Barbara Handelman

If you knew what a huge fan I am of the Fox television show "Lie To Me" you would also know that this book peeked my interest as soon as it was placed in my hands as a gift from a puppy buyer. This book is a study of canine behavior and body language and the similarities and differences of those behaviors between dogs, wolves, coyotes, and fox.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and this book takes this concept to heart. This is less a cover to cover read, although that is how we read it, and more of a quick reference guide. The table of contents at the beginning and well organized chapters makes this book an excellent quick reference guide. The contents is detailed and shows the depth of the topics in each chapter in addition to cross referencing within the book's contents. The behaviors are alphabetized within the chapters in a dictionary like fashion using photos where possible to demonstrate the descriptions. This book is your Illustrated Dictionary to canine behavior.

The book operates on the context that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and just as we may experience conflicting emotions at any time a dog may also exhibit conflicting behaviors. It is the context in which these behaviors occur that matters when interpreting them. By understanding behavior you can more effectively train and understand dogs under varied situations. Behavior is language which means understanding canid behavior is an excellent step toward communication. The next time you feel the need to call up Miss Cleo in order to understand what your pet is trying to say you can leave your credit card in your wallet because of this book.

Behavioral displays by wolves are similar to that of domesticated dog, but overall the wolves displays are more heightened and more visible, seemingly exaggerated as compared to the same displays by dogs. For this reason the photos heavily rely on the displays of wolves which are then supplemented by photos of the same behaviors in dogs. The contrast is really interesting to study.

Aggressive behaviors were the least photographed in the book since safety was an overriding concern, but these behaviors were still explained well. My favorite of the aggressive behaviors was the Intra-sex Aggression which was also referred to as the slang Bitch Wars, mostly because the term made me smile. The book covers behaviors from aggression, submission, and fear to coprophagia, scratching, and vacuum behavior. In all every behavior that your dog exhibits or might exhibit at some point is covered.

With discussion of dominance, the book recommends leadership as the best method of producing desire behaviors since humans inherently lack the capabilities and features required to communicate canine dominance in the way that wolves do in order to communicate dominance without fighting or even physical contact. The reason wolves communicate in this way is for simple survival. If wolves were constantly fighting and injuring each other they would simply not survive in the wild where there is no treatment for their injuries. So forget the alpha rolls and work on your consistency and leadership which will be a much more effective means of training your dog.

I would recommend this book to pet industry professionals especially those dealing with multiple dogs such as playgroups and also to anyone interested in learning about canine behavior. Pet owners may find this book interesting, but I think those with slightly more experience dealing with multiple breeds and multiple dogs at one time will benefit the most from this book.

I enjoyed learning the correct terms for various behaviors and I also have a better understanding of some of the subtleties of canine behavior such as the position and tightness of the lips in regard particular behaviors and aggression. The detailed and thoughtful photos also help convey the subtleties of some of the positioning and behaviors.

Beyond the cover of the book all the images are in black and white and quite light in contrast, almost overexposed. I would have liked to have seen at least some color photos inside the book although I would question whether having all color photos would detract from the behaviors and see why the author went with the black and white concept. Some might find the text of this book to be redundant, however, the book seems to be intended more as a quick reference guide for which the redundancy is completely appropriate.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and will continue to use it as a reference for understanding particular behaviors as needed. This is an excellent book for any pet industry professional's book shelf.… (más)