Book Review: The Genius of Dogs

Everyone thinks his dog is smart, right? Now science is finding more reasons to agree with us. Up until the last decade or so, domestic dogs weren't considered worthy research subjects. It was commonly believed that the domestication process had changed the animals' behavior to a degree that spoiled its potential for a pure research model. Much of that has changed because of Brian Hare. I first heard Brian Hare's name while I was reading John Homan's book,"What's a Dog For?"

Hare, a Harvard-trained animal scientist and founder of Dognition.com, is presently an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology and the head of Hominoid Psychology Research at Duke University and was key to the development of Duke's research lab that concentrates on canine cognition. Along with Vanessa Woods, who is his wife, co-founder of Dognition.com, award-winning science journalist and bonobo researcher, Hare shares key research findings regarding how smart our dogs really are.

This book is not a dry research thesis, let me be very clear about that. If you have an interest in what your dog can understand and how his mind works, then you'll enjoy this read. Hare relates the information in a way that is detailed but not too technical. His intended reader is obviously dog lovers, so the reader doesn't find himself lost in the academia behind the information. Starting with the definition of "genius," Hare explains various types of intelligence and how this can be different for primates, canines, and other species. We find that this genius in canines might be the very catalyst that brought about the domestication of these gray wolf descendants into the dogs that sleep at the foot our beds. The latest domestication theories are a fascinating twist on what scientists have believed for many years.

If you want additional information regarding Hare and his work, go to https://www.dognition.com/who-we-are or you can also check out http://evolutionaryanthropology.duke.edu/research/dogs and spend some time discovering more about this relatively new but interesting field of research. Give this book a read, and I guarantee you'll look at your dog a lot differently.