Synopses & Reviews
Marking the first time that dogs have been explained in such detail by eminent researchers, andlt;iandgt;Dogsandlt;/iandgt; is a work of wide appeal, as absorbing as it is enlightening.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Drawing on insight gleaned from forty-five years of raising, training, and studying the behaviors of dogs worldwide, Lorna and Raymond Coppinger explore the fascinating processes by which dog breeds have evolved into their unique shapes and behaviors. Concentrating on five types of dogsand#8212;modern household dogs, village dogs, livestock-guarding dogs, sled dogs, and herding dogsand#8212;the Coppingers, internationally recognized canine ethologists and consummate dog lovers, examine our canine companions from a unique biological viewpoint. andlt;iandgt;Dogsandlt;/iandgt; clearly points the way for dog lovers, dog therapists, veterinarians, and all others who deal with dogs to understand their animals from a fresh perspective.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;How did the domestic dog become a distinct species from the wolf? Why do different breeds behave differently? Most important, how can we improve the relationship between humans and dogs?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;The authors show how dogs' different abilities depend upon the confluence of their nature and nurtureand#8212;that both genetics and the environment play equally key roles. They also reveal that many people inadvertently harm their canine companions because they fail to understand dogs' biological needs and dispositions.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;iandgt;Dogsandlt;/iandgt; is a highly readable biological approach by noted researchers that provides a wealth of new information about the interaction of nature and nurture, and demonstrates how unique dog behavior is in the animal world.
Review
Dr. Erich Klinghammer Director, Eckhard H. Hess Insitute of Ethology and Director, Wolf Park Everyone interested in dogs and evolution will find this book a challenge to long-held views....This is probably the most important book about dogs ever written.
Review
Dr. James D. Watson winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine and author of andlt;Iandgt; The Double Helixandlt;/Iandgt; Ray and Lorna Coppinger's andlt;Iandgt;Dogsandlt;/Iandgt; should forever change the way we look at humans' "best friends." Both dog owners and those who want to be will profit by their description of how genes and environmental signals make the dog very much not a wolf.
Review
Dr. Richard W. Wrangham professor of anthropology, Harvard University Forget being the alphawolf. andlt;Iandgt;Dogsandlt;/Iandgt; teaches old dog lovers new tricks. For thousands of years after dogs stopped being wolves, and before they became pets, they were something else -- a self-domesticated species with a mind of their own. The Coppingers' convincing new theory of dog evolution will be as interesting for archaeologists as for breeders and pet owners.
Review
Dr. Michael W. Fox veterinarian, ethologist, and author of andlt;Iandgt;Understanding Your Dogandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt; Beyond Evolutionandlt;/Iandgt; I am glad to see two biologists applying sound science to advance our understanding of the origins of the dog, the ways of working dogs, and how humans have influenced dogs' evolution, development, and behavior. Thanks to the authors' professional eye, we have some new insights and a clearer appreciation of what makes dogs, dogs. Anyone with a dog should not be without this book.
Synopsis
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.
Drawing on insight gleaned from forty-five years of raising, training, and studying the behaviors of dogs worldwide, Lorna and Raymond Coppinger explore the fascinating processes 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 our canine companions from a unique biological viewpoint. Dogs clearly points the way for dog lovers, dog therapists, veterinarians, and all others who deal with dogs to understand their animals from a fresh perspective.
How did the domestic dog become a distinct species from the wolf? Why do different breeds behave differently? Most important, how can we improve the relationship between humans and dogs?
The authors show how dogs' different abilities depend upon the confluence of their nature and nurture -- that both genetics and the environment play equally key roles. They also reveal that many people inadvertently harm their canine companions because they fail to understand dogs' biological needs and dispositions.
Dogs is a highly readable biological approach by noted researchers that provides a wealth of new information about the interaction of nature and nurture, and demonstrates how unique dog behavior is in the animal world.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Raymond Coppingerandlt;/Bandgt; is professor of biology at Hampshire College and the author of andlt;Iandgt;Fishing Dogs.andlt;/Iandgt; A former sled dog racing champion, he now lectures widely about dogs.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Preface: The Right Kind of Dogandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Introduction: Studying Dogsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Why Study Dogs?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;How to Study, and Who Studies, Dogsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Part I. The Evolution of the Basic Dog: Commensalismandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 1. Wolves Evolve into Dogsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Pinocchio Hypothesis of Dog Originandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Taming the Wolfandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Training the Wolfandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Domesticating the Wolfandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Speciation Requires Populations That Evolve -- Not Individualsandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Speciation Requires Differential Mortalityandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 2. Village Dogsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Mesolithic Islandandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 3. Natural Breedsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;People Become Conscious of Dogsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Part II. Working Dogs and People: Mutualismandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 4. Developmental Environmentsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Livestock-Guarding Dogsandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;In the Nest: Shaping the Behaviorandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Transhumance: Distributing and Mixing Genesandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Transhumance: Evolving the Size and Shapeandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Breed Genesis: Selecting for Colorandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Walking Houndsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 5. The Physical Conformation of a Breedandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Sled Dogs -- How Do They Run?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Shape of the Teamandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Running Is Social Behaviorandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Society of a Sled Dog Teamandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Value of the Breed Standardandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 6. Behavioral Conformationandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Herding Dogs, Retrievers, and Pointersandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Border Collie's Behavioral Conformationandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Motor Patternsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Part III. Are People the Dog's Best Friend? andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Parasitism, Amensalism, and Dulosisandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 7. Household Dogsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Measuring the Benefit to Humans of the Household Dogandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 8. Assistance Dogsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Part IV. The Tail Wags the Dogandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 9. What's in the Name Canis familiaris?andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 10. The Age of the Dogandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DTandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 11. Why Dogs Look the Way They Doandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;How to Change Sizeandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;How to Change Shapeandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;The Shape of Intelligenceandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Rapid Evolution of Breedsandlt;BRandgt; andlt;DDandgt;Neoteny, Paedomorphism, and the Evolution of Dogs from Wolvesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/DLandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 12. Conclusionandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Bibliographyandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Indexandlt;/Iandgt;