Mixed feelings on this one. The intro was eye-opening to me in its exploration of the relationship between humans and their pet dogs. I hoped the book would have concrete tips on how to better support the freedoms of my pets... but in many ways it was lacking. Some stuff was too complex (i.e. making ethograms, which it refers you to other books to learn how to develop). On the flip side, a lot of the advice seemed very basic -- things you maybe shouldn't need to include in a book like this (i.e....

Excellent science-based advice on building the best relationship with your dog. Segmented into the five senses."...let your dog be a dog, as much as possible, as often as possible, and with as much patience and goodwill as possible."Interesting fact:Humans have 9,000 taste buds.Dogs: 1,700 can't taste umami (savory)Pigs: 14,000Chickens: 30Cats: 470 can't taste sweet

Really great book on giving perspective on the dog-human relationship and defining basic needs of our canine companions.

This is an EXCELLENT book if you have dogs! Bekoff explains all the behavior of our puppers that us humans deem weird. Highly recommend!

A short and easy read with a dog-centric tone. Strongly recommended for newbie dog-people, and a good review/reminder for the more experienced. The book contains some interesting dog-facts and -science, but went into way less depth than I wanted: A lot of the take aways seemed to boil down to either "We need more research on this, because we're not sure," "Watch your dog to see what s/he does," or "Don't forget to take your dog into consideration."

I wish every dog owner would heed the advice in this book. Of the many dog books I've read, it seems that Marc Bekoff understands canines better than any authority out there, and recognizes dogs for the amazing, intelligent, sensitive beings that they are. His earlier book, "Canine Confidential," conveys the same level of compassion for dogs and stresses the need to respect them as unique individuals, each with their own set of needs, desires and quirks. I highly recommend that anyone who owns o...

This point of the book is to give your dog enough freedom that he's happy with enough structure that he's safe. It gives lots of little tips about how to do this and is a quick, easy read. A lot of the information is common knowledge. The book was okay but probably should've been an article.

Loved it! Very helpful for me as I move my three little dogs into their senior years!

This is a delightful book! It will definitely affect our lives with our six-month-old puppy. The authors’ overall philosophy toward life with dogs is reasonable, profound, and thought-provoking. I appreciate the strong research foundation of the information and recommendations. The writing style is light-hearted and enjoyable, and the book is a quick read overall. Highly recommended.

This book was a interesting read into the ethical issues that surround dog guardianship. It includes many different ways of enhancing our dogs lives with the scientific research and reasoning to back it up. The chapter which details how dogs could be considered a captive species did make for some uncomfortable reading as I wanted to scoff and say the authors took it too far however the reasons set out made for a very persuasive argument.

Great book! I needed to learn how essential the simple things my new pup does are natural to her and do not to do these things to annoy me. Barking, sniffing butts (lol), licking. I learned to appreciate my dog and her curiosity and wonder. Five stars from me.

A lot of basic knowledge that every dog owner should possess. Very easy to digest, very well structured. And probably experienced owners learn a thing or two while reading this. Like the title says, it's a field guide and I think this is a must-read for every new dog owner. And a recommendation for all others.

Endorsements:“Imagine having dogs stand up and tell you how to give them their best lives. While they can’t (or, at least, it can be tricky to translate what they’re saying), Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce can. This book beautifully uses the science of dogs to help dog people bring compassion to our lives with them.”— Alexandra Horowitz, head of the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College and author of Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know and Being a Dog: Following the Dog Into a World o...

There's a lot of useful information in this book, but some of it should be taken with a grain of salt; as the info only reflects purely positive training methods, and perpetuates false beliefs regarding balanced training methods & some of the tools we might use to encourage the training of difficult or highly reactive dogs.

A lot of good theory in this book and some helpful takeaways (especially about body language and interpretation), but also just as many descriptions without digging deeper into what to make of it. For example, many times the authors will end by saying something like "we don't know why this is the case, but it'd be interesting for someone to research it".

Good information. Not super thorough. Writing isn’t very compelling.

Excellent. Covers a wide range of areas that most people don't think about when they get a dog. Dogs have been a big part of my life for many years. I don't claim to be an expert just the same. But this book was a much needed read for me. An education.

Een interessante mix tussen een essay en populair science. Het boek lijkt enorm erg op "How dogs think" van Stanley Coren, maar is veel korter en minder informatie-dik geschreven. Naast dat dit boek informatie geeft over het gedrag van honden, gaat het boek ook heel erg in op welzijn en ethiek van het houden van honden. Ik vind het heel interessant dat Bekoff de vraag stelt of het houden van honden wel ethisch gerechtvaardigd is. Op basis van wetenschappelijke kennis geeft Bekoff tips hoe we het...

Marc's writing is, as always, a delight. This was a very simple, well-researched piece of reading which explains the serious topic of caring for our canine companions in a very light way. Much of the information was already known to me, but it was interesting to read and great to experience like-mindedness in the content. This book is a must for any dog guardian, especially those new to canine companionship.

Enjoyed the perspective!!