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B O O K   E X C E R P T S
Cancer Sniffers | Doggie Dishes | What Do Dogs Feel? | G.I. Spot | Doggie Glasses? | Heavenly Dog
The Intelligence of Dogs | Women, Dogs, and Spiritual Beliefs | The Left-hander Syndrome
Why We Love the Dogs We Do | Dog as Machine? | What Do Dogs Sense? | Sherlock Dog
Sigmund Dog | Sleeping Dogs | Sleep Thieves | Noah’s Ark and the Wet Nose

Stanley Coren's Library

Born to Bark: My Adventures with an Irrepressible and Unforgettable Dog

Dr. Coren shares the often amusing and always instructive stories of life with Flint, his oversized Cairn terrier. For the author, a trained researcher and psychologist, the preternaturally heroic and intelligent Flint, capable of rescuing kittens and apparently able to read and count, was key to unlocking a new way of looking at canine behavior and human relationships with dogs. Coren discusses canine behavior (particularly barking) and how to train and socialize man's best friend. He also shows how Flint cares for those around him--from offering heartbreak therapy to saving a four-legged pal from an aggressive raccoon. Coren closes his chronicle with insightful theories on canine intelligence, letting Flint's behavior illustrate key points as he totes out lingerie in front of guests and repeatedly hits the answering machine playback button to listen to his absent master's voice. More than just an entertaining story about doggie escapades, this book offers valuable advice on loving and living with our canine pals, even when they chew and bark when you least want them to.


The Modern Dog

Dogs are invented creatures -- invented by humans, who have been shaping the lives of these four-legged companions for more than 14,000 years. However, we often forget that, just as dogs live in our world, we live in theirs. The Modern Dog is a look at our coevolution, interpreting both canine and human points of view, by Dr. Stanley Coren, the most consistently popular author of dog books ever. A fascinating treasure trove of information gleaned from science, folklore, religious writing, tradition, and politics, The Modern Dog explores not only how dogs behave, but also how we share our lives with our dogs. Much more a romp than a formal exposition, The Modern Dog's profiles and tales are funny, sweet, quirky, and reveal a lot about both species and our centuries-long partnership.

This book will show you how the mutually beneficial relationship between humans and dogs might very well be the reason why early Homo sapiens evolved and survived while Neanderthals became extinct. You will see how dogs have played many prominent roles in human history, from ancient Egypt, where Pharaoh Ramses II was buried with the names and statues of four of his dogs, to modern American politics, where many U.S. presidents have derived comfort from canine companionship. Our modern dog is quite different from the dogs that existed even a century ago, its job having changed dramatically from the hunting, herding, retrieving, and guarding for which many were bred. In this book, you will see that it is often how people respond to and interpret the actions of dogs (and dog owners) that has a greater effect on the dog's life than the behavior patterns that have been programmed into the dog's genes. The Modern Dog will show you how some of your dog's strange and funny habits are his own and some come from you.


Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?

Did you know that dogs can outrun an Olympic sprinter and "speak" three languages? Or that they can tell when storms are coming and even predict earthquakes before they happen? These are just a few of the doggone fascinating facts to discover in this ultimate companion book for young dog owners and admirers. World-renowned dog expert and author Dr. Stanley Coren knows our four-legged friends better than anyone, and this book is jam-packed with stories and photographs to engage and delight children.


The Pawprints of History: Dogs and the Course of Human Events

The Pawprints of History shines a new light on a favorite subject -- the relationship between humans and their four-legged best friends. Stanley Coren, a renowned expert on dog-human interactions, has combed the annals of history and found captivating stories of how dogs have lent a helping paw and influenced the actions, decisions, and fates of well-known figures from every era and throughout the world.

As history's great figures strut across the stage, Coren guides us from the wings, adoringly picking out the canine cameos and giving every dog of distinction its day. In this unparalleled chronicle, we see how Florence Nightingale's chance encounter with a wounded dog changed her life by leading her to the vocation of nursing. We learn why Dr. Freud's Chow Chow attended all of his therapy sessions and how the life of the Fifth Dalai Lama was saved by a dog who shared his bed. Dogs have even found their way to the battlefield -- great military leaders such as Robert the Bruce and Omar Bradley have shared their lives, exploits, and gunfire with dogs. From Wagner, who admitted that one of the arias in the opera Siegfried was "written" by one of his dogs, to the dogs that inspired and lived with Presidents Lincoln, Roosevelt, Johnson, and Clinton, these loving canines do double duty as loyal pets and creative muses.

From war to art, across the spectrum of human endeavor and achievement, there often stands, not only at his side but leading the way, man's beloved "best friend." For those who believe that behind every great person is a good dog, the uplifting stories in The Pawprints of History will be a lasting delight.


How Dogs Think : Understanding the Canine Mind

With information not widely known to lay people, this lively guide also provides practical advice and wisdom that allows owners to discover the best ways to teach dogs new things, why punishment doesn't work, how a dog can actually learn to love or to fear, and how to turn that new puppy into a "perfect," emotionally sound, inquisitive, happy, and obedient dog.

Combining solid science with numerous funny, informative anecdotes and firsthand observations -- all characterized by Dr. Coren's own searching intelligence and his (and sometimes his dogs') irrepressible sense of humor -- How Dogs Think shatters many common myths and misconceptions about our four-legged friends and reveals a wealth of surprises about their mental abilities and intellectual potential.


How To Speak Dog

At long last, dogs will know just how smart their owners can be. By unlocking the secrets of the hidden language of dogs, psychologist Stanley Coren allows us into the doggy dialogue and makes two-way communication a reality. For the first time, instead of receiving an incomprehensible mash of mixed human signals, man's best friend will be treated to the proper use of dog language. Finally, effective communication can take place between canines and these "strange tall dogs" who have mystified them for so long. (Available at bookstores everywhere.)


Why We Love the Dogs We Do

"Why We Love the Dogs We Do" is Coren's newest dog book to reach best-seller status. It explores how the personality of people determines the specific dog breeds that they will love and be happiest with. It has a scientific basis, and is based on testing the personality of over 6000 people and determining the dogs they loved and hated from among the breeds that they actually lived. Based on this information he created a personality questionnaire that you can take, and the scores will tell you which dog breeds you are most likely to be happiest with. You can compare your choice of a dog to those of many celebrities and historical people. However, what endeared this book the most to dog lovers, was the extensive collection of stories of many well known people and their relationship to their dogs.


What Do Dogs Know?

"What Do Dogs Know?" which is co-authored by Jan Walker, has been called a "touchingly hilarious, fact-filled book". It is a small book with a collection of short true stories about dogs, their behaviors and their relationship to people. There is history, folklore, humour, and science all mixed together in a readable collection of dog related matter. Perhaps the most interesting aspects of the book have to do with the relationships between people and dogs.


The Intelligence of Dogs

Perhaps Coren's most popular book is "The Intelligence of Dogs." (This book went into 16 printings in hard cover, and is still briskly selling in paperback. It has also been translated into 18 languages.) This book contains a facinating description of how dogs think, their mental abilities, and the various types of dog intelligence. Perhaps one of its most controversial, but intriguing, findings, was that there are systematic and regular differences among the dog breeds in their working and obedience intelligence. These findings, and the list ranking the relative intelligence of dog breeds, became front page news in many newspapers around the world.


Sleep Thieves

"Sleep Thieves" was a startling book which pointed out the fact that as a society we are all chronically sleep deprived. For example, what do the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, the near melt down at Three Mile Island, the environmentally disastrous oil spill by the Exxon Valdez, and the loss of the NASA space shuttle Challenger all have in common? They were all caused by people who were making mistakes because they had had too little sleep. Coren not only reviews the scientific information about sleep in a lively and interesting way, but also presents some first hand interviews with people whose jobs or life style forces them to lose sleep.


The Left-hander Syndrome

Coren's first best seller was "The left-hander syndrome: the causes and consequences of left-handedness" now in paperback (Bantam Books). This best selling book was widely discussed in the media because it not only talked about the nature and origin of left-handedness, but also explored the startling research findings which suggested that left-handers may have shortened lifespans.

Much of the book, contains interesting insights about handedness and left-handers. For instance, he points out the kind of discrimination and abuse that left-handers have had over the years, and how the very words associated with the left have become negatively tinged.