The Genius of Dogs summary

So how did the wolf become the domesticated dog? Rather than humans seeking to bond with wolves, it was the wolves that chose to bond with humans.

Early human settlements offered new sources of food, such as discarded bones and rotting meat. Only the more audacious wolves could use this discovery to their advantage, and slowly, these wolves became more skilled at responding to cues in human behavior.

As humans, we aren’t born with fully formed cognitive abilities. It takes time for small children to develop the skills needed to survive. Dogs, however, learn much more rapidly.

At around nine months, human babies begin to focus on what others are looking at and how others react to the environment. This ability to read intention is the cognitive basis for culture and communication. Impressively, dogs share this ability, too.

You’re probably familiar with the concept of “survival of the fittest.” But what does it mean to be fit?

Let’s take two of Homo sapiens’ closest relatives, the chimpanzee and the bonobo. In doing so, you’ll witness two different types of “fitness” at work.

Plenty of dog owners attest to sharing a mutual understanding with their pet. Is this an exaggeration? Well, there’s actually more truth to this claim than you might think.

So what exactly do dogs understand? A word? A concept? When we’re young, and learn a word such as “shoe,” we understand that “shoe” refers to a category. The same goes for our canine companions.

Dogs are pack animals. Street dogs work together, and pets stick to their human “pack.”

This social way of living and learning gives dogs an advantage. When they’re alone, dogs can get stuck with a problem, but when they observe others solving the problem, they learn quickly.

Even if you don’t own a dog, you’ve probably heard different opinions about what breed is best.

But dog breeds are not as different as you might think. In fact, there is no international consensus on the number of dog breeds, as different countries recognize different breeds.

Established by Burrhus Frederic Skinner, behaviorism was a leading learning concept in the second half of the twentieth century.

Behaviorists believe that the cognitive mechanism behind behavior is irrelevant, but that it is the ingraining of the “right” behavior that matters. This approach, however, has its limitations.