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(as of Feb 28, 2025 10:58:20 UTC – Details)
The powerful bond between humans and dogs is one that’s uniquely cherished. Loyal, obedient, and affectionate, they are truly “man’s best friend.” But do dogs love us the way we love them? Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns had spent decades using MRI imaging technology to study how the human brain works, but a different question still nagged at him: What is my dog thinking?
After his family adopted Callie, a shy, skinny terrier mix, Berns decided that there was only one way to answer that question – use an MRI machine to scan the dog’s brain. His colleagues dismissed the idea. Everyone knew that dogs needed to be restrained or sedated for MRI scans. But if the military could train dogs to operate calmly in some of the most challenging environments, surely there must be a way to train dogs to sit in an MRI scanner.
With this radical conviction, Berns and his dog would embark on a remarkable journey and be the first to glimpse the inner workings of the canine brain. Painstakingly, the two worked together to overcome the many technical, legal, and behavioral hurdles. Berns’s research offers surprising results on how dogs empathize with human emotions, how they love us, and why dogs and humans share one of the most remarkable friendships in the animal kingdom.
How Dogs Love Us answers the age-old question of dog lovers everywhere and offers profound new evidence that dogs should be treated as we would treat our best human friends: with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence.
Customers say
Customers find the book easy to read and entertaining. They appreciate the insightful explanation of research into dogs’ minds and emotional intelligence. The book provides an interesting look at the dog-human relationship and potential for future knowledge. Readers praise the author’s approachable style and well-presented pacing. They find the humor amusing and charming, with a humorous twist that keeps things lighthearted. Overall, customers find the book informative and insightful into the dog-human relationship.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
JodiT –
Humans should strive to be like dogs
As a Radiology student and a dog lover, I adored this book, not only for the science, but for the way the author showed his love and respect for all dogs involved with this project. He showed the same empathy and reverence one would for a human loved one, showcasing Newton’s tendency for pranking, Mackenzie’s devotion, Lyra’s sweetness and Callie’s sassiness.As far as the science goes, the process of getting the dogs used to the environment had me hooked as well as the images that the team eventually got and analyzed. I kept thinking the whole time, “I can see how you can teach them to sit still, but how in the world do you get them acclimated to the noise?” They did it, thanks to an invaluable vet tech.In the end, the team was able to get scientific proof of what dog lovers (and I say dog lovers, not dog owners, because they are not the same) know from the start. Our dogs see us not as their “pack”, but as their family. Which makes it even more heartbreaking when dogs are given up or abandoned. They take it the same way we would if our family deserted us. But they proved something that went even deeper than I realized. I knew dogs knew us better than we know ourselves, simply by observing. But what I didn’t realize before I read this book, is that dogs see themselves as there for us. They anticipate our emotions and actions before we do sometimes, but then they deliberately act accordingly. They are truly humans’ support system, and they are happy to be so. They look at us to determine what the environment is and they see themselves as companion in that environment, searching for ways to be what we need, wanting only praise, recognition and love in return. (If that doesn’t get to you, then you are heartless and don’t deserve a dog anyway.Dogs are truly angels on Earth. If humans would all strive to be like dogs, this world would be a much happier place.
Elisabeth Carey –
Dog research any dog lover will enjoy
Gregory Berns loves dogs. So does the rest of his family, but he’s the neuroscientist, He decided he wanted to know if his dogs really loved him, and if he could determine how and why.This led inevitably to training the newest addition to their family of six (two adults, two daughters, two dogs) a terrier mix they named Callie, to enter an MRI, assume a scannable position, and remain motionless for long enough intervals for useful brain scans.Just getting the necessary permissions and approvals to bring pet dogs, rather than “purpose-bred dogs,” mostly beagles bred only to be lab animals, into the lab or even onto Emory University property, was a challenge. There are good reasons, for many kinds of research, for using purpose-bred animals, including dogs. It’s not the best choice in every case, though, and for at least thirty years the trend has been to eliminate research animals altogether whenever there are alternatives that give good results. Real alternatives to animal haven’t yet reached to point of making lab animals completely unnecessary, but the need has been dramatically reduced over the course of my working life.And while this particular research project necessarily involved real dogs, there was no need at all for them to be purpose-bred lab animals. Pet dogs calm enough to be trained for the MRI tests were arguably a better choice, because they would have a more normal relationship with humans, and that’s what “the dog project” was all about.So Berns kept pushing, and inventing work-arounds for the demands of the research office and the legal office, and got his project approved.Then came figuring out to train his own terrier mix, Callie, and a border collie, McKenzie, to accept the MRI, the noise of the MRI, and keeping still in the correct position for the scans. All this just to get to the proof of concept stage, proving they could do useful MRI scans on animals as different from the normal MRI subjects (humans and other primates) as dogs are.And it’s unexpectedly fun to read this section, before they ever get to the tests they want–can they tell from brain scans whether dogs actually like humans, and not just the fact that we’re a reliable source of food and toys?It’s a great account, further enlivened by Callie herself, the Berns family, and the other Berns dogs, both Lyra the Golden retriever they had at the same time as Callie, and the pugs, especially Newton, who preceded them. And yet, that leads to the one part of this book that bothered me.The other standout personality here besides Callie, is Newton. Pugs are generally happy, affectionate personalities, really great companion dogs. Except, of course, for the fact that their skulls are so short and their faces so flat that often they can’t breathe properly. The snorting, the snuffling, the snoring, that many people, including Gregory Berns, think is so cute, is in fact a sign of a dog who is suffering from not breathing properly. It’s not fun to breathe that badly. It’s exhausting, compromises sleep, is at best uncomfortable and often painful.This is something that can be avoided, or at least greatly minimized, by being really careful in selecting a breeder to get your dog from. But the Berns family prefers to adopt from shelters, which is good and much to be encouraged–but if you adopt pug or another brachcephalic dog from a shelter or rescue, and you have, like the Berns family, an at least upper middle class income, you should be asking your vet, first thing, whether a soft palette resection is right for your dog. If your dog is one of the dogs of this type that has significant difficulty breathing, and you have the resources, you should be talking to your vet about whether your dog can be helped. It may not be possible in every case, but when, like Gregory Berns, you know that “cute” snorting and snoring is in fact very hard on your dog, you ought to at least talk to your vet about possible help for the problem. And yet Berns, who clearly really loves his dogs, and who tells us that Newton couldn’t breathe properly and it was a problem for the poor dog, never mentions talking to the vet about it.I really do feel that even if Newton couldn’t be helped, Berns could have devoted a paragraph to telling people that the snorting and snoring isn’t cute, and that if they have the means they should at least talk to their vet about it. He doesn’t.And yet.This is a really good book about research that any dog lover will love.I should, in fairness, warn those who need to know that yes, dogs, including Newton and later Lyra, the Golden retriever, do die during the book. But these are the deaths at a reasonable age of dogs who were loved and happy members of their family. They’re not awful tragedies that come out of nowhere to smack you in the face for the sake of extracting emotion from you.And yes, you will love the research and its results.Recommended.I bought this audiobook.
PJCODMT –
Great insight into how well dogs understand their special humans
FABULOUS book. Gregory Berns got the crazy idea of training his dog to lie still in an MRI machine in the hope it would provide some insight into dogs’ thinking. What he found brings scientific proof to something every dog person knows — that dogs read us, anticipate our behavior, and act on that knowledge. Dogs, in short, have theory of mind. Berns rightly argues that this scientific evidence must change the way we think of and treat dogs.His book is filled with fairly complex scientific concepts but it is written beautifully and clearly. It is very easy to understand and, like a good adventure novel, pulls readers along with foreshadowing and suspense. I disagree with the reviewer who said the book is written “backwards.” I really wanted to know how the idea developed, how the training was done, all the background stuff in the early chapters.I love that Berns is not an especially savvy dog person, at least at the beginning of the Dog Project, as he calls it. That makes it all the more sweet when he recognizes how hard dogs try to communicate with and understand humans. I have enormous respect for Berns and his team’s commitment to ensuring that the dogs were willing, even eager, participants in every step. I especially enjoyed the long discussion of the ethical issues he faced in setting up the research and the insistence of all the human researchers that the dogs would always be free to opt out, at any time.This book is a testament to what amazing things can be accomplished when humans acknowledge their dogs’ abilities, treat them as partners (rather than as property or as slaves) and engage with them in a respectful, positive manner.This should be required reading for ALL dog lovers. It will be required reading for all of my students at Bergin U, the only place to study the dog-human relationship at the college level.
Amazon Customer –
This book made me cry,I know my dogs love me , even more now ,I understand why my service dog looks after me so well,I always know if people would just shut up, their dogs would tell them what they need.Thank you for writing this book
Amazon Customer –
I loved the book. The author, albeit a scientist, is didactic in his explanations. As a dog owner and dog lover, I have always wondered what my own dogs were thinking and feeling. This book gave me a glimpse of that and has stimulated me to study more so I can better bond with my paw friends.
Rana –
Halfway thru but loving it !
GKA –
Wir als Hundebesitzer wussten natürlich schon immer, dass uns unsere Hunde lieben (oder auch nicht, je nachdem). Aber jetzt wissen es auch die Wissenschaftler.Und was für eine Leistung! Hunde, die freiwillig ewig lange ihren Kopf in einem MRI absolut stillhalten, damit man ihre Hirnaktivität kartieren kann, während sie alle möglichen interessanten Dinge schnüffeln, sehen und hören. Wenn das nicht alleine ein Liebesbeweis ist, dann weià ich es nicht.
Piero Tagliapietra –
Consiglio questo libro ad altri biologi, etologi, veterinari e tutti gli appassionati Dell,argomento.Mi Ä piaciuto lo stile:semplice nonostante tratti una materia complessa