Mastering the art of dog-human communication

Coren very systematically looks at the "language" of dogs- how well they understand spoken human words and human gestures, or can be trained to do so. What the wide variety of sounds they make specifically mean, plus all the different uses of body language, and the combinations thereof- which can vary meaning and nuance more than I had realized. How cross-communication works, why cats and dogs are classic enemies (many of their basic body signals mean opposite things). How dogs communicate with scent (hilarious story in here about a man who tried urinating around his wife's flower bed to deter neighborhood dogs from digging in it). He uses scientific studies, personal observations and carefully examined anecdotes to demonstrate the discussed communications (or miscommunications, as it were). Even points out why some methods used by humans to dominate their dogs, or teach them who's "leader of the pack" such as flipping a dog forcefully on its back or biting it on the nose (!) are misguided and won't get the result you want. Through it all there are interesting passages on the evolution of dogs, comparison of dogs to wolves, comparison of dog intelligence to that of children (about equal to a two-year-old's, although their concerns with social status and the doings of other dogs are more adult in nature), descriptions of studies on animal intelligence and communication with other species.

To sum it all up- yes, dogs have their own form of language. They understand a lot, and can read incredibly subtle body language... I was surprised at how many kinds of dog expression are often misunderstood by humans... Fascinating stuff. A book I think every dog owner should read.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

A great book that I love is "How to Speak Dog". It does not tell you how to have a convo with your dog or anything silly like that. What it does do is go into in depth body language of a dog. How wolves communicate with each other through body language....and how we can mimic a little. It was one of the best books I read.
Cairo's Mom

Stanley Cohen writes in a very personal, easy to digest manner about how to read the body language and vocalizations of your dog. Some of the chapters are "The Dog Speaks", "Body Talk", Tail Talk", "Eye Talk" and even "Dogs Talking To Cats". It has thorough behavior descriptions with wonderful insights on how to communicate effectively with your pet.

Should not be used as your only guide if you are new to dog training, best as a companion to a more formal training "how-to" guide.

Personally, I loved this book. It helped me understand my dogs' behavior and vastly improve their training, in a short amount of time. I finally realized that it was I producing mixed signals which confused my message. What a revelation...and so easily solved too! ( )