques for the negative impacts that humans sometimes have on dogs.
"What is troublesome is that modern society seems to have little realization of what it is doing to dogs. Owners don't seem to be disturbed about deformation, or even that their dogs are overweight. [...] I believe the modern dog is bred to satisfy human psychological needs, with little or no consideration of the consequences for the dog."
If the inaccurate advice and off-putting tone had been left behind, I think readers could get more of value from this chapter.
Chapter 8. Assistance Dogs 3/5 stars
Part IV. The Tail Wags the Dog
Chapter 9 What's in the Name Canis familiaris? 5/5 stars
Chapter 10. The Age of the Dog 4/5 stars
Chapter 11. Why Dogs Look the Way They Do 4/5 stars
Chapter 12. Conclusion 4/5 stars
"And while you are spending all that fun time socializing and training your dog, don't ever, ever treat it as if it were a wolf. Write it on the wall: To be descended from a wolf is not to be a wolf.
And under that, write the great advice attributed to Canadian sled dogger Emile Martel: "Don't forget, they are only dogs."
February 11, 2013
Contained some useful information, but was written with an extremely biased, snobby attitude towards pet owners.
December 15, 2017
Coppinger has written an exceptionally important work, and I have rated it highly for the ideas it contains, not for the writing. In my opinion, Coppinger frequently reverts to a difficult and obtuse style, which seems to me perhaps more academic than general audience.
In spite of the sometimes annoying nature of the writing style, the ideas that Coppinger has brought forward through decades of research have already revolutionized how we think of and look at dogs. Since it was published, in 2001, his ideas have spread like wildfire throughout the dog community, even when people are not aware of it. There are some people arguing against Coppinger's primary thesis, but even their arguments have been changed by this.
Coppinger's primary thesis is that all dogs have evolved from village dogs, and village dogs essentially probably "domesticated" themselves in order to take advantage of the waste left by man. He certainly has other themes in the book, though. One other is that the whole idea of "breeds", and more particularly breeding for looks instead of behavior, has created dogs who are unhealthy and dying younger and younger in pursuit of those breed standards.
While I highly recommend reading Coppinger because of the importance of his ideas, I can't tell you it will be a fun read, although there are interesting and enjoyable anecdotes interspersed.
In spite of the sometimes annoying nature of the writing style, the ideas that Coppinger has brought forward through decades of research have already revolutionized how we think of and look at dogs. Since it was published, in 2001, his ideas have spread like wildfire throughout the dog community, even when people are not aware of it. There are some people arguing against Coppinger's primary thesis, but even their arguments have been changed by this.
Coppinger's primary thesis is that all dogs have evolved from village dogs, and village dogs essentially probably "domesticated" themselves in order to take advantage of the waste left by man. He certainly has other themes in the book, though. One other is that the whole idea of "breeds", and more particularly breeding for looks instead of behavior, has created dogs who are unhealthy and dying younger and younger in pursuit of those breed standards.
While I highly recommend reading Coppinger because of the importance of his ideas, I can't tell you it will be a fun read, although there are interesting and enjoyable anecdotes interspersed.
October 3, 2008
"A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution."
Marking the first time that dogs have been explained in such detail by eminent researchers, "Dogs" is a work of wide appeal, as absorbing as it is enlightening.
Lorna and Raymond Coppinger explore the fascinating process by which dog breeds have evolved into their unique shapes and behaviors. Concentrating on five types of dogs - modern household dogs, village dogs, livestock-guarding dogs, sled dogs, and herding dogs - the Coppingers, internationally recognized canine ethologists and consummate dog lovers, examine the our canine companions from a unique viewpoint.
This book has a lot of great information for dog owners, lovers, and breeders. Unfortunately they will not be reading it. This book is so dry it took me weeks to get through it. Imagine yourself reading a 325 page scientific abstract.
Fascinating work but dry, dry, dry.
Marking the first time that dogs have been explained in such detail by eminent researchers, "Dogs" is a work of wide appeal, as absorbing as it is enlightening.
Lorna and Raymond Coppinger explore the fascinating process by which dog breeds have evolved into their unique shapes and behaviors. Concentrating on five types of dogs - modern household dogs, village dogs, livestock-guarding dogs, sled dogs, and herding dogs - the Coppingers, internationally recognized canine ethologists and consummate dog lovers, examine the our canine companions from a unique viewpoint.
This book has a lot of great information for dog owners, lovers, and breeders. Unfortunately they will not be reading it. This book is so dry it took me weeks to get through it. Imagine yourself reading a 325 page scientific abstract.
Fascinating work but dry, dry, dry.
January 5, 2012
This must be the most interesting and most important dog book I've ever read. I can't recommend this book enough to anyone who owns a dog. It's written by Raymond Coppinger, a professor in biology, something that makes this book even better.
Too much of dog literature are written by people with no education in biology, zoology or dog behaviour. So this is one of the few dog books that is actualy rooted in science, and it effectivly strips away a lot of old myths about dogs relations to wolves, their origin and behaviour. A very important book, we really need to weed out so much of the established superstition and wrong-thinking about dogs, who they are and how they function.
Do your dog and yourself a favour and read this book.
Too much of dog literature are written by people with no education in biology, zoology or dog behaviour. So this is one of the few dog books that is actualy rooted in science, and it effectivly strips away a lot of old myths about dogs relations to wolves, their origin and behaviour. A very important book, we really need to weed out so much of the established superstition and wrong-thinking about dogs, who they are and how they function.
Do your dog and yourself a favour and read this book.
September 19, 2013
Interesting to me, because I always like reading hard science about dogs, but the Coppingers are SO intense about them, often in unreasonable ways. For example, although I agree with them that dogs are best bred if they still preserve a working line, I disagree that dogs are just worthless "parasites" (their words) if kept as household companions. They seem to believe that dogs are only worth having if you can use them for a working purpose. This conclusion is obviously NOT the conclusion that millions of people around the world (including myself) have come to. But I do respect and recognize the vital importance of breeding for health and a working purpose over mere looks. Dog shows and purebred fanciers only produce sick mutants. And the Coppingers' research clearly reinforces this.
January 16, 2009
This book asked more questions then providing answers. I did not like this book and would not recommend it.
February 9, 2018
We claim to love dogs, and yet we know so little about them. We long for their unconditional affection, but we are ignorant of their needs and our faults altogether. Moreover, we like to think dogs as wolves and believe that by law of atavism dogs reverse to their ancestral traits of predatory nature in a matter of time when they become forever off-leash. Since I am a kind of person who says hello to a dog I encounter in the streets, this book captured my eyes and mind to know more about dogs, a beautifully different organism worthy of our attention and care, and to understand how they got their way and how their relationships with us can be enhanced so both species can thrive in mutual benefit based upon scientific and cultural examinations of our fido friends.
This book, written principally by Raymond Coppinger, professor of biology at Hampshire College, a former sled dog racing champion, and one of the greatest admirers of dogs, with the help of co-author, Lorna Coppinger, his wife who has written many articles about dogs, is unique among many other books about dogs I have read in terms of its scientific bases of anthropological and behavioral studies of canine familiaris, i.e., the dog. It invites readers to look at different types of dogs, such as village, guarding, herding, sled-pulling, hound, and retrieving. Both the Coppinger forthwith and forthright expound on a theory that dogs are not direct descendants of canis lupus, the wolf, although there may be only 0.01 difference between the genetic packages of dogs. The authors challenge Darwinian evolutionary theory that people tamed and trained wild wolves to turn them into dogs and thus became what we are presently known as “dogs” by suggesting dogs’ own natural selection of their being adopted to a niche created by humans for survival.
The foundation of such theory lies in the three factors of anthropological evidence, behavioral ecology, and Belyaeve’s tamed foxes. First, the Coppingers take readers to to a village of Pemba, an island off the East African coast in the territory of Tanzania, where the inhabitants still live on a boundary between humting-gathering of the Mesolithic period and agriculture of the Neolithic period. In Pemba, dogs exemplify village dogs all unleashed, freely roaming for scrapes of food and being casually fed by the villagers, by showing the uniformity of shapes, sizes, and colors of the coats, which shows isolated gene pool untainted by any other strain of dog that introduce a variation in appearance. This in fact signals intense “artificial” selective breeding pressure so common in many of modern societies to breed the purest pedigree of dog. Based upon their log-term observations, these Pemba village dogs have co-habituated with their human inhabitants by selecting to claim a niche close to human existence as a place of steady supply of food, safety, and reproduction, thus leading to a conclusion that they are the descendants of the first evolved domestic dogs from the Mesolithic period of human history.
In fact, such theory is further expounded by the following model of dog-from-wolf genesis as follows: Domestic - Naturally tamable - naturally trainable. First, people created a new niche called the village. Then some curious-minded wolves came to the niche and gained access to a new food source available without going to hunt. So theses smart wolves adopted to this new convenient niche are “genetically” predisposed to show less “flight” distance than those of their wild peers. Consequently, these “tamer” wolves gained selective advantage in the new niche over their wild peers who still have to search and hunt for food in wilderness. This scenario of domesticated dogs is corroborated by a Russian geneticist named Dmitri Belyaev’s long term experiment with the Russian Silver Foxes that after 18 generations (36 years on our evolutionary clock)became naturally tamed without showing flight distance from the presence of humans and remarkably resembled dogs in appearance and temperament.
With respect to the genesis of dog, the Coppinger ardently disagrees to the wolf-turned-dog theory. Although they excuse themselves using the word, “a wolf” or “wolves” in explaining the aforesaid theory on domestication because they can’t find any other equivalent species to account for, that the dogs are not wolves is the bedrock of their belief in the genesis of the dog species. Rather, dogs descended from a “wolf-like” species that became extinct is their paramount contention to the widely accepted opinion. This wolf-like species, a missing link, might possess a characteristic of the neoteny theory by which dogs developed their shapes and behaviors by retaining wolfish juvenile shapes and features, such as round and short facial shape with floppy ears, and care-soliciting behaviors - especially when asking for food and attention - into adulthood. That is, by retaining the cute and lovable appearance of wolf puppies into adulthood, the behavioral developments of dogs still remain in perpetual juvenile stage, which make themselves well adopted to the human inhibition and thus able to survive in their niches for their safe existence.
Dogs are one of the fewest animals who share our lives and require our tender attention and care for the reasons in light of the above and most of all, the feeling we get when we see the eyes of dogs that are so soulful and insightful. They are vulnerable to a lack of food and safety and most sadly, do not live longer than we do. If we profess to love dogs, the relationship should not be one-way street, demanding their unconditional loyalty or well-disciplined behaviors as if they were our inferiors. In this book on dogs, the Coppinger ask us to take a close look at our canine fellows in their true form based upon their biological needs and behavioral tendencies, love them as they are, and treat them as a wonderful creature of nature that has been with us for so many years in our human history. Don’t forget the little heartbeat when your dog is at your feet. Never forget that they are only dogs.
This book, written principally by Raymond Coppinger, professor of biology at Hampshire College, a former sled dog racing champion, and one of the greatest admirers of dogs, with the help of co-author, Lorna Coppinger, his wife who has written many articles about dogs, is unique among many other books about dogs I have read in terms of its scientific bases of anthropological and behavioral studies of canine familiaris, i.e., the dog. It invites readers to look at different types of dogs, such as village, guarding, herding, sled-pulling, hound, and retrieving. Both the Coppinger forthwith and forthright expound on a theory that dogs are not direct descendants of canis lupus, the wolf, although there may be only 0.01 difference between the genetic packages of dogs. The authors challenge Darwinian evolutionary theory that people tamed and trained wild wolves to turn them into dogs and thus became what we are presently known as “dogs” by suggesting dogs’ own natural selection of their being adopted to a niche created by humans for survival.
The foundation of such theory lies in the three factors of anthropological evidence, behavioral ecology, and Belyaeve’s tamed foxes. First, the Coppingers take readers to to a village of Pemba, an island off the East African coast in the territory of Tanzania, where the inhabitants still live on a boundary between humting-gathering of the Mesolithic period and agriculture of the Neolithic period. In Pemba, dogs exemplify village dogs all unleashed, freely roaming for scrapes of food and being casually fed by the villagers, by showing the uniformity of shapes, sizes, and colors of the coats, which shows isolated gene pool untainted by any other strain of dog that introduce a variation in appearance. This in fact signals intense “artificial” selective breeding pressure so common in many of modern societies to breed the purest pedigree of dog. Based upon their log-term observations, these Pemba village dogs have co-habituated with their human inhabitants by selecting to claim a niche close to human existence as a place of steady supply of food, safety, and reproduction, thus leading to a conclusion that they are the descendants of the first evolved domestic dogs from the Mesolithic period of human history.
In fact, such theory is further expounded by the following model of dog-from-wolf genesis as follows: Domestic - Naturally tamable - naturally trainable. First, people created a new niche called the village. Then some curious-minded wolves came to the niche and gained access to a new food source available without going to hunt. So theses smart wolves adopted to this new convenient niche are “genetically” predisposed to show less “flight” distance than those of their wild peers. Consequently, these “tamer” wolves gained selective advantage in the new niche over their wild peers who still have to search and hunt for food in wilderness. This scenario of domesticated dogs is corroborated by a Russian geneticist named Dmitri Belyaev’s long term experiment with the Russian Silver Foxes that after 18 generations (36 years on our evolutionary clock)became naturally tamed without showing flight distance from the presence of humans and remarkably resembled dogs in appearance and temperament.
With respect to the genesis of dog, the Coppinger ardently disagrees to the wolf-turned-dog theory. Although they excuse themselves using the word, “a wolf” or “wolves” in explaining the aforesaid theory on domestication because they can’t find any other equivalent species to account for, that the dogs are not wolves is the bedrock of their belief in the genesis of the dog species. Rather, dogs descended from a “wolf-like” species that became extinct is their paramount contention to the widely accepted opinion. This wolf-like species, a missing link, might possess a characteristic of the neoteny theory by which dogs developed their shapes and behaviors by retaining wolfish juvenile shapes and features, such as round and short facial shape with floppy ears, and care-soliciting behaviors - especially when asking for food and attention - into adulthood. That is, by retaining the cute and lovable appearance of wolf puppies into adulthood, the behavioral developments of dogs still remain in perpetual juvenile stage, which make themselves well adopted to the human inhibition and thus able to survive in their niches for their safe existence.
Dogs are one of the fewest animals who share our lives and require our tender attention and care for the reasons in light of the above and most of all, the feeling we get when we see the eyes of dogs that are so soulful and insightful. They are vulnerable to a lack of food and safety and most sadly, do not live longer than we do. If we profess to love dogs, the relationship should not be one-way street, demanding their unconditional loyalty or well-disciplined behaviors as if they were our inferiors. In this book on dogs, the Coppinger ask us to take a close look at our canine fellows in their true form based upon their biological needs and behavioral tendencies, love them as they are, and treat them as a wonderful creature of nature that has been with us for so many years in our human history. Don’t forget the little heartbeat when your dog is at your feet. Never forget that they are only dogs.
May 30, 2021
DNF, which is fairly rare for me. The authors are knowledgeable and experienced in their fields, but this book doesn't show it. The poor writing paired with a tone I can only describe as snotty, plus a heavy mix of opinion stated as fact made slogging through for the good bits intolerable. I would only recommend this if you have absolutely no background knowledge about canine evolution and thought dogs were simply our special friends with no species phenomena going on between us.
June 19, 2017
Lots of great science based information for anyone interested in dogs. Recommended, but I do feel some of the information may already need to be updated. My book was copyrighted 2001, but the information seemed dated.
September 2, 2007
I read this book for a class I was teaching on the evolution of the human-domestic dog relationship. I was worried it might be too specialized for me, but it was really accessible. And informative.
May 23, 2019
This book gets a lot of points for, in several chapters, some of the most fascinating writing on dogs I’ve encountered. It also brought a different perspective compared to my usual fare. Overall, however, the writing is muddy and in many chapters I struggled to follow the logic. In some cases I even doubted the logic. Still well worth the read for hard-core dog people with an interest in science. Caveat: there has been a lot of research since 2001, when this book was published.
January 2, 2022
I first read this book about 15 years ago and it was the most eye-opening and interesting look at dog behavior that I had ever been exposed to. Curious about why some breeds have such very different behavior patterns than others? you'll find out why in this book. The author incorporates his research with stories from his travels and study adventures for a learning experience that is both easy to follow and will leave you looking for more of his work!
August 12, 2017
The section on dog evolution was very, very interesting. Other parts were (as others noted) very dry and a tough, textbook-like read. I feel like it could have been the basis of two better books — one a shorter and more concise version (in some places it gets drawn out and redundant) and one a longer and more in depth textbook (in other places the assertions seem to deserve more evidence).
May 12, 2021
This amazing book was a treasure trove of knowledge!!! I absolutely loved it and learned so much!!! I highly suggest any dog trainer, vet, behaviorist, or even just dog lover, read this book! I absolutely loved learning about the history of dogs and Raymond and Lorna Coppinger's theory on how they came to be what we know them as today. Such a fantastic book and cannot recommend it enough!!
August 30, 2017
This is easily one of the most enjoyable books I've read about dogs. Very thorough, fascinating, and often hilarious. It was really interesting to look at humans' relationship with dogs through a biological lens.
September 24, 2025
Un poco deprimida por cómo describe la relación con los perros… cómo me vas a decir que los tenemos esclavizados y encima tiene sentido!?!
Pd. Háblame menos de los perros de trineos y más de los Pitbulls, que los amo
Un poco pedante en el tono
Pd. Háblame menos de los perros de trineos y más de los Pitbulls, que los amo
Un poco pedante en el tono
October 11, 2025
Excellent. This book is very important in understanding dogs, and how they partake of their roles in our societies. Although not the first work I recommend in regards to working with dogs, it is one that anyone working with dogs should read.
April 2, 2018
This book is a lot different than your regular dog book. I was able to get a much clearer understanding of how dogs became dogs!
June 19, 2019
Opens your mind to much more! A must read! The title is quite appropriate.
December 29, 2019
Very interesting, well written book that every dog owner should read. Turned some of my ideas on their head entirely.
Fascinating
Fascinating
July 23, 2021
Fascinating exploration and refutation of an old assumption.
April 17, 2022
Libro imprescindible sobre una teoría del origen del perro muy razonable
May 12, 2024
I believe this book is intended to make you take a step back and examine the way we think about dogs.
Let the book make you uncomfortable and then evolve!
Let the book make you uncomfortable and then evolve!
January 28, 2015
Excellent summary of current scientific understanding of dogs and their origins. The Coppingers believe dogs evolved from wolves as scavengers around early human settlements. The ideal dog for a companionship that works both ways, in their opinion, is the village, feral, or street dog, a kind of dog that has long fascinated me. They admire the true working dogs and have little respect for dog shows, which they believe are both disrespectful and harmful to the a dog’s true nature. I loved the chapter on livestock-guarding dogs, since we have owned three Tibetan mastiffs, but now I understand why it wasn’t perhaps the best life for those dogs. The chapters on sled dogs and herding dogs were too detailed for my interests. Overall informative and inspiring. If I get another dog I will follow their advice.
Sample quotes:
“Tsrna,...a livestock-guarding dog, had only two behaviors. If you called her, she would either come or she wouldn’t.”
“The village dog is preadapted behaviorally to be a good pet.”
“I believe the modern household dog is bred to satisfy human psychological needs, with little or no consideration of the consequences for the dog. These dogs fill the court-jester model of pet ownership.”
“Dogs evolved through natural selection to scavenge from people. Through environmental circumstances some have evolved from the original commensal conformation to the shapes of hunting dogs or livestock-guarding dogs, with little direct intervention by people. Increasingly over the centuries, the working dogs get captured and put to work, where the best of them survive genetically. The the household dogs get captured from the working-dog populations, where their survival depends on the capricious conception of a historical representation of a conformation. Some of these new breeds get trapped in genetic isolation, a dead end that precludes natural adaptation to the captive environment. The pet/companion dogs, bred for exotic form, are almost the peak example of how the evolving symbiotic relationship goes badly for the dogs. “
“...most dogs are not man’s best friend nor are most people dog’s best friend.”
“I believe that biological and paleontological evidence supports the designation of the dog as a product of natural selection---that common anatomical dog features are special adaptations for scavenging human waste products in the new niche that was initially created by a new human social organization, starting in Mesolithic villages.”
"There is no way to genetically determine individual breeds, say a pit bull, for example."
Sample quotes:
“Tsrna,...a livestock-guarding dog, had only two behaviors. If you called her, she would either come or she wouldn’t.”
“The village dog is preadapted behaviorally to be a good pet.”
“I believe the modern household dog is bred to satisfy human psychological needs, with little or no consideration of the consequences for the dog. These dogs fill the court-jester model of pet ownership.”
“Dogs evolved through natural selection to scavenge from people. Through environmental circumstances some have evolved from the original commensal conformation to the shapes of hunting dogs or livestock-guarding dogs, with little direct intervention by people. Increasingly over the centuries, the working dogs get captured and put to work, where the best of them survive genetically. The the household dogs get captured from the working-dog populations, where their survival depends on the capricious conception of a historical representation of a conformation. Some of these new breeds get trapped in genetic isolation, a dead end that precludes natural adaptation to the captive environment. The pet/companion dogs, bred for exotic form, are almost the peak example of how the evolving symbiotic relationship goes badly for the dogs. “
“...most dogs are not man’s best friend nor are most people dog’s best friend.”
“I believe that biological and paleontological evidence supports the designation of the dog as a product of natural selection---that common anatomical dog features are special adaptations for scavenging human waste products in the new niche that was initially created by a new human social organization, starting in Mesolithic villages.”
"There is no way to genetically determine individual breeds, say a pit bull, for example."
December 31, 2023
This is an excellent book that will cause you to question at least one of your beliefs or assumptions regarding dogs. I found the book to be rich in information and well-reasoned. And, I enjoyed learning from and sometimes arguing with its authors, Raymond and Laura Coppinger.
Some of the key arguments made by the Coppingers include the following:
1. Wolves initiated the evolutionary process that resulted in dogs. Wolves that could tolerate being in the vicinity of ancient human villages used their dumps as a source of food. These wolf-scavengers interbred, increasing the frequency of short flight distance or "tameness" within the emerging population. The population also underwent a change in size and shape to adapt to scavenging (as opposed to hunting game in packs).
2. The overwhelming majority of dogs live near humans but without human oversight or care. These village dogs (as the Coppingers name them) are neither feral nor strays, and like the original dogs--they care for themselves and feed on the wastes of human society. The Coppingers view this type of life approvingly: "There are no chains or collars or fenced yards or mandatory walks on a leash. They aren't spayed or castrated, locked inside homes or isolated from their social groups; nor do they need to be housebroken or attend obedience classes. They don't have any human being trying to be leader of the pack, or pretending to be Skinner with punishments and rewards or Pavlov with click-and-treat training. These dogs are free of all of that. They are free to love the natural (wild) life of a basic dog. It is no more or less meager a life than living wild and competing for big game--and not nearly so dangerous.
3. Dog breeds are a recent human concept. A breed can be established in one of three ways: A breed can arise locally with no human intervention. A breed can result from unintentional human actions. People can consciously create a breed. (Cs are not keen on breeds.)
4. Cultures vary on their perception of dogs and their proper role in society.
TBC
Some of the key arguments made by the Coppingers include the following:
1. Wolves initiated the evolutionary process that resulted in dogs. Wolves that could tolerate being in the vicinity of ancient human villages used their dumps as a source of food. These wolf-scavengers interbred, increasing the frequency of short flight distance or "tameness" within the emerging population. The population also underwent a change in size and shape to adapt to scavenging (as opposed to hunting game in packs).
2. The overwhelming majority of dogs live near humans but without human oversight or care. These village dogs (as the Coppingers name them) are neither feral nor strays, and like the original dogs--they care for themselves and feed on the wastes of human society. The Coppingers view this type of life approvingly: "There are no chains or collars or fenced yards or mandatory walks on a leash. They aren't spayed or castrated, locked inside homes or isolated from their social groups; nor do they need to be housebroken or attend obedience classes. They don't have any human being trying to be leader of the pack, or pretending to be Skinner with punishments and rewards or Pavlov with click-and-treat training. These dogs are free of all of that. They are free to love the natural (wild) life of a basic dog. It is no more or less meager a life than living wild and competing for big game--and not nearly so dangerous.
3. Dog breeds are a recent human concept. A breed can be established in one of three ways: A breed can arise locally with no human intervention. A breed can result from unintentional human actions. People can consciously create a breed. (Cs are not keen on breeds.)
4. Cultures vary on their perception of dogs and their proper role in society.
TBC
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2016
This is more of a technical book about the origin of dogs. I kind of slogged my way through it; definitely not a fast read. The authors have a depth of love, appreciation, and knowledge of dogs that is eagerly shared. Although not a fast read (so much information to digest), it is full of fascinating theories. The authors have traveled extensively and have viewed village dogs up close (which they believe were the first dogs). The book delves into the origin of dogs (not tamed wolves), but more likely dogs evolved as humans began to settle in villages, creating areas of waste/dumps which over time, created what we now know as the domesticated dog, which is dependent on humans. Yes, wolves, coyotes, dingos, and dogs all have a common ancestor which is now extinct. Saying that a dog is a tamed wolf, I now understand, is a great misunderstanding. It's like saying we are tamed apes.
The authors discuss various breeds, how training molds a dog to be a working dog (pointers, sheep guarding, sheep herding) or just a plain old house pet (which they refer to as a parasite - providing nothing useful, but needing the constant care, supervision, and feeding from humans).
I'm a dog lover, and of course was a bit disappointed in the view that my dog companion is a parasite, but I do appreciate knowing more about dogs in general. Their brains are much smaller than a wolf, teeth are smaller, their ears droop, and yet as puppies there is virtually no difference in size whether it be a wolf pup, a dog pup, or a coyote pup. I recommend the book to all people who have dogs in their lives. Your knowledge will be greatly enriched.
The authors discuss various breeds, how training molds a dog to be a working dog (pointers, sheep guarding, sheep herding) or just a plain old house pet (which they refer to as a parasite - providing nothing useful, but needing the constant care, supervision, and feeding from humans).
I'm a dog lover, and of course was a bit disappointed in the view that my dog companion is a parasite, but I do appreciate knowing more about dogs in general. Their brains are much smaller than a wolf, teeth are smaller, their ears droop, and yet as puppies there is virtually no difference in size whether it be a wolf pup, a dog pup, or a coyote pup. I recommend the book to all people who have dogs in their lives. Your knowledge will be greatly enriched.
January 3, 2011
Raymond & Lorna Coppinger are not only biologists, but they are also former sled dog racers and have worked extensively with herd guarding dogs and village dogs along with herding dogs. Their book looks at 5 types of dogs-herding, guarding, sled, village and pets.
It has some controversial statements like assistance dogs are slaves, dogs are not directly evolved from wolves or trained by early humans but evolved to take advantage of village, and breeding for show (looks alone) is criticized for the explosion of genetic diseases, defects and loss of working ability that it brings. But they are able to back up their statements.
My favorite quote from the book is "No Border Collie trialer or sled dog driver ever gives a food reward for performance. The dog already got its rewards by performing the instinctual behavior."
This is not a training book, but it is a good read for anyone who is interested in the evolution and behavior of dogs. Some parts of the book are dry but there are enough anecdotal stories to keep you reading.
It has some controversial statements like assistance dogs are slaves, dogs are not directly evolved from wolves or trained by early humans but evolved to take advantage of village, and breeding for show (looks alone) is criticized for the explosion of genetic diseases, defects and loss of working ability that it brings. But they are able to back up their statements.
My favorite quote from the book is "No Border Collie trialer or sled dog driver ever gives a food reward for performance. The dog already got its rewards by performing the instinctual behavior."
This is not a training book, but it is a good read for anyone who is interested in the evolution and behavior of dogs. Some parts of the book are dry but there are enough anecdotal stories to keep you reading.
June 18, 2009
I'm not exactly sure what to say about this.
I really I enjoyed how well-researched the ideas about dogs are and found them very interesting. But it does turn how we think about dogs on its head.
Coppinger discusses the dog's biology as village dogs rather than early humans domesticating dogs. He talks about how different breeds became what they are and tries to get across the point that behavior and shape are related. We damage dogs by trying to breed them so they have the same shape of a working dog but the behavior of a pet dog. In the end Coppinger argues that from a biological perspective we are in a relationship with dogs where both species are hurt. Humans spend lots of money on dogs and there are many dog-related injuries. Dogs eat food that humans would otherwise eat. But dogs are also damaged by the way we breed dogs. Humans can live without dogs but dogs can not live without humans.
I really I enjoyed how well-researched the ideas about dogs are and found them very interesting. But it does turn how we think about dogs on its head.
Coppinger discusses the dog's biology as village dogs rather than early humans domesticating dogs. He talks about how different breeds became what they are and tries to get across the point that behavior and shape are related. We damage dogs by trying to breed them so they have the same shape of a working dog but the behavior of a pet dog. In the end Coppinger argues that from a biological perspective we are in a relationship with dogs where both species are hurt. Humans spend lots of money on dogs and there are many dog-related injuries. Dogs eat food that humans would otherwise eat. But dogs are also damaged by the way we breed dogs. Humans can live without dogs but dogs can not live without humans.
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