Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do Kindle Edition

The original meaning of “grok” in Robert Heinlein’ novel Stranger in a Strange Land captures how prescient Marc Bekoff seems to be about dogs, as though his own deep intuition and empathy allow him to psychoanalyze every dog he meets. Make no mistake though: As wise and Merlin-like as Bekoff is, his knowledge – the stuff he describes so carefully in Canine Confidential – comes not from intuition but from his lifelong practice of ethology and animal behavior. Bekoff is a real-deal scientist. I know, because Bekoff and I are professional colleagues, going way back (40+ years) having first met in the 1970s at an annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society. Marc knows stuff because he has always been a careful, and honest scientific observer. He attends to what individuals do in their wild and natural environments. His collective knowledge about hundreds, maybe thousands, of individual dogs, coyotes, wolves, and foxes, informs what he says and also how he says it. Bekoff made the cognitive leap to the idea that animals are sentient and conscious years ago. His insights about animals’ savvy capacities comes from his long term observations of what individuals were doing when and with whom and where. In Canine Confidential Bekoff describes things that dogs do that indicate their wisdom, their understandings of other dogs, their emotions, their moods, their needs, their behavior and their apparent knowledge, and he makes a series of sage suggestions showing readers how they too can adopt an ethologist’s frame of mind to make rational, data based inferences of their own about dogs. Canine Confidential is a wonderful book by a gifted observer using a powerful scientific method.: I learned a great deal from reading Canine Confidential and I suspect you will too.

Marc Bekoff has written an essential book for anyone who cares about dogs, much less those of us who share our lives with them. He provides his vast scientific learning, experience, and observations in a conversational style easily accessible to an audience, like me, with little scientific background but a great interest in learning about dogs. (At the same time, extensive footnotes, bibliography, and an appendix on how to become an ethnologist provide both documentation for other scholars and instructions for novices.) His goal in providing us this knowledge —“Why Dogs Do What They Do”—is clear: to improve the lives of dogs by educating their human companions. Topics include behavior in the dog park, dogs having fun, minding dogs, emotions and heart, and others. Bekoff is a master storyteller, as the best writers are, and has a rare ability to employ anecdotes both from his experience and from that of others. Without ever being overbearing, Bekoff also reminds us—among many other facts—that walking a dog is for the dog and that dogs going through a door ahead of us does not mean they are exerting dominance. In fact, he explores all aspects of our lives with dogs, including difficult topics, such as the end of life and legislation that addresses animal abuse. In short, all people who are sharing their lives with dogs, who plan to, or who have done so—as well as anyone who loves dogs or is simply interested in this species uniquely attuned to us—should read this book.

Though this book is rich in insights that go beyond the boundaries of your local dog park, as former manager of one such place in NYC, I wish we had it back when I dealt with neighbors facing the very issues Marc Bekoff discusses and clarifies. The setting is an off-leash area in Colorado. The author recounts the many charming stories of dogs he has been observing closely over the years, and the informative talks he’s had with their humans on why dogs, theirs and dogs in general, might be doing what they do. From how to ‘read’ dogs, to appreciating their needs, to clearing up misunderstandings about hot topics like dominance, Bekoff encourages us to draw upon his lifetime of research and the work of colleagues he cites. He also urges us to become “citizen scientists” by watching our own canine companions more closely to better understand and appreciate them. We should marvel at their abilities as dogs, and their qualities and quirks as individuals, but we should also learn to lighten up and give them a break because there’s still so much that we, and science, are still learning. A delightful, moving, and useful book.

I couldn't put this book down once that I started it.I confess that despite having lived with dogs all my life and being an avid "citizen scientist" observing and researching for hour on end the wild life in my backyard (especially feral cats), I kind of took dogs for granted,this and few other books ( "Inside of a dog"; "The other end of the leash"; "Secret of the snout" etc.) open my eyes on what I was missing and how much I misunderstood the creature I spend most of my time with.Beautifully written in an accessible way it tackle the myths, the observable behaviors and give you an insight in the wonderful creatures that we chose and chose us as companions.Professor Bekoff has the gift of making science understandable and interesting for the non-scientists and (hopefully)making us having a better relationship with other creatures.I plan to read his other books.

Dr. Marc Bekoff writes with such passion, understanding, and research based advice. He is brilliant and his book is a must read for dog owners and lovers. I laughed out-loud while learning. Wonderful!

must read for dog lovers

A fantastic book.

An excellent , easy read , interestingly presented facts and details . Better than most dry factual books

I am using this very important book for the holistic care of dogs.

Recommended reading on my course. I can see why. It's superb

Good deal

Fantastic book, very relevant content, excellent service