Description
Price: $16.95 - $10.44
(as of Feb 27, 2025 03:07:51 UTC – Details)
No matter how cushy their lives, dogs live on our terms. They compromise their freedom and instinctual pleasure, as well as their innate strategies for coping with stress and anxiety, in exchange for the love, comfort, and care they get from us. But it is possible to let dogs be dogs without wreaking havoc on our lives, as biologist Marc Bekoff and bioethicist Jessica Pierce show in this fascinating book. They begin by illuminating the true nature of dogs and helping us “walk in their paws.” They reveal what smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing mean to dogs and then guide readers through everyday ways of enhancing dogs’ freedom in safe, mutually happy ways. The rewards, they show, are great for dog and human alike.
Publisher : New World Library (March 5, 2019)
Language : English
Paperback : 216 pages
ISBN-10 : 160868542X
ISBN-13 : 978-1608685424
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5 x 0.5 x 8 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book helpful for dog caregivers. It provides an explanation of normal canine behaviors and letting dogs be dogs. They appreciate the emotional content, which helps them meet their pets’ physical, sensory, and emotional needs. The book also mentions that dogs experience a wide range of emotions.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Betty M. –
Your Dog Wants You To Read This Book
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Dr. Marc Bekoffâs new book with co-author Dr. Jessica Pierce contains fascinating and essential information for everyone interested in dogs, much less those of us who share our homes with them. The opening chapter is both startling, even shocking, as the authors label our beloved dogs our âcaptives.â Most of us have probably not considered this idea before, but after the explanation its truth becomes apparent. Our relationship with dogs is undeniably âasymmetrical.â As a result, they enjoy only the experiences, the environments, the friends, the food, the freedoms that we allow them. While stressing there is no âuniversal dog,â the authors educate us on the dogâs five senses so we can better understand a dogâs point of view of the world and therefore improve the lives of our âcaptives.â Seamlessly linked to the exploration of their senses is advice on how this knowledge can enable us to increase the agency of our dogs. The authors include anecdotes about both their dogs and those of others, as well as the most current research confirming that dogs experience a wide range of emotions, that they are keen readers of human faces, and that they are unique in their individual preferences. There are common experiences we are encouraged to provide to help us in âunleashing our dogsââliterally if possible. We must realize walks are for them, dog park visits can be valuable, and free access to fenced yards helps ameliorate their captivity. If our communities allow them to be literally unleashed, all the better. This excellent book achieves the nearly impossibleâit is readable and accessible to a non-academic audience while also thoroughly documented as one would expect from two eminent academics. This is a book to keep close at hand; both human companions and dogs will benefit. A close friend of mine just adopted a puppy. I have already ordered her a copy.
Carrie Freeman –
I like books like this that take the nonhuman animal’s perspective
It’s refreshing to read a dog guardian guide book that is more about us considering what our dogs really want and what their life experiences and needs are rather than just how we can control them to fit into our expectations. Dr. Bekoff is a canine behavioral expert (biologist) who cares deeply for all animal species, and I trust his advice to be humane and caring.
Barbra Mcclung –
Good information
Found this helpful and interesting.
Hopefordogs.sg –
A must read for dog caregivers
Good explanation on what are normal canine behaviours and letting dogs be dogs. Suitable for dog guardians and professionals in the pet industry.
DCH –
Authors know their subjects!
Full disclosure: I know one of the authors from my dog park. She lives what she writes with her own dogs. The other author is renowned in this area for his expertise. Both share what I believe to be important about dogs and our relationship to dogs. If you don’t already, make sure your dog has time unleashed and out in the world.
Jeffrey J Hansen –
Was expecting a bit more.
There were some fascinating facts about dogs here, but the book seemed to keep going back to the main premise of the book which is, “Let dogs be dogs as much as possible.”
AC enjoying a good read –
Making me a better companion.
Helpful for me to meet the emotional, physical, and sensory needs of my GSD puppy. By educating myself, being observant, and providing Max many opportunities to be himself, he is showing himself to be a happy dog. Our relationship will be closer because of my use of the knowledge I gain from this book.
philip steir –
Unleash this book!
Every human who has a dog and really loves dogs should read this book. Dogs need to feel and live life like who they are and ….last but not least, their humans should know what that means. This book explains it.
Michael –
Everyone who loves a dog, plans to get a dog, or who works with dogs, should read this book. Love how it touches on the âwholeâ dog.
Lucimara Aparecida Gozzer Lima –
Amei que o livro aborda o conteúdo de forma super explicativa, e traz informações relevantes tanto para quem está iniciando no ramo do comportamento canino quanto para quem já tem uma maior vivência na área. Conteúdo enriquecedor! 🙂
Beatrice Martin –
Questo libro spiega chi è il tuo cane, perché è così e come voi due potete trovare un rapporto di rispetto e amore reciproco. Ti spiega perché la nostra ignoranza del cane ci sta causando di trattare il nostro cane in modi che sarebbero descritti come torture guardando dal punto di vista e dalla cultura del cane. à un libro che ogni persona con un cane o vuole avere un cane dovrebbe leggere. Disponibile anche in italiano.
maria alonso garcia –
imprescindible
ResponsibleDogOwner –
This is one of the few books that really does live up to the promise of its title. It should be a mandatory read for the vast majority of dog owners, not least those who have had a succession of dogs and think that years owned and numbers of dogs equal expertise as in the “I’ve had dogs all my life” syndrome.It is written in very accessible prose with excellent references and opportunities for further reading without cluttering the text with in-line citations or being overwhelming. Although largely aimed at the North American market (it does cite the PDSA PAW Reports), it should be noted that some details are not pertinent to the UK. It is illegal to crop dogs’ ears in the UK and non-clinical tail docking can only occur under limited circumstances in working dogs. I have some minor quibbles too: I think that it could come down on the side of non-aversive training a little more but it is clearly attempting to enter such debates in a commendably non-antagonistic manner. I am especially delighted that the authors mention over-exercise as well as lack of exercise and explain why running with dogs is rarely a good idea.Best of all, it discusses dogs’ need for mental stimulation as well as exercise. It covers basic skills in observing canine body language including common misconceptions (growl=bad, wagging tail=good for instance). It explains why hugging dogs is rarely a good thing and why so many of the behaviours that people dislike need to be accommodated, modified, sublimated or plain old allowed because they are natural canine behaviours. It mentions the imperative for undertaking lifelong training and dips into some of the most recent research to whet the appetite of the inquisitive reader for more.