Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution

Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution | Raymond Coppinger, Lorna Coppinger | Excellent Book from every point of view

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Dogs: A New Unders...

	Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution Raymond Coppinger, Lorna Coppinger University Of Chicago Press, 2002 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Biologists, breeders and trainers, and champion sled dog racers, Raymond and Lorna Coppinger have more than four decades of experience with literally thousands of dogs. Offering a scientifically informed perspective on canines and their relations with humans, the Coppingers take a close look at eight different types of dogs?household, village, livestock guarding, herding, sled-pulling, pointing, retrieving, and hound. They argue that dogs did not evolve directly from wolves, nor were they trained by early humans; instead they domesticated themselves to exploit a new ecological niche: Mesolithic village dumps. Tracing the evolution of today's breeds from these village dogs, the Coppingers show how characteristic shapes and behaviors?from pointing and baying to the sleek shapes of running dogs?arise from both genetic heritage and the environments in which pups are raised.

For both dogs and humans to get the most out of each other, we need to understand and adapt to the biological needs and dispositions of our canine companions, just as they have to ours.

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Logical, easy to understand insights into behavior and evolution

Heard Dr. Coppinger speak at the APDT conference and was fascinated by his theories, and the fact that he's able to change his opinions as insights, training and knowledge evolves. Not someone that's afraid to say he was wrong or has changed his opinion. Some VERY interesting arguments and absolute bolts of insight that should be obvious, but sometimes isn't, things like why infant, puppy, adolescent and adult dogs have different behaviors and why those behaviors aren't carried from one stage of life to the next, heat exchange principles in working dogs (primarily sled dogs, but applies to all dogs), cognitive vs. inherent behaviors, and the argument as to why we wouldn't be thinking of dogs with regard to their "wolf" ancestry, but that they've evolved so far past that the analogy is no longer applicable. A little "wonky" and research"y" in tone, but totally worth the effort for the insights! Scholar meets technician, clearly someone with real world dog experience.

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Excellent Book from every point of view

This is an excellent book, interesting, easy to read, and convincing. My interest in reading the book was in the "origin" of dogs and of dog breeds, and I am convinced by the explanations in this book. Lots of dog stories, lots of biology and ethology. Altogether superb.

Best dog book for biologically-minded

After getting my first dog, I went through at least a dozen dog books in a short time, and this was the best of all of them. The author presents well-thought through arguments to present theories in dog evolution, and doesn't rely on common assumptions of dog behavior. If you are tired of dog books that lack a strong biological foundation, this is the book for you.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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