What Is a Dog?
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.17 (961 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 022612794X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-02-22 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
The vast majority are not strays or lost pets, the Coppingers say, but rather superbly adapted scavengers—the closest living things to the dogs that first emerged thousands of years ago.” . In their new book, What Is a Dog?, Raymond and Lorna Coppinger argue that if you really want to understand the nature of dogs, you need to know these other animals. The other 750 million don’t have flea collars. They are called village dogs, street dogs and free-breeding dogs, among other things, and they haunt the garbage dumps and neighborhoods of most of the world. And they certainly don’t have humans who take them
The Coppingers also examine the behavioral characteristics that enable dogs to live successfully and to reproduce, unconstrained by humans, in environments that we ordinarily do not think of as dog friendly. In What Is a Dog? experts on dog behavior Raymond and Lorna Coppinger present an eye-opening analysis of the evolution and adaptations of these unleashed dogs and what they can reveal about the species as a whole. . They are dogs, not companions, and these dogs, like pigeons or squirrels, are highly adapted scavengers who have evolved to fit particular niches in the vicinity of humans. Drawing on nearly five decades of research, they show how dogs actually domesticated themselves in order to become such efficient scavengers of human refuse. Of the world’s dogs, less t
"Great question. Tedious, tendentious, tiresome answer." according to D. Bier. What is a dog? As the opening lines of the book tell us, it's a really good question, one which the authors infuriatingly refuse to even try to answer for vast sections of this book. The book (especially the opening) is dense and tedious, chockfull of tendentious rhetorical questions, pompous throat clearing, pointless academic hedging (meant to emphasize how very sophisticated they are, not like those rubes who simply say what they mean), and constant allusions to tangential issues that are never explored or returned to.I believe that the authors really did. Another wonderful contribution from the Coppingers! C. Richard Clark II I greatly enjoyed "Dogs" years ago and re-read it recently. I was delighted to see this new book recently released and ordered it right away. Their earlier book taught me a lot about dogs as distinct creatures from wolves with unique behaviors. This new book really nails down what it means to be a dog, meaning what biological niche it is that dogs occupy.From a Mexico City dump to African villages to American living rooms, the Coppingers show example after example of how distinguishing reproductive traits, behavioral traits (e.g., the ability to eat in front. Ron Guinta said Nailed it!. For those who truly love, appreciate and are amazed by dogs this book is a must read. The book describes reality as it pertains to dogs in a biological, evolutionary sense. In true Coppinger form it is unapologetic and unsentimental which is what is so refreshing. When most 1st world country citizens think of dogs they think of dog breeds and how those breeds make them feel (loyalty, bravery, unconditional loveetc). We are raised in a modern culture with talking cartoon dogs, movies and stories of dogs that evoke strong emotion, but how your dog makes you fe