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This is the first book to collate and synthesize the recent burgeoning primary research literature on dog behaviour, evolution, and cognition. The author presents a new ecological approach to the understanding of dog behaviour, demonstrating how dogs can be the subject of rigorous and productive scientific study without the need to confine them to a laboratory environment.

Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition starts with an overview of the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the study of the dog, followed by a brief description of their role in human society-almost a third of human families share their daily life with the dog! An evolutionary perspective is then introduced with a summary of current research into the process of domestication. The central part of the book is devoted to issues relating to the cognitive aspects of behaviour which have received particular attention in recent years from both psychologists and ethologists. The book's final chapters introduce the reader to many novel approaches to dog behaviour, set in the context of behavioural development and genetics.

Directions for future research are highlighted throughout the text which also incorporates links to human and primate research by drawing on homologies and analogies in both evolution and behaviour. The book will therefore be of relevance and use to anyone with an interest in behavioural ecology including graduate students of animal behaviour and cognition, as well as a more general audience of dog enthusiasts, biologists, psychologists and sociologists.

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Reviewer:Karen L Campbell, DVM, MS, DACVIM, DACVD(University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine)

Description:Dr. Miklosi uses a unique approach to studying the relationships of dogs and people and describes canine behavior in the context of the convergent evolution of dogs with humans.

Purpose:The purpose is to collate current research findings and use them to synthesize a new approach to the study of canine behavior. The first chapters provide an overview of approaches to studying canine behavior from an evolutionary perspective. The middle chapters focus on the perceptual world of the dog and the development of behavior. The final chapter explores current areas of research in the field of canine behavior. The book meets the author's objectives of providing new insights into the intricate relationships between dogs and their owners.

Audience:This book will primarily be of interest to individuals involved in behavioral research studies involving dogs, but it will also be of interest to dog trainers, psychologists and sociologists. It may be too esoteric for the average dog owner. The author, an authority on canine behavior, has a Doctor of Science from the Hungarian Academy of Science and has authored over 40 refereed publications on dog behavior.

Features:The author makes interesting comparisons between the behavior of wolves and dogs based on extensive research using hand-raised wolf pups and different breeds of dogs. Findings from many of these studies are highlighted using illustrations. The excellent illustrations throughout the book will help readers pinpoint the most important concepts in each chapter.The author is quick to point out areas where additional research is needed, thus this book should spark interest among new researchers.

Assessment:This book is distinct in its approach to canine behavior from a convergent evolutionary viewpoint, thus it is not directly comparable to any other book on canine behavior and fills a unique need in the field of behavioral science.

BiographyAdam Miklosi is a Reader in Biology and the Head of the Department of Ethology at the Eotvos University in Budapest, Hungary. He was awarded a Doctor of Science by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2005 and has more the 40 refereed publications on dog behaviour to his name.

He has also authored the hardback edition of Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition.

Table of Contents1. Dogs in historical perspective and conceptual issues of studying their behaviour

2. Methodological issues in the behavioural study of the dog

3. Dogs in anthropogenic environments: society and family

4. A comparative approach to Canis

5. Domestication

6. The perceptual world of the dog

7. Physical-ecological cognition

8. Social cognition

9. Development of behaviour

10. Temperament and personality

Afterword: Heading toward the 21st century's science

Summary: The Big Picture

Rating: 5

Miklosi sees the big picture and recognizes that what we think we know about dog behavior is flawed and more research needs to be done. Scott- Fuller needs to be expanded upon and Pavlov needs to be looked at. Wolf behavior based training philosophy is flawed because of the way previous research was done. What is called babymorphism training philosophy needs more experiments. Miklosi calls "to develop behavioral models based on a different approach" Until this is done dog owners are on their own to devise their own ways to train and use dogs. That includes everything from using dogs as human food, in some cultures, to using dogs as child substitutes in other cultures.

The book is a wake up call to scientists around the world to accept the dog as a valid scientific research tool on behavior not as a animal behaviorally corrupted through domestication and living with humans. Living with humans dogs have found their niche.

Summary: Informative but soporific

Rating: 3

Very interesting, scientifically sound, somewhat dry. Every time I read it I started to fall asleep