Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Do dogs understand language? Do they have their own syntax and grammar? Stanley Coren thinks so. Or maybe, as with many of his other books, he's only pretending to believe what he says in order to pique people's interest and sell more copies... The words we use in dog training are actually irrelevant. Since I train dogs in Manhattan, I often find myself on an elevator with one or more dogs. When the door closes I'll say, "What do we do on an elevator?" and they'll all sit. This often charms and surprises the other elevator occupants who may say something like, "Look! They understand every word you say!" Not really. I trained the dogs to do this by first saying "What do we do on an elevator?-we sit." Once that pattern was established, the dogs were able to make the leap from "What do we do on an elevator?" to "Sit" quite easily. In fact, I could have as easily trained them to do this by using nonsense words, gobbledygook, ridiculous sounds that have no meaning at all. So it isn't my words or syntax the dogs are responding to, it's my intent, my body language, my tone of voice (all carrying emotional information), and a previously established pattern of behavior. Stanley Coren should know this better than anyone since one of his dogs is deaf, yet still obeys him. Why? Because of his body language and a previously established pattern of behavior, not because the dog "understands" his words. Coren would say that the dog understands his hand signals the same way the hearing-impaired understand sign language. But looked at objectively it's far more likely that the dog's response to hand signals is still just part of a previously established pattern of behavior, not a linguistic or cognitive process. Coren would still disagree. He claims that certain vocalizations made by dogs can be grouped together, which he takes to mean that there's a kind of syntax or grammar at work. I'm sorry, Stan, but real language doesn't operate on such a simplistic level. And while it may seem brave and controversial of Coren (who has a degree in psychology, not linguisics or animal behavior) to disagree with Noam Chomsky about the nature of language, at this stage in the development of linguistic science that's a bit like a high school sophmore disagreeing with Sir Isaac Newton about gravity. Look, it's fairly obvious to anyone who really understands dogs that the reason certain yips, barks, growls, etc. are sometimes used together and others aren't (which isn't always true, by the way -- it depends on the dog), is that each vocalization comes from an emotional, not a cognitive state. In other words, certain emotions -- like fear and aggression -- may be felt by the animal simultaneously, while others -- calmness and fear -- can't be. It's not grammar or syntax, it's emotion, pure and simple. Even if Coren hadn't thought this through from an emotional point of view, if he'd spent any time at all studying comparative neuroanatomy he'd know that a dog's brain has no Broca's area, which makes linguistic ability totally impossible. But as with other books he's written (his LEFT-HANDER SYNDROME was notorious for being based on false data), Coren doesn't seem to care much about the truth. Still, I have to admit that it's hard not to buy into this myth because as human beings we're constantly explaining our feelings and experiences to ourselves through our thoughts and inner monologues, or to others through conversations, letters, etc. As a result we're almost forced, by the way our brains work, to supply a similar linguistic medium for a dog's feelings and behaviors when no such medium or ability exists. I trained my dog to respond in a certain way whenever I ask him a certain question. And I have to admit, I like the way it feels when I say to him, "Do you love me?" and he wags his tail, comes over, puts his paws on my chest, and licks my nose. Does he understand the meaning of that sentence when I say it to him? Of course not. But I know he understands the emotion. It's a shame that Coren doesn't get this fundamental difference between real linguistic understanding and pure emotion, particularly when the misinformation he disseminates in this book can be detrimental to the relationship between you and your dog, a relationship that SHOULD be based on real and, quite often, wonderful emotions, not on any imaginary ability to use and understand language. If I could I'd give this book no stars at all.