Very well written. Understandable to the lay person who wants to better understand canine behavior and an excellent addition to any Veterinarian's bookshelf. Full of usefull tidbits of information to review all those long past vet school classes. The theories proposed and discussed are enlightening.
Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
I recomend reading Grandin's book they go well hand in hand.

I know that some people think they know too much and that this book is useless, and not full of very many insights, but these same people must not realize that this book wasn't published yesterday...it's an older book. Information like this was invaluable because you couldn't just google information on dog behavior. The United States has been reinvented twice since this book has come out and with all this new technology, we also have new insights into dog behavior and psychology that are not covered in this book simply becasuse they were not yet known. What this book DOES do is give timeless truths as to the way canines think...their pack mentality, early learning, later learning... Bruce Fogle covers a lot of ground in a short amount of space leaving you just curious enough to keep exploring more of what you can learn about the dog's mind. With that in mind, understand that while this is a great book, it is incredibly boring at parts. Especially when reading about the brain and physiology of the dog's mind. The introduction is the length of a chapter in itself...and I'm not kidding. My suggestion is to get this book, read it, take notes on it, pick it apart and google each of the topics such as the dog's brain, hormones on the dog's mind, fear, phobias, etc. and learn what Fogle has to say and what has been discovered since the publishing of this book 16 years ago. If you're an animal behaviorist like me, this book isn't a suggestion, it's required reading. Enjoy reading and learnig about the dog's mind!

I really enjoyed this book and found it more informative than most books on how a dog's mind works and how it can help us humans understand why they do the things they do. The first couple of chapters seemed almost text book but it was still very intresting to read.

Covers the dogs' evolution, senses, reproductive hormones, and social behavior. Discusses breed differences. Discusses neoteny. Worth reading, but wish Fogle would update it.

This is without a doubt the best book I have ever read on dog behavior.

Written by a veterinarian, the first part of the book is actually a preface to the explanation of dog behavior - the preface is an anatomical discussion of dogs and the dog's brain, along with evolutionary explanations, all of which qualifies the remainder of the book.

And the remainder of the book is amazing. Every little thing that you can ever think about dogs doing is described in this book, along with an explanation as to why they do it, and how to modify it if you wish.

After reading this book you will be able to better communicate with your dog, help them through problems, deal with problems, and even just work with dogs you meet on the street.

I couldn't possibly recommend this book more. I loved it!!

Nice book , not always easy to read and follow.
I lost interest in the last few pages but over all a good book.

What a wonderful insight into the canine mind! This book is full of actual scientific explanations of canine physiology, instinct, and culture. It is explained in a straightforward manner, without using a lot of academia. It's especially useful during early puppyhood, as it explains how the brain develops and what you can do to affect it during this critical time.

I agree with much of the theoretical information presented. It is just that too much of the book is only sentimental fill.

This is a comprehensive study that blends theory, science and applied behavior techniques--exactly what I needed.

ESSENTIAL reading for the intellectually curious about your dog's behavior. I could hardly put it down. Kept saying... "Oh! THAT'S why he's doing that!" and "THAT'S what I should be doing when...". Excellent background and context to your dog's behavior and understanding of his/her world. I have lots of dog and dog training books. This rates in the top 3. And I actually gave a copy to my dog's trainer as a gift. This is not a 'how-to' manual for training, so it should not be your first or only training book. But for those wanting a deeper understanding of the why's and what's of those things you read in the training books or hear in class, this book is recommended without reservation.

Good dog behaviour explanations. This book feels more like a textbook than other dog books.

To be honest, this book wasn't what I was expecting. I'm not quite sure what I thought it would be, but I knew it wasn't this! However, what a nice surprise! I love this book. After the first few pages, and realising it wasn't what I was expecting I was engrossed. I read this book over a weekend and just couldn't put it down. It was so full of incidentals that I found fascinating.I then let a number of friends borrow it. From an Obedience instructor to a seasoned breeder/exhibitor, all found snippets of interesting info. It's not a hard read, although it does go into the workings of the dogs brain, but there are interesting facts sprinkled all through it. Everyone who owns a dog would learn something from this book.

I love this book. A great read for someone who is interested in learning more about dogs and the reason they are the way they are. I love the way the book is written, it is based on medical science but then has a phychological twist on every subject.

I was disappointed by this book after expecting a scientifically informative read. You have to sift through simplified and generic biology to learn anything about dogs in particular, and there are errors strewn throughout (such as the outdated idea that dogs see in black and white). If you're interested in actual research on dog behavior, skip this one and go straight to the literature.

I find this book to be a page turner. It is so full of useful information, it is hard to put it down. I have received from this book a greater understanding of how my dogs thinks, and I can better relate to him.It is a fascinating book, and a pleasure to read.

Since I recommended this book to my friends, I thought I'd tell anyone who is looking it up it is well worth reading. If you are considering it, there is no reason not to get it.

This book is an excellent guide to dog behavior and, although not being a training manual, it includes a lot of information on how to train your dog. Apart from discussing how dogs learn (e.g. by observation, classical conditioning, or operant conditioning), it includes a short list of "canine learning" rules and an appendix that teaches you how to teach commands, as well as how to correct behavior problems by counter-conditioning (training him to do something else instead of its undesirable behavior) and desensitization (teaching him to accept the stimuli that cause unacceptable behavior).

The first part of the book covers material on dogs anatomy and physiology, including their genetic background (that of wolves), their brain characteristics and hormonal system, their senses (that might include a sixth sense), and the basics of their communication system. The latest part is essential to understand and properly interpret your dog's gestures and the sounds he emits in different situations.

The second part, on dog psychology, is, in my opinion, the really interesting part of this book. It describes how dogs develop their "personality" traits, how the learn, and how they behave as social animals. Many aspects of dog behavior are clearly explained, from their fears and phobias (and how to treat them) to their innate habits. Breed differences are also discussed, as well as how to deal with behavior problems (e.g. aggressions or house training).

I cannot but recommend this book to anyone who lives with dogs. There are similar books with a less formal style (as Patricia McConnell's "The Other End of the Leash"), but they are not as thorough nor as informative as this book is. It should be noted that, despite its undeniable scientific rigor, "The Dog's Mind" is far from boring. It is quite easy to read and even momentarily humorous.

This book helps me communicate with my dog better through understanding what my dog's thought process. It's not a training book but what you learn from it is much more valuable than other training books in a lot of ways!

I found the book interesting to a degree; however, it was not what I was looking for and therefore did not meet my needs.

This book was recently reccomended by my dog breeder and offers great insight into what makes dogs dogs. I found the information on scent research intriguing and very helpful in training dogs for Search and Rescue work. Much of the information has been published elsewhere (the book is from 1992), but has a lot of great information packed nicely together in one convenient book. I love it.

Fogle has taken a fairly typical approach to this topic. He starts with a thorough review of literature on canine senses and builds to a discussion of how dogs use these sometimes far inferior senses (like close vision) and sometimes far superior senses (like sense of smell) in communication and learning. He discusses the various ways dogs learn including observation, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and what types of reinforcement and punishment works best. There is an interesting discussion of puppy personality testing, including, something I wasn't aware of, what it may be able to can tell you and, even more importantly, what it can't tell you.

He provides some great material on puppy's early learning from fellow siblings and from Mom with emphasis on its importance and the potential for problems if this critical early learning doesn't happen at all or at the proper time in the short puppy stage of the life. Before he finishes, Fogle wraps up with a discussion of how these senses change as dogs age.

There are many books on the market that cover much of the same material, but Fogle distinguishes himself in two sections. One is a useful discussion of how to deal with the different types of canine aggression which he discusses in some detail. This section is a great place to start if you ever have to face that problem. Second, he gives us an equally thorough treatment of canine social and eating disorders as well as fears, phobias, and anxiety.

The book concludes with a brief appendix (almost a checklist really) summarizing basic skills training Fogle advises to always train these behaviors in the following order: come, sit, stay, down, and down-stay. It's disappointing that this recommended training sequence does not match their sequence in the appendix. And to make it even easier to miss, this advice is hidden back on page 110. As a result, we're left wondering whether the sequence is important, and, if so, why.

Major Author's Message: When we breed for show we bring unanticipated and undesirable traits along for the ride.

Minor Author's message: A dog doesn't expect democracy or equality because neither concept exists in the pack world. He doesn't expect to be treated like a human. Instead, he is more likely to expect his people to act like dogs.

Bottom line: I enjoyed the book; it's written well and there is definite value there for those who are willing to seek it. But if you're not seeking info on the two distinguishing section listed above, there are other places to get it such as Stanley Coren's "How Dogs Think" which is probably easier to locate.

Bob and Hannah

I just read some of the reviews and thought seeing as i have now purchased more than seven copies of this book, i'd give you my opinion on why this dog book is the best.
It explains how dogs actions convey their thoughts.
I do this when i'm thinking this,
I do that when i am thinking that.
And every time i do that funny thing -You pat me...
Wanna know WHY i race out the gate and you cant get me back?

To understand how they think, act out their thoughts, and how they see us allows us to take more control of them through understanding. Not just cause we are told it works.

I give my book to anyone that has a problem with dogs and can read.
I buy more to confirm behavior patterns and help people take control of their presious puppys.

Dog psychology made easy,
Thanks Dr Bruce.

the book starts with a brief history on the dogs' origin. followed by a pretty good description of the anatomy of the dog's brains and their 5 (or 6, as many think dogs may have the 6th sense) senses.

these are written and brief and easily understood language. not boring scientific stuff.

from the set up of the brain, the book flows into how the brain would produce the hormones that determine the dog's behaviours. from here, the author would branch out to tell in detail the psychology and behaviourial issues, explaining many things based on scientific reserach and analysis.

the author also touches on some common behavioural issues. like humping, agression etc. also incl are tips on how to curb some of these problems. another very interesting topic the author deals with that is not found in many books is the effect of de-sexing dogs. he deals with this issue very comprehensively and it's very interesting to be able to learn.

a very good book to fully understand our best friend. it's a must all all serious dog owners who like to fully understand our best friends.

This book is excellent material that enables us to understand dogs better. I learned numerous things of the dog's psychological state i was unaware of. Not only does it explain the dog's mind, but it also gives training advice, which is totally effective.I fully and completely recommend this book to everyone i've met.

This book is written in a comfortable, conversational style. It gives insight to us humans about the way dogs perceive the world we live in. The Dog's Mind is a good book for developing compassion for dogs in light of their actions, in lieu of anger for the way they respond to the stimuli we present them with. The book gives reasoning for why dogs behave the way they do and brings the reader to a point of better understanding the way to deal with the way his/her dog behaves (or dogs he/she may run into in the community). Not a "how-to" book for the most part, although there are some very good step-by-step instructions for dealing with certain behaviors (i.e. excitability in the car or when visitors come to the house).

This is NOT a training manual, this is a dog behavior manual. It teaches you how to read and understand your dogs behavior and why he does the things he does. This is very understandable and enjoyable to read. Bruce Fogle gives lots of in depth information on genetics and how early learning can effect your dog. This is very scientific, and not necessarily an "easy" read. Some of the information can take a while to digest. This isn't a book you can read in two evenings. Bruce Fogle is very articulate and well read, and knows what he is talking about.

I recommend this book to anyone who owns a dog, whether or not the plan on professionally training them or not. It has new information for even some of the most knowledgable people.

Very informative and well researched but not a lot of practical advice or tips. The book is better suited for students writing a paper than owners wanting to understand their pet's behavior.

i loved this book! It is so different from the 'popular science' love your doggie books. It takes the scientific approach and lists research into all things related to canines. It was absolutely fascinating and very informative. If you really want to learn about how your dog thinks and why then here is the book for you. It is well written, clear and quite entertaining.

A lot of dog behavior books are pretty easy to understand and are digestible by your average reader. This book is just as understandable but is at a more detailed level. To lessen the undesirable behaviors of dogs, the author breaks down the possible reasons for the behaviors and shows the reader how to train the dog to reduce the negative behaviors in a positive, non-violent, yet not overly sensitive way. Very good reader for those really interested in canine behavior.