The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think

by Brian Hare, Vanessa Woods

Overview

For readers of Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz, this New York Times bestseller offers mesmerizing insights into the interior lives of our smartest pets

In the past decade, we have learned more about how dogs think than in the last century. Breakthroughs in cognitive science, pioneered by Brian Hare, have proven dogs have a kind of genius for getting along with people that is unique in the animal kingdom. This dog genius revolution is transforming how we live and work with our canine friends, including how we train them. Does your dog feel guilt? Is she pretending she can't hear you? Does she want affection—or just your sandwich? In Th­e Genius of Dogs, Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods lay out what discoveries at the Duke Canine Cognition Lab and other research facilities around the world are revealing about how your dog thinks and how we humans can have even deeper relationships with our best four-legged friends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101609637
Publisher:	Temple Publications International, Inc.
Publication date:	02/05/2013
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	115,255
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Brian Hare is an associate professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University, where he founded the Duke Canine Cognition Center. Vanessa Woods is a research scientist at the Center as well as an award-winning journalist and the author of Bonobo Handshake. Hare and Woods are married and live in North Carolina.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Many authors have tried to anecdotally capture the emotional bond between humans and dogs. Here at last is a book that digs deep into cognitive science to unravel the mysteries of the canine brain. Thoroughly researched and written in the likable voice of a brainy scientist sitting at your kitchen table, The Genius of Dogs is a fascinating look at what goes on between the ears of the animals we share our lives with. I found it entertaining, fast-moving, and filled with gee-whiz insights that gave me a new appreciation for the complex social intelligence of man’s best friend.”
—John Grogan, author of Marley & Me and The Longest Trip Home

“The Genius of Dogs is a fantastic book. It makes it very clear that there are different kinds of intelligence. All dog lovers should read this book.”
—Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human and Animals in Translation

“The definitive dog book of our time by the researcher who started a revolution.”
—Daniel J. Levitin, author of This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs

“A masterful account of the way science is revealing just how smart dogs can be. Fascinating and highly readable.”
—John Bradshaw, University of Bristol, author of Dog Sense

“With the help of some wolves, Russian foxes, New Guinea singing dogs and a Labrador Retriever named Oreo, Brian Hare tells us about his fascinating search for an understanding of how dogs think and communicate.”
—Stanley Coren, author of Do Dogs Dream and Born to Bark

“Based on Brian Hare’s game-changing research, The Genius of Dogs brilliantly explains the canine mind and in doing so illuminates the natural history of all intelligence. This book will captivate anyone interested in dog, ape or human mentality.”
—Richard Wrangham, Harvard University, author of Catching Fire

“This is the best book in existence, by far, for learning about the recent revolution in our understanding of the minds of dogs. And its fun, too.”
—Mike Tomasello, Co-Director, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

“The Genius of Dogs is not just about dogs, and not just about genius. It’s an exciting detective story by two comparative biologists with amazing discoveries to report.”
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven

“A fascinating, riveting, utterly engaging romp through the mind of man's best friend. I promise: You will never look at your dog the same way again.”
—Maria Goodavage, author of Soldier Dogs

Editorial Reviews

Husband-and-wife team Hare (evolutionary anthropology, Duke Univ.; founder, Duke Univ. Canine Cognition Ctr.) and Woods (Bonobo Handshake) begin their book with a history of the domestication of wolves some 10,000 to 40,000 years ago and enthusiastically posit that dogs' social intelligence developed as the friendliest wolves formed working and relational bonds with humans. Hare is a pioneer in the field of cognitive ethology (the study of animal behavior under natural conditions) who uses psychological experiments to explore canine intelligence. His research has led to significant discoveries about how dogs understand intention and inference, read human gestures, understand words, follow gaze and pointing, and solve problems through demonstration. VERDICT Along with recent titles like Jon Franklin's The Wolf in the Parlor: The Eternal Connection Between Humans and Dogs, Hare's thoroughly researched, enjoyable work will find an appreciative audience. This is essential reading for dog lovers and those who enjoy psychology and social sciences relating to animal behavior, communication, and training.—Susan Riley, Mamaroneck P.L., NY

Library Journal

Many authors have tried to anecdotally capture the emotional bond between humans and dogs. Here at last is a book that digs deep into cognitive science to unravel the mysteries of the canine brain. Thoroughly researched and written in the likable voice of a brainy scientist sitting at your kitchen table, The Genius of Dogs is a fascinating look at what goes on between the ears of the animals we share our lives with. I found it entertaining, fast-moving, and filled with gee-whiz insights that gave me a new appreciation for the complex social intelligence of man’s best friend.”
—John Grogan, author of Marley & Me and The Longest Trip Home

“The Genius of Dogs is a fantastic book. It makes it very clear that there are different kinds of intelligence. All dog lovers should read this book.”
—Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human and Animals in Translation

“The definitive dog book of our time by the researcher who started a revolution.”
—Daniel J. Levitin, author of This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs

“A masterful account of the way science is revealing just how smart dogs can be. Fascinating and highly readable.”
—John Bradshaw, University of Bristol, author of Dog Sense

“With the help of some wolves, Russian foxes, New Guinea singing dogs and a Labrador Retriever named Oreo, Brian Hare tells us about his fascinating search for an understanding of how dogs think and communicate.”
—Stanley Coren, author of Do Dogs Dream and Born to Bark

“Based on Brian Hare’s game-changing research, The Genius of Dogs brilliantly explains the canine mind and in doing so illuminates the natural history of all intelligence. This book will captivate anyone interested in dog, ape or human mentality.”
—Richard Wrangham, Harvard University, author of Catching Fire

“This is the best book in existence, by far, for learning about the recent revolution in our understanding of the minds of dogs. And its fun, too.”
—Mike Tomasello, Co-Director, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

“The Genius of Dogs is not just about dogs, and not just about genius. It’s an exciting detective story by two comparative biologists with amazing discoveries to report.”
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven

“A fascinating, riveting, utterly engaging romp through the mind of man's best friend. I promise: You will never look at your dog the same way again.”
—Maria Goodavage, author of Soldier Dogs

From the Publisher