The Truth About Dogs

by Budiansky, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780670892723
• ISBN10: 0670892726
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-10-02
• Publisher: Viking Adult

Summary

We think we know how a dog sees the world, how he feels about the world, what he wants and why he wants it. Behavioral science, archaeology, genetics, and neuroscience are showing us how wrong we often are.

"The Truth About Dogs" will use cutting-edge scientific research (including evidence from the Dog Genome Project) to teach readers to think, if not like a dog, then at least like a biologist. The truth of dog behavior is far more complex -- and interesting -- than we suppose, grounded in evolutionary strategies for survival. This book will give answers that come straight from the dog's mouth, unfiltered by human preconceptions and wishes, and better information than most clueless and hapless dog owners have had over the past 100,000 years. Readers of "The Truth About Dogs" will never look at their dogs the same way again.

Author Biography

Stephen Budiansky, scientist, author, journalist, and dog lover, is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly

Table of Contents

The Irredeemable Weirdness of the Dog: An Introduction	1	(15)
Proto-Dog	16	(34)
Social Etiquette, Doggie Style	50	(29)
Canine Kabuki	79	(26)
Two Colors, a Million Smells	105	(19)
If They're So Smart, How Come They Aren't Rich?	124	(35)
Odd, but (Mostly) Normal Behavior	159	(22)
Troubled Dogs, Troubled People	181	(30)
Brave New Dogs	211	(28)
Acknowledgments	239	(2)
Sources	241	(16)
Index	257