How To Speak Dog

Parlez-vous Doggish?

At long last, dogs will know just how smart their owners can be. By unlocking the secrets of the hidden language of dogs, psychologist Stanley Coren allows us into the doggy dialogue, or "Doggish," and makes effective communication a reality.

Drawing on substantial research in animal behavior, evolutionary biology, and years of personal experience, Coren demonstrates that the average house dog can understand language at about the level of a two-year-old human. While actual conversation of the sort Lassie seemed capable of in Hollywood mythmaking remains forever out of reach, Coren shows us that a great deal of real communication is possible beyond the giving and obeying of commands.

How to Speak Dog not only provides the sounds, words, actions, and move-ments with which we can effectively communicate with our dogs, but also deciphers the signs that our dogs give to us. With easy-to-follow tips on how humans can mimic the language dogs use to talk with one another, original drawings illustrating the subtleties of their body language, and a handy visual glossary and "Doggish" phrasebook, How to Speak Dog gives dog lovers the skills they need to improve their relationships with their pets.

"Coren's premise is that to communicate effectively with a dog the owner must first learn the dog's language, including vocabulary, grammar, and how to form 'sentences that can be used to send and receive meaningful messages.'...The book is written for the above-average pet owner who wants to build a better relationship with his/her dog." Edell M. Schaefer, Library Journal

"A must-read for all dog owners....This could be one of the most important literary purchases you ever make." Seattle Times

A guide to improving relations with your pet. This book demonstrates that the average house dog can differentiate up to 140 words, and explores the limits of a dog's language while charting the possibilities.

Stanley Coren is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and is an eminent researcher in neuropsychology. A renowed author anddog trainer who has won a number of dog obidience competitions, he lives in Vancouver.

Contents

Preface

1 Conversations with Canines

2 Evolution and Animal Language

3 A Dog Is Listening

4 Is the Dog Really Listening?

5 Animal Noise or Animal Speech?

6 The Dog Speaks

7 Learning to Speak

8 Face Talk

9 Ear Talk

10 Eye Talk

11 Tail Talk

12 Body Talk

13 The Point of the Matter

14 Sex Talk

15 Signing and Typing

16 Scent Talk

17 Dogs Talking to Cats

18 Doggish Dialects

19 Is It Language?

20 Talking Doggish and Doggerel

Postscript: One Last Word

Appendix: Visual Glossary and Doggish Phrasebook

Endnotes

Index