Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals

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Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 2,486 ratings · 494 reviews

The best-selling animal advocate Temple Grandin offers the most exciting exploration of how animals feel since The Hidden Life of Dogs.

In her groundbreaking and best-selling book Animals in Translation, Temple Grandin drew on her own experience with autism as well as her distinguished career as an animal scientist to deliver extraordinary insights into how animals think,...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published January 6th 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published 2009)

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107th out of 429 books — 101 voters

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autism: fiction AND non-fiction

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Apr 04, 2009 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

An interesting and thought-provoking book by an autistic scientist, a Ph.D. in animal science, who is a professor at Colorado State University. This book was written in collaboration with another scientist, also a Ph.D., who specializes in neuropsychiatry and who is also the mother of two of three sons with autism.

It is clear throughout the book that autism has provided Grandin with extraordinary insights into animals and (perhaps) extraordinary patience with animals. In one example, she takes...more An interesting and thought-provoking book by an autistic scientist, a Ph.D. in animal science, who is a professor at Colorado State University. This book was written in collaboration with another scientist, also a Ph.D., who specializes in neuropsychiatry and who is also the mother of two of three sons with autism.

It is clear throughout the book that autism has provided Grandin with extraordinary insights into animals and (perhaps) extraordinary patience with animals. In one example, she takes a week to condition a group of prey animals (llamas or gazelles) in a zoo to the presence of a new door or a differently colored sign. I couldn't wait 24 hrs to introduce a new pd to my resident pet pds.

In another example, Grandin easily identifies why cattle are suddenly spooked by an entryway by slowly following the path of the cattle through the entryway and absorbing perceptions so detailed they would be almost imperceptible to the average person.

It appears her autism provides her with the ability to tap into different modes of perception, nonspecific (human) and specific (autistic and animal). Her treatment with modern antidepressants has provided her with the ability to cope with an overwhelming anxiety disorder and the opportunity to achieve, among other things, a Ph.D.

She works primarily with feed animals--consulting with private corporations on humane policies and practices for raising and killing animals for food. She also consults with zoos on habitat, behavior, and quality of life issues. She has a philosophical acceptance of certain practices, i.e., hunting, as a byproduct of the ability to maintain wild populations.

The subtitle of the book is "Creating the best life for animals," which was of particular interest to me as a pet owner of domestic mice (two "colonies" of many mice) and six wild prairie dogs (pds).

Grandin actually mentions research on pds that attempts to decode their fairly sophisticated language. They have specific calls for different predators and the complexity to communicate the location and immediacy of threats.

I acknowledge my emotional and often irrational sentiments regarding animals and wild animal populations. I grew up with Bambi. I care about polar bears. I acknowledge I am also a carnivore. I love rare steaks. I can accept black-footed ferrets eating pds, but I don't want to see them in action. I respect hunters. But I also think people who shoot pds for sport using rifles with long-range telescopic sights are not hunters, per se.

I would like to read more of Grandin's work.

(less)

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Jul 03, 2011 Tamara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: flipped-through, non-fiction

I love that the focus of this book is about how to make animals in captivity (pets, zoo animals, livestock, etc.) happy. It's so hard to know what it means for an animal to be happy and Temple Grandin uses careful analysis and science to help unravel the mystery.

Knowing that animals need the freedom to express normal behavior and freedom from fear and distress to be happy, Grandin begins to define these things in layman's terms.

I mostly focused on the chapter about cats, because, um, you know....more

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Jan 22, 2009 Todd rated it 5 of 5 stars

Animals deserve the best life, and Temple Grandin's interesting take on our relationship with animals is always a pleasure to read. Particularly of interest was the way she pursued her thesis that animals make us human. This 21st century mental model of identifying -- and revising -- humans' long-standing problematic dominion over the rest of the animal kingdom was very enlightening.

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Dec 26, 2012 Lotus rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've been a fan of Grandin for several years, first learning about her on NPR. This book focuses on interesting biological facts and emotional make up of animals and how that relates to their behavior and their interaction with the human world. It is not in depth, but I felt as though I had a good understanding of the ideas presented in a short, concise way which was presented for lay people.
I appreciated the information on dogs and was astonished at some of the misbehavior and myths that are p...more

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May 06, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone interested in animals

Shelves: nonfiction

To really appreciate this book, you need to know something about the author, Temple Grandin. She has autism, she has a PhD, she has been able to make many discoveries about animal behavior, and she has been able to design many humane efficiencies in animal industries. She is something of a systems engineer for anything to do with animals.

If you have never seen the movie "Temple Grandin", take a look at this preview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnI_Y8...
You can find the movie at the Henrico Pub...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Meredith rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

The big thing with Grandin's books (NF) is that she's autistic, and also a specialist in humane treatment of "food animals": cows, chicken, pigs. She was particularly famous because she headed up the McDonald's audit of feed lots and slaughter houses. Apparently her autism gives her a unique perspective on this--and her prior book, Animals in Translation, was very interesting. It talked about how small changes in the animal's environment meant both cost savings for the companies involved in mana...more The big thing with Grandin's books (NF) is that she's autistic, and also a specialist in humane treatment of "food animals": cows, chicken, pigs. She was particularly famous because she headed up the McDonald's audit of feed lots and slaughter houses. Apparently her autism gives her a unique perspective on this--and her prior book, Animals in Translation, was very interesting. It talked about how small changes in the animal's environment meant both cost savings for the companies involved in managing these farms/slaughterhouses and also made the treatment of the animals more humane. Well, as humane as any slaughterhouse could be. I would recommend Animals in Translation and I have a keeper copy at home, which means I must have really liked it.

This is the boring version of that book. The disappointing thing was that there is a picture of a dog on the cover but the chapter on dogs is very short and not very helpful. The biggest problem with the book for me, though, was that she never actually addresses how animals make us human. This is really a book about the things that drive animals and each chapter deals with a different animal. But god, is it boring! I gave up during the chapter on poultry.

The one thing I did take from this book was that animals see very differently than we do. Grandin talks about how certain things that look innocuous and obvious to us can look very different to animals. This was useful to me because my oldest dog Sullivan is rapidly losing his sight. In the last few months he's become very fearful of the entry way to our house. I had always figured that it was because the baby gate often sat near the door (we use the baby gate to block the kitchen off from the entry way while we are at work--the dogs stay in the kitchen during the day. Don't worry, it's a big kitchen and they're tiny dogs.). I moved the baby gate, he was still freaked, and the other day I realized that it might be the console table that is actually setting him off. I wouldn't have thought about that before reading this book. So we're going to move the table this weekend and see what happens.

Anyway, if you really want to read this, read the Dog/Cat chapters and the Horse chapter, and then skip everything else. (less)

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Dec 08, 2011 Suzanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-non-fiction, animals

A fascinating, compassionate way to consider how humans manage animals and how to look at the essential emotional needs of animals. In a nutshell: animals need to able to express their natural behaviors. When we confine pets or domestic or wild animals in ways that don't allow that, we are injuring or neglecting them in important ways. Grandin goes through domestic animals one at a time, discussing their needs and behaviors, and then covers wild animals in a more general way. With each section I...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Deanna Dailey rated it 2 of 5 stars

It makes me a little sad to rate this book with only two stars. I really like Temple Grandin's work, and I loved Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior. I've gleaned a lot of interesting information from this book, and I think there was a lot of really interesting and valid research and experience that went into writing it. It's just that it's not very well written. It's like at the end of each chapter she starts to get tired of explaining everything and...more It makes me a little sad to rate this book with only two stars. I really like Temple Grandin's work, and I loved Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior. I've gleaned a lot of interesting information from this book, and I think there was a lot of really interesting and valid research and experience that went into writing it. It's just that it's not very well written. It's like at the end of each chapter she starts to get tired of explaining everything and she starts just saying that doing things any way other than hers is "just wrong." I happen to mostly agree with her, but from Grandin as a scientist, I expect her to more fully explain why doing things in a way different than she recommends is wrong.

She's not approaching things from a moral/ethical (or even really an emotional) place. She is heavily involved in mass production of cattle, pigs, and chickens, and it's not her intention to change everything to small locally-owned permaculture farms. She's talking about how to make mega-ag more humane, while maintaining its ability to produce all the meat our American hearts desire. So when she says that breeding chickens with weak bones is "just wrong" it doesn't fit with the rest of her logical framework. I happen to agree with her; it is wrong. But then, I also think the whole mega-ag complex is just wrong, and any conversation about ethics is bound to decline into an argument about where it's okay to draw the line. Is it okay to keep chickens in cages too small to turn around in, as long as they have strong bones? It's a silly question. And that's what I love about most of what Grandin writes; she doesn't address the questions of right/wrong at all, but looks at the actual science. How are animals affected on a neurological level by their surroundings? How does that affect the final product, both in terms of profit and in terms of meat quality? Those are more effective arguments, and I think Grandin has that information in spades. I wish she had focused on sharing that information.(less)

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Oct 05, 2011 David Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

This fascinating book has a lot of insights into the higher picture of how behavior works in animals, and into the devilish details of dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, and chickens. It also covers zoos and wildlife more generally though with specific anecdotes. The most mind blowing moments happen when you realize, or Temple Grandin points out, that understanding humanity has an awful lot in common with animal husbandry. This is easily in my list of top 5 nonfiction books ever read.

The theory of...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Editrix (Amy Lewis) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grandin (and co-athor Johnson) present a thesis that pyschologist Jaak Panksepp's "blue-ribbon emotions" -- SEEKING, FEAR, RAGE, and PANIC -- are common to all animals and help explain the behaviors of pets, livestock, and animals in the wild and zoos. By closely observing animal behavior and changing the environment and management in sometimes minor but positive ways, we can reduce stereotypic behavior (such as pacing or self-mutilating) and improve the emotional and physical welfare of our fel...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Jen Hirt rated it 4 of 5 stars

This efficiently organized book covers dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, chickens, wildlife, and zoo animals. Each critter gets their own chapter, and Grandin explains what each animals needs for a content life. She focuses mostly on the animals' inherent levels of fear, need for safety, and type of socialization needed. The book is well-researched and practical (there are things you can start doing with your animals right away, to improve their lives). Grandin's unique perspective and voice come...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Paul Goble rated it 4 of 5 stars

Grandin provides fresh and fundamental insights into how animals think, and extremely practical advice for giving the animals around us better lives. She provides recommendations for the best number of dogs to have in a household (one, if you'll be home, or two if you work outside the home), for keeping zoo animals well behaved (train them), and for raising and ultimately slaughtering cows, pigs, and poultry.

The approach is based on understanding Jaak Panksepp's list of fundamental emotions shar...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Jacqie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I thought this was a very accessible book that taught me a bit about some animals that I thought I was familiar with, as well as some I haven't had much exposure to. I enjoyed her take on dogs: not necessarily needing an "alpha", but needing a strong "parent". I didn't know that cats have a harder time perceiving facial expressions than dogs. I don't know much about stock animals, but was fascinated with her opinions on how to enrich environments for cattle, pigs and chickens. It sickens me to r...more

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Apr 25, 2010 Paula Hebert rated it 3 of 5 stars

temple grandin has a phd in animal husbandry and is a professor at colorado university. she is also autistic. I have read about her occasionally, and decided I wanted to know more. this book studies the basic emotions that all animals possess, and teaches us how to recognize them, so that we can better train and communicate with them, and give them a better quality of life, whether they are our pets or are being raised for food. naturally, being a pet owner, I was most interested in the cats and...more

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Oct 31, 2009 Kurtbg rated it 2 of 5 stars

The title is a little misrepresentative of the book. It's not a treaty on how animals make us human. Instead I would characterize the content of showing how the classification of animal "Blue ribbon" responses (or emotions) are similar to humans. If animals can be shown to have feelings then they're not so different from humans.

Most animals have a seeking and fear switch. When a novel experience is provided either one gets switched on. Too far in one direction the animal bolts, or explores. Gene...more

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Oct 10, 2009 AnnaMay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Reading this book helped me get a better grasp on the different groups of animals and their behavior. I really really love our Luna Dog more now and can appreciate her sentiments in different settings much better now than before I read this book.

One thing I like about the book is how Grandin doesn't just jump on the bandwagon of 'we use terrible practices in our slaughterhouses in this country!' but instead points out specific problems, how they are problems for the animals, but then gives sugge...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Gloria rated it 2 of 5 stars

The many fantastic reviews of this book seem to be based more on the person (autistic woman overcoming her disability to achieve a successful career advising the livestock industry on how to treat animals on the way to be nicer to their animals) than the book itself, which is awkwardly written and not that great of a read, to be honest. In Britain it's called "Making Animals Happy," and that would be a more appropriate title than "Animals Make Us Human," which is an interesting thesis but one th...more

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May 31, 2009 Miss Poppy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Temple Grandin writes about the four emotions of animals - fear, panic, rage, and seeking. It was like she read my diary! (just kidding)

There's really only one positive emotion for animals - seeking, and that's the one you want to work with. There are a couple of chapters on domestic animals - cats and dogs, and others on farm animals - chickens, pigs, cows, and horses, another on birds. The farm animal chapters are somewhat depressing in the sense of how the food industry has treated them, and...more

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Apr 15, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: may-june-2009

Picking up where Animals in Translation left off, Grandin provides pet owners, farmers, livestock managers, and zoo keepers with concrete suggestions for improving the lives of the animals in their care. But "don't let the book's snuggly title fool you," declares the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Grandin is primarily a scientist, and no Marley romps through these pages." There aren't any commandments to readers to lay down their forks, either: Grandin believes it is entirely ethical for humans to use

...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Karenshaff rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading about the different way of thinking of animals and their relationships with/to humans. Temple Grandin, the author, being autistic herself, has had the experience of learning her own lessons in a different way and sees parallels to the way animals learn, feel, and experience things. Thus she has created some amazing breakthroughs in more humane animal handling, training, and design of animal handling equipment for many different areas. She talks about clicker training, be...more

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Jul 07, 2009 Delight rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book anout the emotional lives of animals. I've long admired Temple Grandin, her research, and her commitment to making the best life for animals while acknowledging that a vegetarian world is not realistic. Thousands of pigs, cows, and hopefully chickens can thank Grandin for easing the trauma of slaughter. And if you dislike McDonald's or Wendy's, you should know that they have forced their suppliers to work with Grandin to establish standards for the treatment of the ani...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Holley Rubinsky rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-abandoned

I heard Temple Grandin on Michael Enright's The Sunday Edition (CBC radio) and loved how she spoke about her autism. I could get Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals on the BC library site and so embarked. The opening interested me, seemed scientific. The chapter on Dogs was mildly interesting; though I'm not a dog person, I wasn't unfamiliar with her remarks. When I got to Cats, I realized Grandin was grazing past a topic she didn't know a thing about. Nor had she done adeq...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Lindisfarne53 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book, by Temple Grandin, spoke to animal behaviour, animal husbandry and animal management. It provided a lot of evidence for behaviours that have been studied both in the field and the clinical environment. It covered dogs, cats, horses, pigs, chickens, etc. And I have to admit I skipped the chicken parts. Overall, it was informative and added to my knowledge and way of thinking, especially about dogs.

For some of the dog chapters Ms Grandin 'debunks' Cesar Milan and his way of thinking ab...more This book, by Temple Grandin, spoke to animal behaviour, animal husbandry and animal management. It provided a lot of evidence for behaviours that have been studied both in the field and the clinical environment. It covered dogs, cats, horses, pigs, chickens, etc. And I have to admit I skipped the chicken parts. Overall, it was informative and added to my knowledge and way of thinking, especially about dogs.

For some of the dog chapters Ms Grandin 'debunks' Cesar Milan and his way of thinking about dogs. But she does it in a very fair and even way, which I thought was good. There is little to no emotion involved in her conclusions and I think I appreciated that the most. The whole idea of a 'pack leader' or having to be the dominant one in our relationships with dogs is just not played out in true wolf behaviour. She also goes on to speak about agression, fear and rage and how it is manifested in dog behaviour today. I truly enjoyed the little vignettes she wrote of about her own pets.

I have to say that I agree much more on her take on our dogs than I do with Mr Milan. Dogs are a part of our family and we do need to take on more of a 'parenting' role with them. However, I disagreed with some of her admonishments about what dogs need to be balanced and 'happy'. There is only so much you can get from observing behaviour. When you live with dogs, many dogs, you get to know them at a different level and they, you.

The funniest chapters were those about cats. I have never found many of the behaviours of cats to be true in my own cats. And I've had up to 5 at a time. But she admits, herself, that there is little to no studies around cats. Still, her behavioural explanations were spot on and very informing.

I like these types of books because they give me more information and allow me to decide for myself what the best way to manage and live with my own pets are. Ms Grandin definitely provided additional insights that I'll incorporate into my own behaviour and interactions with my pets. (less)

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Jun 23, 2010 El rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to El by: Clovis

Shelves: 21st-centurylit, cultural-studies-and-other, pretentious-book-club

Read for my in-person book club.

I'm usually pretty wary of books like this, the kind with animals on the cover. Which is really sort of funny since I'm such a whore for animals in real life. But this is the book that was decided upon for my in-person book club, and since I missed the previous two books I figured I should suck it up and read this, especially considering it was my boyfriend's recommendation.

Temple Grandin is an animal scientist with a "twist" as I like to say. Her personal experie...more Read for my in-person book club.

I'm usually pretty wary of books like this, the kind with animals on the cover. Which is really sort of funny since I'm such a whore for animals in real life. But this is the book that was decided upon for my in-person book club, and since I missed the previous two books I figured I should suck it up and read this, especially considering it was my boyfriend's recommendation.

Temple Grandin is an animal scientist with a "twist" as I like to say. Her personal experience with having autism allowed her to be able to really enter the minds of animals and see life through their minds and eyes. This book (from what it sounds like, her other books as well) discusses how to make the lives of animals better. She starts with domestic animals as pets (dogs, cats) before moving on to farm animals (horses, cows, pigs, chickens) and finishing with wildlife and zoos. In all environments animals' lives can be improved upon. She focuses mostly on the emotions of animals and how to bring out the best through SEEKING and PLAY, and how to bring out the worst through RAGE, FEAR, and PANIC.

As an animal lover myself I found that I didn't find I was learning anything new, per se. Animals do have emotions and little changes in their lives can be dramatic and/or traumatic if not handled carefully. Her final chapter about zoo-life was the most interesting to me since I have long had a love-hate relationship with zoos. The Pittsburgh zoo is pretty cool in my opinion (and they have a deer habitat!!) and we try to go at least once each summer. I always enjoy the time we spend there but do find myself feeling sad at the same time. Are the animals there getting the right amount of SEEKING and PLAY that they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle? I can think of a few situations there where things could be improved now that I've read Grandin's suggestions. I'd like for her to come to Pittsburgh and visit the zoo and aquarium to see what she thinks. Along the same lines, I'd also like to know her opinions on sea life as well. Fishies and penguins and manta rays are bad ass too. I'd be interested to hear her opinion of them as animals as well.

I'm also excited to see what people think of this in our book club. This is the first book that has been chosen that was not some hardcore philosophical or sociological study, so the discussion should be pretty interesting.(less)

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Jan 10, 2013 Laura Callanan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: environmental-justice

I got a lot out of reading this book, particularly in the chapter on dogs. The information there helped me to design a new exercise and feeding regime for my corgi that has solved several behavioral and health issues. What I most appreciate about Temple Grandin is her common sense approach to animal welfare, particularly in terms of slaughter houses. Her argument is basically that our job is to provide the most humane experience possible for these animals who are raised for food. Everything dies...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Suz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, non-fiction, work

The title of this book "Animals Make us Human" completely misrepresents the book. I was expecting something a little more philosophical, I guess with that kind of title. The subtitle - "Creating the Best Life for Animals" modifies it a bit, and if that were the title, alone, it would have been more representative of the book.

The other issue I had, was that the book was wildly inconsistent. Each part of the book was about a specific animal (Dogs, Cats, Horses, Cattle, Chickens). While the Dogs, C...more

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Mar 28, 2010 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-audiobooks, source-library, genre-non-fiction

Whenever I pick up a Temple Grandin book I have the very selfish goal of gleaning all i can from it about animal training and behavior. I don't care if she repeats something, or if she goes off on a tangent - I'm busy inhaling what she has to say - not how she says it.

The one thing i know about Temple's books is that i can count on her advice working. I have used some of her ideas before and am looking forward to using some of it again. I'm also finding that some of the techniques she reported...more

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Nov 30, 2009 Jeanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book

Grandin bases the discussions in this book on the idea that we can improve animals' lives by paying attention to the "blue ribbon" emotions. She believes that instead of trying to correct or control an animal's behavior, we should understand the emotions behind the behavior, ameliorate situations that increase unhelpful emotions and promote stimulation of good emotions.

In particular, Grandin talks about Seeking, Fear and Frustration, with Frustration being a mild form of Rage. Throughout the boo...more

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Nov 24, 2011 Caroline rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: animal-books

This is definitely a must-read for anybody who is going to be caring for an animal. Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson devote individual chapters to different animals, starting out more as a practical guide for pet owners (talking about cats and dogs) and moves into something more like a plea for better conditions for farm and zoo animals. Her research is thorough, but what makes it great is that she has plenty of on-the-job experience to support what she is saying. The anecdotes she provides...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mom, Kate Pineo, Kelina Foley, Tiffany Edwards

Shelves: kindle, nonfiction, animals

I bought this book because I love my dog and worry about her happiness. Not in the 'she's-a-mini human-in-a-furry-grey-coat' way but in the 'is she fulfilled as a dog' way? I didn't read the the author's first book, Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior, but had heard of it and found the premise interesting. What if we could see the world the way our beloved fuzzy friends see it? How would we treat them differently?

This book attempts to answer those ques...more

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About Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin, Ph.D., didn't talk until she was three and a half years old, communicating her frustration instead by screaming, peeping, and humming. In 1950, she was diagnosed with autism and her parents were told she should be institutionalized. She tells her story of "groping her way from the far side of darkness" in her book Emergence: Labeled Autistic, a book which stunned the world because,...more

More about Temple Grandin...

Books by Temple Grandin

Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism

Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior

The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger's

The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships

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“I believe that the best way to create good living conditions for any animal, whether it's a captive animal living in a zoo, a farm animal or a pet, is to base animal welfare programs on the core emotion systems in the brain. My theory is that the environment animals live in should activate their positive emotions as much as possible, and not activate their negative emotions any more than necessary. If we get the animal's emotions rights, we will have fewer problem behaviors... All animals and people have the same core emotion systems in the brain.” — 24 people liked it

“The big companies are like steel and activists are like heat. Activists soften the steel, and then I can bend it into pretty grillwork and make reforms.” — 11 people liked it

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