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Stanley Coren

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Honest Review of Why Does My Dog Act That Way Book By Stanley Coren Mandy Wilcox

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Why Does My Dog Act That Way?: A Complete Guide to Your Dog's Personality Paperback – December 4, 2007

by Stanley Coren (Author)

4.3 42 ratings

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We've shared our lives with dogs for thousands of years, but they still act in ways that baffle us. To help us understand them better, Dr. Stanley Coren, the undisputed expert on dog behavior, intelligence, and training, tells the story of how dogs evolved over time into the myriad forms and breeds we love today. Not simply domesticated wolves, dogs are actually much more complex than wild canines; their ability to adapt to a man-made world is far more flexible, their personalities far more diverse. Fascinating findings reveal which breeds were bred to become more dominant, affectionate, cooperative, or even dangerous. This practical, surprising book also presents -- for the first time -- the "Dog Behavior Inventory," a simple, fun test based on the personality-profiling questionnaires used in human psychological studies that you can administer to your own dog to get a detailed picture of his personality and how he compares to other members of his breed. Then, using the findings of the U.S. Army's once- classified studies of "Superdogs," you can train your pet to become a real-life equivalent of Lassie and Rin Tin Tin -- a dog who is not disturbed, angered, or frightened by anything.

Filled with the entertaining anecdotes and scientific data that Dr. Coren's avid followers have come to expect and enjoy, this uniquely complete guide to dog psychology can help you to select a new companion and to understand and communicate better with your old friend.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Coren's love for dogs shines like a beacon...[a] thoughtful and fascinating exploration of the mind of a dog." -- Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., author of The Other End of the Leash

"The author, a psychologist, cleverly combines scholarship, opinion, and anecdotes...Read...his book[s] with your best friend." -- The Dallas Morning News

About the Author

Stanley Coren an international authority on sidedness, is professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Born to Bark: My Adventures with an Irrepressible and Unforgettable Dog (2010), among other books.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press; Reprint edition (December 4, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0743277074
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743277075
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,335,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #779 in Entomology (Books)
- #4,190 in Dog Training (Books)
- #5,150 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)

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4.3 42 ratings

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Stanley Coren

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Stanley Coren, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, is a recognized expert on dog-human interaction who has appeared on Dateline; The Oprah Winfrey Show; Good Morning, America; 20/20; Larry King Live; and many other TV and radio programs. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a beagle, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and a Nova Scotia duck-tolling retriever, as well as his wife and her cat.

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Don Adams

There are many excellent writers on the behavior & training of dogs But ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2014

Verified Purchase

By now I will have come across to many people as a fan of Stanley Coren's writing. This man just makes so much sense in what he says. He continually challenges you to rethink some of the concepts that you have formed with regards to dogs & their behavior in varying circumstances & come out the other side of your experience with him as a far more complete person in your handling & understanding of dogs. There are many excellent writers on the behavior & training of dogs But you will never be disappointed after reading books by this man.

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Mr. H

If you love dogs and want to know more about them this is a great book for you!

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2008

This book was a very interesting and informative read. Although it was not what I expected, I was pleasantly pleased with what I did get from the book. The book deals with how and why dogs came to be, over evolution, the great companions they are now. Along with a general guidelines of what personality to expect from a breed. However it does go into detail of how it is genetics more than breed that can play huge impact on a dogs personality. There is also a heartbreaking section about dogs used in illegal fighting, as well as inspiring tales of heroic dogs. I think this book is a good read for the anyone who just loves dogs and wants to understand more about them.

10 people found this helpful

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vac

Excellent book on dog personality

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

We bought this for our daughter who likes reading anything about dogs. I've read it as well. The author, Stanley Coren, has a column in AKC Family Dog magazine on the mind of dogs. This is how we discovered this book actually.

The book is a good read with lots of solid information on dog personality, and with solid basis in psychology. My daughter also found it fun applying the personality profile to our own dog.

The only negative of the book is that the cover price is a bit expensive for a paperback book of this length.

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

This book has a publisher's major error.
It is paperback bound correctly, EXCEPT that is is missing pages 49-54.
It just skips from p.48 to p.55, Omits the first pages of Chapter 5, The Personalities of Dog Breeds.
I'm sure that is information most readers want.
Is my copy the only one with this defect? How do I get it corrected?
I only want the missing pages.

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2015

a must read

Not worth the time or money

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

The title is misleading. He does not address specific questions. That's his first problem, but not his last.

He throws the word "dominance" out there too often. Here's the problem. When most of us hear "dominance" we think of someone like Cesar Millan who uses it to mean control. When Dr. Coren uses it, he's not really talking about the same kind of control as Millan. If you don't know his work or have never seen his shows, you can easily misunderstand him. He's using it to mean assertiveness. An assertive dog is not looking to take over your life, much less the world.

He talks a great deal about personality testing only to tell you that there are not truly reliable tests out there. I'm not sure why he spend 15 pages describing them.

5 people found this helpful

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Yolanda S. Bean

Interesting Look on Dogs

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2009

This was a fun and rather fascinating study of dogs. I especially enjoyed the personality quiz that was included in the book. The anecdotes ranged from amusing to heart-breaking. The chapter on heroic dogs especially stood out. I thought it was a good balance between science and entertainment. There was a good deal on the domestication of dogs, which I think is interesting, though Coren did not mention co-evolution, which I found to be rather surprising. Still, I really enjoyed this!

4 people found this helpful

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K. S. Pettry

Lofty Academic

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2011

I read this book because it was mentioned favorably by Cesar Milan in his books. However, this book is not nearly as readable or informative as Milan's books so if you prefer simplicity and direct information rather than high handed, lofty academic writing, you will not like this book.

Mr. Coren first of all, talks down to his audience and treats dogs more like scientific experiments than beloved pets and companions. A typical sentence by Croren may start out like this "John Deefledorph, professor of psycopsychologyd boo-bahness at the University of the Grand Poobah and author of the Book "His Grandness Load of BS" and . .. . . " On and on like that. It takes a paragraph sometimes for Coren to get to the part where the grand pooh bah conducted a study of some sort. I've always wondered why academics rely on studies to the exclusion of plain common sense. Guys like this will cite to a study before they go the bathroom.

Moreover, Coren has a very high handed arrogant and smug writing style I don't particularly care for. In fact, I got little from this book except a lot of information about a lot of studies and truthfully, it was upsetting reading about heartless studies done on dogs by the military.

If you are a fan of tedious academic writing and studies and clinical writing that lacks warmth and insight, you will like this book. I myself got nothing out of it and that is purely my fault I'm sure. Coren keeps himself and his subject at a distance and lacks a real warmth both towards dogs and dog owners.

This is a soulless book on a soulful subject.

2 people found this helpful

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VWC

Excellent

Reviewed in Canada on October 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

All of Stanley Coren’s work is superb!

Pia Maca

geniale Pflichtlektüre für jeden, der sich für Hunde interessiert

Reviewed in Germany on October 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

Coren erklärt sachlich und profund das genetische Programm von HUNDEN. Es gelingt ihm, exakt zu differenzieren, wofür welche Hunde gezüchtet wurden. Dadurch weist er auch ganz klar auf den möglichen Erziehungsspielraum hin, nämlich jenen innerhalb des jeweiligen genetischen Codes.
Jeder Hundebesitzer kann sich nach dieser Lektüre sinnlose Stunden am Abrichteplatz ersparen, da diese Grundlagen vielen Profis unklar scheinen, es wird meistens nur vom Überbegriff HUND ausgegangen und viel zu wenig unterschieden.
Mein Cairn Terrier ist mittlerweile 4 Jahre, dieses Buch - von Anfang an - hätte mir etliche leere Kilometer erspart..:))

One person found this helpful

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Guillaume de Lavigne

For advanced learners.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 15, 2011

Verified Purchase

Reading the title, people could expect answers to questions like "Why is my dog doing this or that?", but they will be disappointed because the book does not contain any of those answers. They should also read the subtitle "A complete guide to your dog's personality". That's what it is. The author studies the behavior and temperament/personality of the dogs with a very scientific approach, which is interesting for scientist, but I'm afraid boring for the common dog-owner. In contrast to the author's other books, it is quite dull and does not contain those fascinating little anecdotes he normally uses.
The reader will be interested in the chapter describing the different temperaments/personalities of the different breeds and how they interact with the owners, other people, other dogs and with their environment, giving first hand clues as to how to educate it and why. He explains why and how one should choose a certain breed according to its personality traits, its family environment and the future "use" of the dog. This is a valuable advice!
Into my opinion, a 1 star book for the common dog-owner; a 5 star book for advanced learners and scientist. At last, he clearly and extensively explains why "a dog is not a domesticated wolf!", which on its own is a 5 star catcher. The thousands of animal psychologist and behaviorists, other breeders and authors who still maintain the contrary should read this book.

5 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Dr Coren knows a lot about canine behaviour.

Reviewed in Canada on October 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

By far the greatest dog resource author. I named my dog after him.

Michdwy

Essential reading for breeders or anyone interested in dog behaviour

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2011

Verified Purchase

I consider Stanley Coren to be the greatest writer about dogs. Although he is a scientist, a psychologist, he writes in such a way that it is fully understandable to anyone and very pleasurable to read. I have other books written by him and they are "my bible" enabling me to understand all the things that dogs do and the reason for their behaviour. I refer to them frequently. Anyone contemplating either buying a puppy or breeding them ought to read this book and absorb his suggestions. One can compare one's own dog with others of its own breed from masses of data collected from vets, trainers and owners etc. As it details the characteristics of all the principal breeds and would greatly help in making a choice of breed if one was not sure. Also a fascinating enjoyable read for anyone who loves dogs.

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