Dogs Demystified: An A-to-Z Guide to All Things Canine

by Marc Bekoff, Jane Goodall (Foreword)

An all-encompassing and fun reference from an award-winning scientist and dog lover

Dr. Marc Bekoff is an expert at turning cutting-edge science into practical, reader-friendly information. The encyclopedic entries in this book cover everything related to dog care, dog-human relationships, and dog behavior, cognition, and emotions, making this the accessible book that every dog lover should have. In concise, readable A-through-Z entries, Bekoff covers it all, from aggression to pack formation to zoomies, and explores why dogs do what they do; exactly how to meet any dog eye-to-eye, nose-to-nose, and ear-to-ear to understand their world better; and how tuning in to a dog’s unique personality leads to happier dogs and happier human companions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Dogs

264 pages, Paperback

Published June 6, 2023

About the author

Please see http://www.literati.net/authors/marc-... and you can read my essays for Psychology Today here -- http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/a... --

Reviews

[David Crumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you wonder: What are dogs thinking and feeling?

Last month, I reviewed Hersch Wilson's Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends. Readers who check out the back cover of Hersch's book will find the first endorsement from cognitive ethologist Dr. Marc Bekoff, the author of Canine Confidential and Unleashing Your Dog. In his praise of Hersch's book, Marc writes: "Dog lover and master storyteller Hersch Wilson shows how our canine companions can teach us many valuable life lessons."

In that brief endorsement of Hersch's book, Marc also describes the reason for anyone interested in dog companionship to buy a copy of Marc's new book, an encyclopedia-format overview of hundreds of subjects related to a dog's life. Marc's field of research, which now centers on the ways that animals' minds work (known as cognitive ethology), shapes Marc's entire approach to living with dogs.

"What’s your message in a nutshell about living with dogs? Can you summarize it in a few words?" I asked Marc in an author interview this week that I will publish online in November.

I could see him pondering the question for a moment across my Zoom connection, then he said, "If you’re thinking about bringing a dog into your home, you need to think first about all that it means to care for a sentient being who is literally 100 percent dependent on your good will."

That's why Marc decided to organize his latest book into an A-to-Z volume of subjects you can look up, depending on the most urgent issues in your home. You might start with: "Adopting a dog," for example, or perhaps you really need information on "barking" or "leashes" or the perhaps crude-but-real real issue of "pissing matches"—a dog's urge to spread urine to mark territory. And, if that's a subject of particular interest to you, Marc further explains this communicative behavior in another entry called "pee-mail." You can perhaps guess at what he describes in that entry.

If you've read this far, you're probably catching on that Marc is known for a lively sense of humor. He also is respected around the world as one of the leading researchers in the field of animal cognition and behavior. He's so well known that Jane Goodall wrote this new book's Foreword and Joan Baez made the line drawings that illustrate various pages—yes, The Joan Baez. And, I have to say that her light-hearted drawings are charming.

While it's charming and sometimes humorous—Marc's work always is based on serious scholarship. In fact, if you know Marc's work, then you will expect this new volume to rest on a huge body of research and data reported from around the world. This new book is no different than Marc's past volumes, except that he has moved his reference links online. Readers who buy this new A-to-Z book can go to Marc's website and access a 98-page PDF of all the additional reading that can lead you much, much deeper into the subjects he summarizes briefly in the book itself.

That's right: His "References" section is roughly half the size of his book itself! And, please, if you get his book don't miss that online resource. It's packed with so much reading that dog lovers can wind up lost for hours and hours with all the additional materials he recommends.

I've already got a half dozen of Marc's books on my shelves at home. I'm also a big fan of his Rewilding Our Hearts and the ever-popular Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed.

Thanks for this new book, Marc! It's definitely earned its space in our home library.

[Beverly Hallfrisch · Rating 1 out of 5]

The A-Z entry format was the worst of all worlds. It is neither clinical nor an engaging narrative. There is not enough contextual information to understand why some entries were included or what was relevant about them. Sometimes stories are included in the entries, but reading this straight through feels repetitive. It offered opinions without laying down a foundation for me to trust the author. It felt a little judgey and pretentious at times.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not read this book, which is not necessarily a bad thing, for it is a dog-centric and not a person-oriented work. This is a book for the NPR set. Just as Anti-Racism states that all white people are inherently racist, this book suggests that domestication is traumatic to canines, such that they are left without a way to make themselves safe forever ever after. Accordingly, humans are to blame for any -- and likely all -- ills that befall canines.

The introduction is by Jane Goodall, which prompts me to ask of editors everywhere: is there no one but Jane Goodall to write introductions and to lavish sales-generating praise? Surely other women have made themselves notable in science since Goodall's groundbreaking work. Some new voices might be welcomed, but if it sells, it sells, I suppose.

[Sharron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This fairly basic dictionary of terms relating to dogs warrants 3 stars for first time dog owners but just 2 for those familiar with dogs. It contains some useful tidbits such as the fact that dogs hear about 4 times better than humans but we see better than them except at night when they have a significant advantage over us. I knew that a dog’s sense of smell is immensely stronger than ours but had no idea that a dog has about 300 million nose receptors while a human has just 5 million. It’s no wonder that while we head out for a walk it is more of a “sniffari” for our pet and we should afford them the sniffing time they require and enjoy.

[Erin Sorrels · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information is fine as far as I got, but it desperately needs an index or at the very least something to help you move through the e-book because you have to start at A and there's no way to find your way through. Plus, if you know how to describe a problem your dog is having but not what it's called, the book is useless.

[Christa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't realize the "A-to-Z" portion of the title was indicative of the encyclopedia-like formatting, haha. It was less interesting than I thought it'd be, but it might've been more informative if I'd been looking for specific information instead of a lot of smaller bits of info that would be useful to a first-time dog owner like myself.

[Ayelet C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Marc Bekoff. Not my favorite book of his and would have loved a bit more science/detail, though I think that would have changed the purpose of the book. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone with a dog or is about to get a dog. Also to anyone who’s ever owned a dog.

[Sha · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a dictionary, no more no less. Perhaps useful if you’re looking for a specific term – but honestly it’s faster to go online, especially given the amount of times the author says "maybe, I’m not sure" etc. Not an engaging format either.

[Grazi Oliveira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book, but need a very good index to help us to use all content any time.

[Magen - Inquiring Professional Dog Trainer · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. It's really an alphabetical list of key dog terms and concepts

[Paula Jinbo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not do anything to demystify dogs.

[Vargas · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wasn't bad until the "animal communicator" definition involved "telepathic communication with the spirit of humans and their animals"

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great resource! I learned a ton about dogs. It seemed a little uneven at times though, giving lots of details and anecdotes with some encyclopedia entries, and very few with others.