A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human

by Kay Frydenborg

We know dogs are our best animal friends, but have you ever thought about what that might mean?  Fossils show we’ve shared our work and homes with dogs for tens of thousands of years. Now there’s growing evidence that we influenced dogs’ evolution—and they, in turn, changed ours. Even more than our closest relatives, the apes, dogs are the species with whom we communicate best.
      Combining history, paleontology, biology, and cutting-edge medical science, Kay Frydenborg paints a picture of how two different species became deeply entwined—and how we coevolved into the species we are today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Dogs, Science, Nature, History, Wolves

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 14, 2017

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dog in the Cave by Kay Frydenborg is such a wonderfully written book that I had to read and absorb it slowly like a soothing cup of hot chocolate on a cold day. It is deep and thought provoking, it discuss man and wolves as they co-evolve together like no other animals on Earth. It reads not like a research or science book but like a mystery that lovingly describes the colorful characters along the thousands of years it takes and the multiple changes they take together. It discusses how things changed, what happened then, and why. It is a wonderful science book that is so "readable" and touching I forgot it was a "science" book. The book opens explaining how they find footprints of a child about 10 years old in a cave with a pre-dog/still wolf type creature prints with the child in the cave, obvious his friend and companion. Those and others are dated as far back as 36,000 yrs ago! Wow. This book amazed me and touched me with the science, research of man and wolf. A must read for animal lovers but esp. dog lovers! Thank you NetGalley for suggesting this book!

[David Lubin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Well Researched Study about Dogs and Humans

In 1992, when my son was a three year old toddler, we took in a stray Labrador Chow mix that had been in our neighborhood. The dog had a gentle disposition and had already made friends with my wife so we felt there was no threat. The dog fit in nicely immediately. I had grown up with dogs and she was an easy one to be around. One day, my son opened the back door and sprinted into the yard. Our yard was about 60 yards above the woods. Lady, her name by now, hurled herself against that back door so hard that I came running. She looked distressed so I opened the door and she was off like a shot. I followed and saw my son about 2/3rds of the way to the woods. Lady was flying and caught him in a few strides. She ran ahead of him and turned her 90 pound body sideways, like a wall. My son just turned to the right and she bounded past him and set up another wall. He turned again and was now headed back up the hill. I got there as he came up the hill to me, still giggling as children do. Lady was not a trained dog by any standards. But she was a family member and nothing was going to happen to our kids while she was around. Watching her work that child was about as obvious an expression of love as one can ever see. For the past thirty years, I have always wondered how such a bond can be created between a dog and the the humans they live with. And always wondered how on earth did it begin. This book goes a long way to answering those questions. New research has been very helpful in this relationship and I recommend this book highly to those who live with dogs and even those who don’t.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked a lot about this, and learned some things. Also, dogs are the best. As a middle grade book I'm not sure it quite works out. Maybe science is taught differently now, but I think this book requires a background in genetics that I didn't get until at least 9th grade biology. Parts of the book are also repetitive in a way that's kind of like, "but back to what I was saying." And many of the pull sections are badly placed, breaking a sentence up with a multiple page pull section in the middle.

[Wendell H Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating Education

I have enjoyed this book so much. How fascinating to think of that boy walking into that cave 33,000 years ago. With his (?) dog. I have recently read a little about crows and ravens intelligence to my surprise. Will look for more such history and science.

[Anna Smithberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid micro history about dogs.

[Jora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, very good. This is interesting, and the author's view on dogs seems to be one of fondness and lovingness, but reasonably unbiased. I do not like a method in which the author stops a sentence without finishing or using a period, exclamation point, or question mark, and throws a new idea in only to resume the sentence. I ended up taking one step forward and two steps back, so to say. I would recommend this for teens aged 13+, not because of inappropriate content in any way, but because this is a fairly complicated matter. Anyone with a high reading level or understanding of the subject matter (dog evolution and current dog studies) can enjoy this book and get something out of it.

[Hunter Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Dog in the Cave: The Story of How Man got his Best Friend"
A boy walks barefoot into a large, multichambered cave in what is now southern France, pausing a moment just inside for his eyes to adjust from darkness. Deep within the cave it’s black as night, so he carries a torch made of long-burning juniper pitch to light his way. Lifting it just above eye level, he stops periodically to examine the elaborate display of artwork lining the cave walls around him. (Frydenborg V)
In 2017, author Kay Frydenborg published her own book called A Dog in the Cave. This nonfiction story explains how humans became best friends with one of the most common animals today, dogs. Frydenborg explains about the story of the wolf-dog which was the first version of a dog known to man. She explains how, without being able to speak our language, we can’t truly understand a dog, but we can somewhat tell how it feels based on its actions and movements. The biggest topic was how we eventually “adopted” this amazing animal.
Though this story doesn’t follow any main characters, it still has an outstanding plot to hook any reader into reading the book. The only character that you could consider was the Wolf-dog and the boy. The book starts with the boy standing in a cave looking at all of the paintings on the wall created by some of his tribe and ancestors. But the child is not alone while he looks at the walls, for he has his “partner” next to him, the first dog. “Maybe he’s entered this cave once before with other members of his clan, but today he’s come without the others, in pursuit of some adventure or ritual we can only imagine. But he’s not really alone. For next to the child strides a large wolf like dog.” (Frydenborg IX)
There is no plot to this story, but for a story about how humans first met dogs, I wouldn’t really expect there to be one. This book does have a lot of evidence and research to show you the author knew what they were talking about. I personally would give this book a 5 out of 5 for the amazing quality and work that Frydenborg had put into this story so that it would catch the eye of anyone wanting to understand the truth about how dogs came to be. This book was made for young and older adults. The reason you should read this story is that even though I may sound like some little child who has no idea what they are talking about, trust me when I say that I have many experiences with story writing. I am currently taking an Honors English class in my freshman year of high school, and I also love to write books during my free time, so I have many experiences with books in general.
So, if you’re ever wandering through your local library, trying to find a story to read, then you should pick up this book because I believe that you will find a lot of joy to understand your dog’s background, and maybe they will appreciate it too.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting topic. Significantly boosted my desire to get a dog!

Unfortunately, the book desperately needs an editor. Not for the writing, but the organization. The writing is actually very good. Perhaps that was the problem – they couldn’t figure out what to cut out. The result is repeating topics intermixed with lengthy vignettes. It is like a car that is lurching forward – a feeling of progression and then regression of ideas. I think this might be troublesome for young adults (the intended audience).

It is possible that dogs began to domesticate from the gray wolf 36,000 years ago – about the time that Neanderthals were dying off and the end of the Cognitive Revolution (see Sapiens by Harari). There are dog prints along side a boy’s in the Chauvet Cave 31,000 years ago.

Some scientists theorize that we co-evolved. We lost our need for good hearing (yet we still have the essentially unusable muscle to move our ears) and our need for good smelling. Meanwhile dogs lost their brain power for strategy. A mutation gave us white eye balls (unlike our primate cousins) and the dog evolved to recognize our eye-gaze better (the only animal that can do it without being taught). You can put food under one of two bowls and point to the one with food using your eyes. Dogs will correctly go to the bowl but other animals (unless trained) will not. Humans and dogs evolved to be able to digest a lot of the same foods.

As an experiment in Russia, the silver fox was domesticated by selectively breeding for tameness. Belyaev, the scientist, probably inadvertently also selected for qualities of cuteness. Because they have rounder faces, big round eyes, short nose, and spotty colors. Some of these things humans naturally find cute, like in babies.

A human could smell a teaspoon of sugar in a cup of coffee. A dog could smell a teaspoon of sugar in two Olympic size swimming pools.

Dog owners are healthier because going for walks, companionship, friendship with other dog owners, a sense of purpose, and acquiring the dogs microbes.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

I really enjoy learning about how some wolves became dogs and how dogs and humans have co-evolved. I just think it's the coolest thing ever, and I always feel so touched by it as well. What would we be like without that partnership? LESS HAPPY at the very least.

I used to hold our sweet idiot boxer's head in my hands and whisper, "You used to be a wolf."

Anyway, the book! Fascinating topic, and she updates us with some of the latest research in many different fields (neurology, psychology, paleontology, etc). I liked how committed she was to backing up her claims, some of which seem pretty wild, but she handled it well.

However, this book says it's written for a middle-grade audience, but she sometimes delves so deeply and with lots of detail into scientific studies that it would feel intense for a kid. I don't think science should be "dumbed down" but there are ways of explaining it at a kid-level that would challenge and fascinate young readers rather than beat them over the head. It made me wonder if this is not mismarketed.

The book also needed better editing or organization or both. The writing sometimes felt repetitive. It also has long extra sections that are inserted at inconvenient areas. Good textbooks have little inserts, but they are larger and the extra pull-out sections are shorter and better placed. It was really distracting trying to follow the chapter when a three-page insert showed up in the middle of it.

The topic is interesting and well-handled, but not in a middle-school appropriate way. It's also just a bit overwhelming to read.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

VERY DISAPPOINTING!
The premise of this book is that dogs and humans evolved together - that while dogs were changing from wolves to dogs, humans were undergoing similar and related alterations. However, there is a huge and obvious hole in this theory, and it is dealt with in the least. Even according to this book, dogs evolved in Eurasia (possibly as early as 36,000 years ago) and arrived in the Americas sometime later (maybe 10,000 years ago). The book never mentions when dogs arrived in Africa, but does confirm that humans evolved there. Evidence shows that dogs arrived in Africa about 6,000 years ago. How then, could human characteristics have evolved in response to a partnership with dogs? The book states that very basic human traits (having white sclera in the eyes, an inability to change the direction that our ears point, and a relatively poor sense of smell and hearing) evolved because of our partnership with dogs. Did these traits some how then spread back to Africa, so that all Africans have white sclera and poor smell and hearing?
Not only is it ridiculous that a book that claims to be about science would have such a glaring issue, it also shows an absolutely incredible eurocentrism.
There are other things in this book that make me wonder if the author even has a background in science. Just one example: an image of a DNA molecule, obviously an artists representation, is labeled as though it is an actual electron micrograph.
As I said above, this book is very disappointing. A garbled mass of theory masquerading as fact and marketed to children.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frydenborg, Kay A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves that Made Us Human, NON-FICTION 246 pages. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2017. $18.99 Language: G (0 Swears, 0 F) Mature Content; G; Violence; G.

What I learned about the book is that, dogs have been our non-human best friends for thousands of years. Dogs and humans have shared a very deep and unique bond. The dog is the one animal we communicate best with. Some interesting facts from the book was that, dogs have evolved: dogs used to be just big. Now dogs come in all shapes, big and small. Scientist believe that dogs have been our good companions for over 20,000 years. A dog is a very special animal. Dogs can detect if we have cancer or a disease. A dog can improve our health life.

I recommend this book because you can learn a lot about dogs. This book will teach the values of having a pet dog. I liked this book because it had many pictures. It was a bit boring at first, but after I started to read I enjoyed the book. I feel like this book might be a little bit harder for younger readers because of all the facts. I learned may things about dogs that I didn't know before. I have read many boring non fiction books but this one was definitely different.


MS - ADVISABLE, HS-OPTIONAL 8th Grade Student Reviewer KOG
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017/...

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human"
Kay Frydenborg's book was published in 2017 by HMH Books. This book is about how mans best friend actually became mans best friends. Frydenborg explains how dogs became mans best friend even though humans and dogs don't speak the same language but could some-what tell how they felt from their body language and actions. Though this non-fiction books main topic is how dogs came to be.
This non-fiction book starts off with a boy standing in a cave carrying a long-burning juniper pinch to light his way in the pitch black cave, he would stop occasionally and examine the artwork on the limestone walls of the cave. But he is not alone next to him is his wolf-like dog companion, "Maybe he's entered the cave once before with other members of his clan, but today he's come without the others, in pursuit of some adventure or ritual we can only imagine. But he's not really alone. For next to the child strides a large wolf-like dog" (Frydenborg IX).
This book has a ton of useful and factually correct information for those who want to truly understand how dogs really came to be. There was clearly a lot of time and effort put into making this amazing book. Though targeted at young adults recommended for anyone who is a student of the subject or just interested in the topic of this book.

[Holly McIntyre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rarely have I so disliked a book that I thought I would like.

It is a pretty book, so pretty that I did not notice at first that it is supposedly aimed at a young adult audience and is a Junior Library Guild selection. The prettiness was deceptive, though, once I began to read. The thick, slick, bright white paper bounced back light with a blinding glare and even worse, the book smelled — a distinct chemical odor (that I have noticed in other books printed in China) wafted from the pages.

The interest-catching beginning detailing the discovery of evidence of human-dog interaction tens of thousands of years older than traditionally expected soon degenerates into an incomprehensible mish -mash of information with no identifiable organizing principle. Gross generalizations flow into extremely detailed summaries of current scientific experiments, leaving me to wonder for whom this book was written. There is a point here: dogs and humans have interacted in such a way that they may have mutually affected the other’s biological evolution, but the point is not made clearly or effectively.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you pile on speculation after speculation it begins to look like fact. That is what happens here. Although the author is generally careful to say something is speculative or that a particular researcher thinks something could be true, it can start to sound like irrefutable science. It turns out that the book is listed as for middle school readers and I’m especially dubious as to its worth for young readers. Fun for youthful dog lovers but easily mistaken for pure science, especially the early chapters on ethno-anthropology. The footnotes are not noted in the text and are especially difficult to associate with the author’s points.

Frydenborg often forgets that association is not proof of causation and it can be misleading. The books intention is to prove that humans influenced the change of some wolves into being dogs and that human contact with these wolves and proto-dogs influenced homo-sapien development, survival and success. It is fascinating and readable and on that basis I’d say the book deserved 5 stars. I decided on my final four star rating because of too much unreliable speculation suggested as hard science.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book that describes the current research on dog and human co-evolution. "A Dog in a Cave" covers such interesting topics as paleontology, dog evolution, genetics and social behaviour and interactions of dogs, wolves and humans. This book is meant for intelligent younger readers but can also be enjoyed by adults. The author assumes her readers are intelligent and doesn't insult them by simplifying everything into baby language. This book doesn't go into a great deal of scientific detail but is well-written and concepts superbly explained (better than most science writer/journalists for adults). The block sections explaining important concepts are also a nice idea. The colour photographs make this a lovely book to look at too. This book includes a glossary, notes, selected bibliography, internet resources and an index for anyone wanting more information on specific topics.

This book would make a lovely gift for a dog-loving child, teenager or adult that isn't a zoologist.

Recommended related book:
Domesticated: Evolution in a Man-Made World

[Gemini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this is certainly a learning book about the history of wolves & evolvement of dogs. Who knew? I really enjoyed the book & pics which go back to when humans wrote on cave walls. The research done as well as various tests for the wolves & dogs, plus how they vary is also mind boggling. The relationship that humans had w/ wolves & now dogs has of course evolved. Reading about the various types of wolves & where they were first found & encountered people is pretty neat. The relationship was built over decades in various parts of the world. How domestication happened is fascinating but also problematic w/ some other species that humans have tried domesticating. Whether right or wrong, most of us animals lovers can appreciate the companion animals we have living w/ us at home. Every pet has their own personality, yet still important to remember where they come from. This book just may give you some insight into them since we can't actually communicate in the same manner as we do w/ people.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was finally able to read a copy of this book and review it! I love dogs and have owned a couple over my lifetime. This book is a must read for dog lovers. I thought it was interesting that science is showing how dogs influenced humans to create societies! It explains a lot about us! We have quite a way to go to catch up with the dogs! I think the dna of dogs is an fascinating field of study, as is the evidence of dogs in archaeology. I feel bad for the dogs buried with their owners when their owners died; I'd like to think someone would care for my animal children should I pass on before them. Gave me pause for thought when dogs during the plague was discussed. I never really thought about dogs being there, just the cats! The history of dogs is so amazing. This book seems to cover everything about dogs up to present. Really good read!
I received a Kindle of this book courtesy of Edelwiess in exchange for a fair review.

[Finn Ziegler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book “A Dog in the Cave” is very interesting and I enjoyed reading it. The book teaches you the history of dogs, how they changed, and how they changed us. I think that the book had some very interesting parts that made it impossible for me to stop reading, but some parts were somewhat confusing, unless since I’m only eleven and it’s ok that I don’t know some of these words that are being used in the book. A thing that is cool about the book is that the pictures are very interesting showing comparisons of dog bones back then and dog bones now. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about the history of dogs and wolves. If you’re interested in reading this book and you’re just a kid like me you might want to look up some of these words in a dictionary, but you might know these words. Overall I really liked this book.

[Amishi Guliani]

The book, a dog in the cave: the wolves who made us human goes into depth about the relationship between a dog and a human, and the domestication of dogs. It has a lot of good information about the complexity of the animal and its behavior as well as the relationship between the two species. It provides us with many facts as to how the species got so close with each other, and the social interaction. I really enjoyed reading this book as it gave me a new view of this unique association. The writing is effective since it is nonfiction and fits. It has a lot of facts and therefore does not have too much of a plot but it still can be interesting in another way, providing the reader with interesting details. I would recommend this book to people who like dogs or have an interest in this subject.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating exploration of the co-evolution of early humans and wolves into modern people and dogs, especially looking at how their interactions affected them both. A great family read for any dog-loving and science-minded group.

I pulled the rating down because a few quibbles kept me from completely trusting the book. The opening image and the title of the book come from evidence that a small-footed person and a dog wandered through ancient caves together. But I don't understand how we know that person was a boy -- how are footprints identifiable as male or female? Having lost my faith in the first page, it was hard for me to accept other statements where I know even less about the subject. But the ideas were great.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evidently I’m behind on my evolutionary news, because this book gets a whole extra star for telling me that dogs and humans CO-EVOLVED! The story I’ve always heard is “nice-ish wolves came near village scrap piles and over time became dogs,” but this book presents evidence that people and dogs were working together much, much earlier, when we were still nomadic hunters together. We had dogs around the same time other human species like Neanderthals were hanging out with us, and perhaps working cooperatively with dogs helps us become the dominant human species.

Okay, my enthusiasm for the topic notwithstanding, this is still a rather clumpy book which made me look up their references. But still! Wow!

[Lisa Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got interested in this topic because of my 15-year-old special needs son who is fascinated by the fact that dogs are essentially wolves. He is often asking as we walk our rescue dog Charley, "So Charley has wolf inside her. How did that happen?" I got this book at the library to look through the photos and read the captions with him hoping to give him the main ideas. I ended up staying up and reading the entire book in one night when I should have been reading my book club selection. Fascinating to learn the origins and to confirm the sheer brilliance of the animal that is truly man's best friend in the animal world. Amazing!!

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book and the research absolutely fascinating. There are things that I don't often take the time to think about and I guess how dogs became domesticated is one of those things. But it did happen and this book explores when and how that happened. But it is more than that. The book also explores the differences between tame and domestication, how dogs are beneficial to people, how we have adapted together.

I will admit that I am a dog person so I may have found this a little more interesting than others might but I do think that it is worth the read.

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book blew my mind. Did you know that the first known human domestication of dogs was 26,000 years ago? And that dogs and grey wolves are almost identical in there genetic make-up, so much that they can interbreed? And that dogs are the most diverse species on earth? According to the author, "If the human species were as diversified as dogs, some adult humans would be thirty-foot-tall giants, and others would be the size of toddlers." So many interesting facts and science in this book!!!

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history on the domestication of dogs. The writing style was frustrating sometimes, because it seemed to repeat some basic ideas on the same page. They weren't that hard to follow, so the explanation seemed like overkill, or just annoyingly repetitive.
Other than that, though, I really did enjoy the interesting observations and facts on how dogs and wolves co-evolved with humans. There was some great information in it. And it even talked about Romeo, the wolf who played with dogs in Alaska.

[Kristin Eoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fascinating, thought-provoking book about the co-evolution of humans and dogs. More and more discoveries are being made every year in various sciences that are helping us better understand how dogs and humans came to be two of the most successful species on the planet. This book is filled with enough fun facts and intriguing hypotheses to keep you pondering about our linked species for a long time. Two opposable thumbs -- and two paws -- up for "A Dog in the Cave"!

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

We had this book sitting around (I'm not even sure where it came from), and I was out of things to read. I wasn't expecting much, but this was surprisingly good. It has the feel of a middle school textbook, but it was easy to read and interesting. I guess I take dogs for granted and never thought too much about how they evolved or how unique their relationship with humans is, and this book was great at shedding light on those topics, but in a way that wasn't too heavy.

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information was new and interesting, but the presentation was kind of boring. Essentially way too much backstory. I really disliked the places where sideline bits of info were kind of randomly inserted. It really broke up the flow - you almost had to go back and retread the pages before the interruption. Not student friendly.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating. It brought us right into the world of human/dog interaction and I learned a lot of interesting facts I did not know before, as well as gaining even more respect and admiration and love for my very own dogs. Highly recommend to anyone interested in dogs, humans, or the bonds we form with species so very different from our own.

[Saleena Longmuir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. This simple scientific look at the history of dogs and human and how we affect each other was fascinating. I recommended it to a colleague, who is finding it equally enthralling. Definitely one to check out!