What the Dog Knows Quotes

“I’ve grown more comfortable working with the dead. With parts of them, really. A few teeth, a vertebra, a piece of carpet that lay underneath a body for awhile. One of my German shepherd’s standard training materials is dirt harvested from sites where decomposing bodies rested. Crack open a Mason jar filled with that dirt, and all I smell is North Carolina woods—musky darkness with a hint of mildewed alder leaves. Solo smells the departed.”
― Cat Warren, What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs

“The army and SwRI researchers, ever optimistic and open-minded, had already been there and tried that. Cats didn’t care to communicate with the researchers about whether bombs were close by. “Cats were excluded from the final programs because of their demonstrated refusal to cooperate consistently in joint ventures with man.”
― Cat Warren, What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs

“There's no shortcut to reliability except constant diligent training.”
― Cat Warren, What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs

“I tried to assure Mike [Veteran Durham K9 Unit Trainer] - and myself- that I wouldn't be as clueless. "I'll know more with the next one. I won't make the same mistakes."
Mike shook his head. He knew better. "If I had every dog in front of me that I'd ever worked with, I'd apologize to each of them.”
― Cat Warren, What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs

“In principle, with optimized hooves, pigs can fly.”
― Cat Warren, What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs

“While I was at a huge disadvantage, I realized Solo had an advantage here that he didn't have at the local kennel club. Law enforcement handlers don't expect their dogs to get along. Most of their dogs have an edge. Every dog was on lead coming and going; each dog worked separately. The warehouse rang with another warning I would become accustomed to: "Dog in!" or "Dog out!"

For me, that warning was a comfort. A standardization of practice that would benefit me greatly. Working Solo, I wouldn't have to keep my eyes peeled for a shorthaired pointer to come bounding over off lead. Soon enough, Solo realized the same thing: With cops and Crown Vics around, he started to ignore sharp barks and growls and dog-permeated air. I didn't have to apologize for his personality. To the police K9 handlers, Solo wasn't a sociopath. He didn't even qualify as a jackass.”
― Cat Warren, What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs

“Characterizing and understanding dogs’ olfactory and cognitive skills isn’t best done in a lab with limited and usually untrained dog subjects. If working dogs are overrated in the popular imagination, they have been mostly underrated in science,”
― Cat Warren, What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs