If Dogs Could Talk: Exploring the Canine Mind

by Vilmos Csányi

Every dog owner knows intuitively that there's something special about the high degree of mutual understanding and empathy that exists between humans and their proverbial best friends. Now, an internationally renowned Hungarian ethologist (a specialist in the scientific study of animal behavior) traces the roots of this unique relationship back to the unusual circumstances in which the two species co-evolved over many millennia.

Drawing in part on close observations of his own two pet dogs, Flip and Jerry, the author argues that the longstanding alliance of dogs and humans arose from behavioral traits present in the original wolves from which all modern dogs are descended. Wolves, like humans, are highly intelligent social predators, with well-developed cooperative problem-solving and communications skills, giving them distinct advantages in their developing relations with humans. These basic intellectual skills were refined and enhanced over tens of thousands of years, resulting in the enormously varied "artificial animals" we see today.

Although the book's specific focus is on dogs, it ranges far afield to discuss in an easy-going, accessible style recent experimental and theoretical work on the behavior of other animals, and especially on their interactions with humans. A highly personal work, If Dogs Could Talk makes the case that the social and emotional bonds between dogs and humans are indeed special, and that they ought to form the basis for our treatment of dogs. Moreover, the author concludes, by closely observing the cognitive behavior of dogs, we can also learn a good deal about how the human mind works.

Genres: Dogs, Animals, Nonfiction, Science

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 12, 2005

About the author

Csányi Vilmos Széchenyi-díjas magyar biológus, biokémikus, etológus, egyetemi tanár, a Magyar Tudományos Akadémia rendes tagja, a Magyar Tudomány volt főszerkesztője. Kutatási területe az állati és emberi viselkedés, valamint a biológiai és a kulturális evolúció kérdései. Tudományterjesztési és szépirodalmi munkássága is jelentős.

1953-ban érettségizett, majd felvették az Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Természettudományi Kar vegyész szakára. Itt szerzett 1958-ban vegyészdiplomát. Ennek megszerzése után a Budapesti Orvostudományi Egyetem (később Semmelweis Orvostudományi Egyetem) Orvosi Vegytani Intézete munkatársa lett. 1964-ben kapta meg adjunktusi kinevezését. 1973-ban visszatért az ELTE Természettudományi Karára, ahol a magatartásgenetikai laboratóriumban kezdett dolgozni egyetemi tanári beosztásban. Később az általa szervezett etológia tanszék vezetője lett. 1993-tól a posztgraduális etológia kurzus programvezetője. A tanszéket 2000-ig vezette. 2005-ben professor emeritusi címet kapott. Itt etológiát, humánetológiát, magatartásgenetikát és rendszerelméletet oktat. Egyetemi állásai mellett az MTA és az ELTE Összehasonlító Etológiai Kutatócsoportjának vezetője. 2011-ben Szilárd Leó professzori ösztöndíjban részesült. Összesen két évet töltött az Amerikai Egyesült Államokban, először a Harvard Egyetemen, majd a New York State Research Institute for Neurochemistryben mint vendégkutató.

Reviews

[Johan D'Haenen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al bij al een zeer aangenaam en interessant werk. Sommige commentatoren verwijten het een gebrek aan "wetenschappelijkheid" of een teveel aan antropomorfisme, maar... laat ons eerlijk wezen, honden zijn totaal gedomesticeerde wezens die in complete symbiose leven met de mensen. En laat ons het eens vanuit holistisch standpunt bekijken: is het werkelijk mogelijk een "objectief" beeld te krijgen van de geest van een hond door middel van geïsoleerde en zogenaamd wetenschappelijk opgezette experimenten in een laboratorium? En dat terwijl diezelfde honden in feite omzeggens alles leren vanuit hun samen leven met mensen? Ik dacht het niet. Waarmee ik de waarde van dat wetenschappelijk onderzoek niet wil minimaliseren... maar de mix van anekdotische verhalen en wetenschappelijke experimenten die Vilmos Csanyi ons hier aanbiedt, is in mijn ogen zeer waardevol.
Wie of wat een hond is, wordt grotendeels bepaald door zijn baasjes, zijn leef- en/of werkomgeving, zijn ervaringen... anders gezegd, net zoals voor een mens is de combinatie van nature en nurture bepalend voor het gedrag en het karakter van de hond, en dat maakt dit werk zeer duidelijk.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually quit the book while on the last section. The third part came with a warning. It was all research. Very little entertainment. I love dogs, but didn't learn anything about them. I feel like any dog parent will have had the same experiences themselves. Well written regardless

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

For someone who is a canine ethologist, I feel like most of Csanyi's statements about dogs are backed up with very little science. The stories he tells about his dogs are charming, but they strike me as extremely anthropomorphic and difficult if not impossible to prove. (One example: He claims that a dachshund who was best friends with a rabbit refused to eat rabbit stew for the rest of his life, in deference to his rabbit friend. Umm. Unlikely.) There are some interesting studies in here -- I particularly liked the one on seeing-eye dogs and how they tend to make decisions for their handlers -- but overall, the book was a rather confused jumble of animal stories and dog anecdotes. The translation also read in a very stiff and stilted way. I, of course, have no idea how it would have read in Hungarian.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vilmos Csanyl does a great job of explaining the science of animal behavior (ethology) in terms that a person from any background could understand. The examples that were provided were excellent at illustrating the points that Csanyl was trying to make and could resonate with any person who has had experience with dogs at some point in their lifetime.

If you aren't a dog person there is still a lot of interesting information in this book about humans and other animals (including but not limited to primates, wolves and elephants).

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of anecdotes and not that much science behind them. In my opinion the author goes too far in interpreting dog behaviour and anthropomorphising. E.g. by saying that a dog settles when its "master" is not around he clearly shows a lack of knowledge on many different breeds. Surely not all dogs settle. You should not claim that something is true unless you have scientific data to confirm it (as long as you want to maintain you're a scientist). Very very fuzzy in scientific terms.

[Daniel Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great in-depth view of what is (probably) going on in a dogs mind.
Written by the well known Hungarian Ethologist Vilmos Csanyi, the book was very well respected in Hungary before being translated into English.
Csanyi takes a continued look at how dogs think based on prior research of wolves and dog behavior as well as his own research as a Professor at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Well worth the read.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some good parts. There are some chapters that are worth reading and some that contain information more of a scientific nature which wasn't quite was I was looking for.

[Dev Scott Flores]

Real science mixed with loving conjecture from one of the leading canine ethologists in the world today

[Lynne]

Even wIth its title I expected less anthropomorphization. It turned me off nearly immediately. I may attempt it again sometime.