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This cutting-edge science narrative, chock-full of heartwarming case studies, is one woman’s quest to learn the true meaning of dog intelligence.
This delightful narrative takes listeners on a powerful search to unlock the secrets of dog cognition, based on evidence from trainers, owners, behaviorists, and the animals themselves. With in-depth reporting and more than a few personal adventures, best-selling author Jennifer S. Holland digs into what intelligence really means.
Listeners will meet a pack of genius dogs, each of whom embodies a particular kind of smarts. Holland interviews Cat Warren, who trains cadaver dogs, to learn about “nose intelligence”. To unpack emotional intelligence, she examines an unlikely dog friendship; to unpack task learning ability, she seeks out an agility trainer. She interviews police-dog trainers (volunteering to be attacked by one in the name of science), service-dog trainers, and trainers who rehabilitate “bad” dogs. And she gets to know breeds that are considered especially intelligent—border collies, cattle dogs, and German shepherds—to discover whether they are truly “smarter” or just more in tune with humans.
In between field experiences, Holland spends time with dogs in a variety of settings—a rescue center, a dog park, a boarding facility—while pondering the lessons they teach us about ourselves. And she’ll pose entrancing philosophical questions: How do we define intelligence in another being? Where do “instinct” and “intelligence” meet and diverge?
Both surprising and heartwarming, this book is one woman’s quest to understand the world’s smartest dogs—and how they got that way.
5
Reviewer: TKL
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Absorbing, entertaining …
Review: … and informative. Will move you to appreciate your pup even more!
Reviewer: Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Easy informative fun read
Review: Loved the easy conversational style and the engaging stories that exemplify the unique aspects of dogsâ abilities. Highly recommend for anyone interested in having more insight into the potential in every dog including their own pets!
Reviewer: Chuck
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: This is a fabulous book!
Review: The author’s style and personal experiences make this a fun, easy and incredibly informative read! I’ve been working with dogs for 20 years, and was pleasantly surprised at how much new information I learned.The author does a great job of exploring what it means to be smart, then shares a large number of studies and research projects to illustrate how we’ve come to better understand dogs in the last decade. The best parts, of course, are all the stories of actual working dogs and their partners, and how a human and dog combination can produce extraordinary results–even if it’s the dogs who are the real stars.You will be glad you read this wonderful book, and you’ll probably have to share it with others, it’s that good.
Reviewer: August George Stoll
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: For All Dog People
Review: Even if you only LIKE dogs, you need to buy this book and read it. Better than any fictional page turner I’ve ever read, reading about the talents that our canine friends possess raised my spirits and made each day a little brighter. Finding out the many ways that dogs help identify sickness in people, or how some help people get through their days independently, or how dogs communicate with us and each other was uplifting. The author writes in a conversational style, and when she’s teaching you something, you understand it. Those who read a lot will read this book quickly – which means you can read it a second time. When I did that, I found parts that felt new to me – and that was wonderful, too!
Reviewer: Tonia Klausner
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Must read for a dogâs humans
Review: If you are a dogâs human dog or are planning to be, this is a must read. A ton of research was obviously done for this book; Ms. Holland translates that dog science into a practical method to understand our pups and develop their canine intelligence. Not all dogs are created equal, but they all have some form of dog smarts. If we understand that, we understand them better. Ms. Holland also offers some sound opinions on how more canine research can benefit pups and their humans. Dogs have âsmartsâ we humans donât and weâre only beginning to understand.
Reviewer: Donne Knudsen
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Dog Smart
Review: I donât read a lot of non-fiction, but of the non-fiction I do read, quite a bit of it is dog/pet related. I love learning about dogs! I am of the belief that it doesnât matter how long youâve had dogs or how much you think you know; you do not know everything and there is still so much more you can learn, if you want to, of course.This book is a scientific study of the numerous capabilities and sources of intelligence that dogs possess. Holland focuses on all the different ways that dogs are really so much smarter than we give them credit for. She illustrates the numerous ways that humans can become dog smart by employing lessons and tactics that utilize the many ways that dogs understand and the ways they learn. Much of the book centers around the training of working dogs. Whether they be seeing eye dogs, police dogs, military dogs, conservation dogs, or any other kind of working dog that you could possibly think of, there is a smart way to teach the dogs what they need to know.This is the sort of book that anyone working with dogs would find a valuable resource. While I donât train working dogs, I enjoyed this book because it gave me some insights on why some lessons work better on some dogs than others. I also learned some new techniques on being a smarter dog mama about what kind of messages I send my own pups. It took me a while to get through this book because I found myself rereading a lot of passages to hubby. Then there were the requisite discussions of what we do and donât do and how we can be more âdog smartâ.Thereâs a saying among dog trainers as well as dog owners too, âthere are no bad dogs, just bad ownersâ. I firmly believe that. If you have ever thought that there is something wrong with your dog because they are simply not learning something that you keep trying to teach them, chances are itâs not something wrong with your dog, but rather something wrong with whatever it is you are doing. Our dogs want to be the best they can be and, hopefully, we want that too. The day we adopted them, we made the commitment to take care of them. They deserve that we too be the best we can be.I really enjoyed this book. I loved all the stories about the various working dogs that Holland researched, studied, and observed for this book. Great stories about truly amazing dogs. I also loved the personal stories of Hollandâs own pups, Monk and Geddy. What a pair of rascals!!! She comments on how her research and studies helped her to become a more âdog smartâ owner.Once again, this is a book of studies and statistics of dog training that is going to appeal to a very specific type of reader. Iâm not going to rate this book like I would a work fiction by rating characterization, pacing, storyline and writing style. Iâm rating this book strictly on the info provided (excellent) and the manner in which it was provided (very good). Iâm looking at an overall rating of 4.3 so Iâm going to round down to a 4star rating. I want to thank NetGalley and National Geographic for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Reviewer: Candace L. Coates
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Resource book
Review: Interesting book, will add it to my reference book collection.
Reviewer: Consumer X
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Bow-wowie-zowie! Holland’s delightful prose leads you from one doggie revelation to another.
Review: The author is on a quest to see the whole dog, to examine their intelligence from every angle. She carries us along on her journey, sharing her joy of discovery as we encounter a myriad of ways dogs work with humans to accomplish remarkable things, sprinkled with scientific illuminations and insights into human-canine relationships. Soon we know things we never knew before about how dogs think and how we can be better friends to them. Whether youâre a dog lover, a dog liker, or just a dog lickee, you will love Holland’s well sourced and clear explanations, perceptive observations, and playful way with words.
