 |
|
Title: The Social Lives of Dogs
ISBN: 0743422368
Author:
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Publicate Date: 2001-05-22
Publish: 2001-05-22
List Price: $14.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $4.44
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.99
Amazon Merchant Price: $13.45
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: Elizabeth Marshall Thomas IS the original animal whisperer!
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas is not only a genius; she IS the original animal whisperer! An Animal Shaman! Marshall Thomas has taken the reader deep into the minds of the canine companion and showed the reader very openly their emotional relationships with their family counterparts. Marshall Thomas proves there is no divide among species by using her brilliantly insightful observations of our companion friends detailing the secret of their order based on her own interactions and in depth study of her wonderful family---A very large family which includes a cast of character canines who just so happen to love to share a lick at an ice cream cone with the Patriarch of the family. On the humorous side, one gets the sense of a virtual animal soap opera as we read about Marshall Thomas' canines... some of who lost loves, gained friends, were refused entry into the mature girl (dog) clique and who rightfully pouted from a bruised ego over a bowl of popcorn. This part alone will teach the reader to weigh their words and actions when dealing with their companion animals. You will never look at your pet the same way again after reading this delightful book. More importantly, this book will definitely help you to not only better understand your furry friend, but allow them to PROPERLY train YOU! If you want Elizabeth Marshall Thomas to read it to you, try the audio book, too. SUPERB!
|
2: Enjoyable Animal Observation/ Analysis by Human Anthropologist
This is not a book to buy if you want to train a puppy or work out a behavior problem, however, for insights into animal behavior written by an anthropologist, using her training on some of the other sentient species around us, this is a wonderful book. This one is much more "light" and anecdotal than her famous "The Hidden Lives of Dogs". She describes the household full of pets (that is to say, "companion animals") she and her husband live with, from a trained scientistific point of view. All of the behaviors, the jockeying for position in the group, the alpha dog position, pack leader and so on, are explained, and how they got that way, over several years and as the cast of characters changes as different animals come and some go (due to death). Much of it, due to her writing style, is very humorous, some is laugh out loud funny. Some is touching and sad. Thoroughly enjoyable.
The dog Sundog, a major character whom I would have loved to have met, was a throwaway stray, who became the alpha dog in their home. A calm, intelligent leader, who was almost psychic when it comes to his chosen pack leader, Thomas' husband Steve, as several anecdotes show.
Really a good book for any animal lover, or for those whom you wish to try to convince that animals, dogs especially, are more than a bundle of pavlovian responses to the food bowl!
|
3: A must-read for any dog lover.
Brilliantly insightful and full of wisdom.
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas is the Jane Goodall of dogs.
|
4: A quick, enjoyable book for dog lovers
I never thouht I would like a book on dogs but Elizabeth Marshall Thomas is a good writer, a careful observer with intelligent unique views that are entertaining and sometimes heartwarming.
The book centers primarily around Thomas' home, full of dogs, cats, a parrot and macaws, and an amazingly tolerant husband. Her primary method is that of an anthropologist, observing and interpreting her own animals. Whereas some in the scientific community would have problems with her method, we must remember that the great child psychologist, Jean Piaget, developed his theories of child development by carefully watching his own children.
She challenges the scientific dogma against anthropomorphism. This is an interesting argument. Thomas argues that as human beings we interpret through a subjective perspective even though we strive for objectivity. She seems to argue for the need to increase our everyday lived understanding of animals, not obtain perfect scientific understanding of animals. There is a difference.
For anyone considering buying a parrot or other large exotic bird, the chapter on parrots should be required reading. I never realized all the problems and complications of owning a large bird.
Thomas' three most controversial essays in the book involve her belief that most dogs are "slaves"; her stand against euthanasia; and her belief that male dogs should be given a vasectomy rather than castration.
My dog, Jasmine, is in love with the boy dog next door, Walter. Every time we let her out she runs to see if Walter is home and she loves to play with him inside his backyard. When I bring her back home she seems heartbroken, like a teenager in love. I always think of Thomas' assertion that we control our dogs and don't allow them to bond and remain with the other dogs with whom they have fallen in love. (I am a victim of anthropomorphism as you can tell). It makes me sad to think that we deprive dogs of loving relationships with each other to meet our needs.
Another controversial essay is on euthanasia. She tells the story of an aged and sick dog that she euthanized. Later she greatly regrets her actions and comes to the conclusion that if an animal can still eat food they should not be euthanized. I am still not convinced. I think she makes a strong argument that when an animal is in too much pain and agony they will stop eating and naturally die, but the thought of an animal in constant agony is greatly disturbing to me and therefore I am not totally convinced by her concepts.
Her argument that male dogs should be given a vasectomy rather than castration was fascinating. She argues that vasectomy allows the male dog to have adequate testosterone in the bloodstream to allow the dog to adequately compete with other males and to be treated with respect by female and male dogs. I never realized that castration changes the smell of their urine and leaves other dogs perplexed as to the gender of the castrated male. However we also have to remember that humans have dogs castrated to stop aggressive fighting, excessive marking with their urine, neighborhood roaming, and mounting behaviors on other dogs. Vasectomy makes them infertile but does not change any of the male dog behavior patterns.
Finally, I found her essay on the development of dogs from wolves to be very interesting, especially her idea that we can still observe the early man-dog social patterns in remote rural third world villages. In these villages, dogs live on the border/boundaries of the village. They alert the village to intruders. They sometimes accompany a hunt for a large animal. They survive by eating scraps and human feces (which contains undigested protein). This is certainly far from the lives of dogs in the United States with the exceptions of wild or runaway dogs which must revert to these patterns just to survive.
The book is short and can be finished on a plane ride. It is thoughtful entertainment - the best kind.
|
5: a peaceable kingdom
This is one woman's story of living with (besides her family) a houseful of canines, cats, and other assorted critters and how they managed to co-exist peacefully (most of the time). Basically, it is a series of revealing anecdotes and stories, most of them heartwarming, a few heartbreaking or even astonishing (including two very different accounts of encounters with large wild cats). As with Lorenz's MAN MEETS DOG or Masson's DOGS NEVER LIE ABOUT LOVE, read this for the stories and not the science.
|
|
|
|
|
