Wonderdog: The Science of Dogs and Their Unique Friendship with Humans
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-25 03:19:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jules Howard
- ISBN：1639362622
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Summary
A celebration of dogs， the scientists who've lived alongside them， and how canines have been key to advancements in science for the betterment of all species。
Almost everywhere there are humans on planet Earth， there are dogs。 But what do dogs know and understand of the world？ Do their emotions feel like our own？ Do they love like we do？ What do they think of us？
Since our alliance first began on the hunt and on the farm， our relationship with dogs has evolved considerably。 And with domestic dog population rising twenty per cent in the last decade alone， it is a bond that will continue to evolve。 In order to gauge where our relationship with dogs goes from here， author and zoologist Jules Howard takes a look at the historical paths we have trod together， and at the many scientists before him who turned their analytic eye on their own four-legged companions。
Charles Darwin and his contemporaries toyed with dog sign language and made special puzzle boxes and elaborate sniff tests using old socks。 Later， the same questions drove Pavlov and Pasteur to unspeakable cruelty in their search for knowledge。 Since then， leagues of psychologists and animal behaviourists have built upon the study of dogs and their much-improved methods have fetched increasingly important results: dogs have episodic memory similar to ours; they recognise themselves as individuals; and， in addition to their expert sense of smell， dogs’ noses can even detect thermal radiation。
With the help of vets， ethologists， neurologists， historians and， naturally， his own dogs， Wonderdog reveals the study of dogs to be key in the advancement of compassion in scientific research， and crucial to making life on Earth better for all species。
Almost everywhere there are humans on planet Earth， there are dogs。 But what do dogs know and understand of the world？ Do their emotions feel like our own？ Do they love like we do？ What do they think of us？
Since our alliance first began on the hunt and on the farm， our relationship with dogs has evolved considerably。 And with domestic dog population rising twenty per cent in the last decade alone， it is a bond that will continue to evolve。 In order to gauge where our relationship with dogs goes from here， author and zoologist Jules Howard takes a look at the historical paths we have trod together， and at the many scientists before him who turned their analytic eye on their own four-legged companions。
Charles Darwin and his contemporaries toyed with dog sign language and made special puzzle boxes and elaborate sniff tests using old socks。 Later， the same questions drove Pavlov and Pasteur to unspeakable cruelty in their search for knowledge。 Since then， leagues of psychologists and animal behaviourists have built upon the study of dogs and their much-improved methods have fetched increasingly important results: dogs have episodic memory similar to ours; they recognise themselves as individuals; and， in addition to their expert sense of smell， dogs’ noses can even detect thermal radiation。
With the help of vets， ethologists， neurologists， historians and， naturally， his own dogs， Wonderdog reveals the study of dogs to be key in the advancement of compassion in scientific research， and crucial to making life on Earth better for all species。
Reviews
Tina
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Very good。 The author presents their findings about how dogs have been used to further scientific research and current research into canine behaviour。 Warning: The horrific use of vivisection on dogs and other animals is discussed。
Johan D'Haenen
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Dit is een zeer aangenaam en interessant stukje lectuur。 Via de studie van het gedrag van honden krijgen we hier een geschiedenis van de gedragswetenschappen te beginnen bij Darwin。 Behaviourisme， cognitieve wetenschappen， ethologie。。。 allemaal komen ze aan bod， en dat op een zeer bevattelijke wijze beschreven， zonder in specialistische taal te vervallen。Doorheen de geschiedenis beperkten de gedragswetenschappen zich tot de "serieuze" studie van primaten en apen， omdat die het meest aan ons verw Dit is een zeer aangenaam en interessant stukje lectuur。 Via de studie van het gedrag van honden krijgen we hier een geschiedenis van de gedragswetenschappen te beginnen bij Darwin。 Behaviourisme， cognitieve wetenschappen， ethologie。。。 allemaal komen ze aan bod， en dat op een zeer bevattelijke wijze beschreven， zonder in specialistische taal te vervallen。Doorheen de geschiedenis beperkten de gedragswetenschappen zich tot de "serieuze" studie van primaten en apen， omdat die het meest aan ons verwant zijn。 Maar nu blijkt dat gedomesticeerde diersoorten， en meer in het bijzonder de hond， ons heel wat meer te leren hebben over ons dan we tot nu toe vermoedden。Honden zijn allesbehalve die "lompe afstammelingen van wolven" waar dikwijls zo denigrerend of minachtend naar verwezen wordt。 Wel integendeel， hun intelligentie en verwantschap met ons reikt veel verder。Dit werk is in ieder geval intrigerend genoeg om aan te zetten tot verdere lectuur over het onderwerp， en dat dan allerminst voor hondenliefhebbers alleen。 。。。more
Brian Clegg
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As Jules Howard acknowledges， there have been plenty of books about what makes a dog tick， whether they are training manuals， evolutionary examinations such as The Wolf Within or ethological studies of humans' closest animal partner such as If Dogs Could Talk。 But most of Jules Howard's Wonderdog takes us into the roles that dogs have played in advancing science。Some of this material is fairly gruesome。 We discover， for example， dogs' importance to medical research， particularly at a time when e As Jules Howard acknowledges， there have been plenty of books about what makes a dog tick， whether they are training manuals， evolutionary examinations such as The Wolf Within or ethological studies of humans' closest animal partner such as If Dogs Could Talk。 But most of Jules Howard's Wonderdog takes us into the roles that dogs have played in advancing science。Some of this material is fairly gruesome。 We discover， for example， dogs' importance to medical research， particularly at a time when experimenting on animals had few ethical limits。 What makes the book enjoyable is the way the Howard ties in his history with engaging stories - such as the brown dog statue， put up in Battersea in 1907 as a memorial to a dog horribly misused by vivisectionists， only for the statue to be destroyed by the council to bring an end to frequent attacks by infuriated medical students。 （The statue has since been replaced。）Similarly， dogs have proved valuable in widening our understanding of animal behaviour。 As Howard points out， this is ironic， given the way that for a long time dogs were considered by biologists to be of no interest as they were thought to be simply wolves that had。。。 gone to the dogs。 In reality， though， dogs' unique skills and relationship with humans made them fascinating studies。 And some of those abilities are indeed remarkable。 Howard tells us of a dog that could retrieve a range of items from another room when asked for them by name - and then shocked everyone by also retrieving an item it had not been trained to retrieve when asked to bring something with a name it didn't recognise， working out that the new name applied to the unfamiliar item。 Similarly， dogs' ability to be directed by pointing is beyond even the capabilities of chimpanzees。The book has three main sections - one primarily on their medical use （and misuse - though strangely no mention of smoking beagles）， one on dog sociology and minds， and one considering what it's like to be a dog， play and emotional connection。 Each is interesting in its own way （though Howard to does have to warn sensitive readers of a few paragraphs they may need to skip in the medical section）。 Along the way， the book is written in a light， friendly style。 Howard tends to overuse footnotes， often using them for information that would fit perfectly well in the main text without the reader having to keep skipping down to the bottom if the page， but otherwise it's a great read。This is obviously going to be of particular interest to dog lovers， but even those who are neutral on the subject of canines will find a lot to learn and enjoy about this unique animal， forged in its interaction with humanity。 Good boy， Jules。 Good boy！ 。。。more
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