Review: How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain

I recently wrapped up reading How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain by Gregory Berns, and it was a great read.

In fact, I think it would be a great read for a high school class or a college group-read for first year students. It's got a lot of angles; it discusses the scientific method, the ethics of research, neuroscience, dogs (who doesn't love dogs?), dog training, evolution and anthropology, and even touches on the problems with the American educational system.

Berns explains the backstory to his neuroscience project and addresses in detail how the project was kicked off, from lab meetings to ethics boards to study design. He also has an in-depth discussion of the ethical considerations, which I loved as I have an amateur interest in bio-ethics.

I also enjoyed his in-depth discussion of the training his dog went through for the project - that actually took up a large chunk of the book. His dog, Callie, was one of the first two dogs used in the experiment, and he spent months training her to sit perfectly still with her head in an MRI, to tolerate the sounds of an MRI, and to wear headphones to protect her ears during the process. Let's just say there were many hotdogs involved. Callie certainly puts my own dog to shame!

Berns also discusses how he used the project to encourage his daughter to develop an interest in science and to help her overcome her struggles in her science class.

Berns and Callie during the
Dog Project, from Amazon.com

Of course the most interesting information is about their findings and the speculation about what those findings mean, but I do not want to spoil it here. Needless to say, the findings are fascinating for anyone who loves dogs, and they raise a lot of questions about the attitudes we have held toward dogs and their mental abilities and their capacity to understand. As Bernes points out, they may also shed some light on how our relationship with dogs evolved and how dogs came to be domesticated.

Berns has also written another book on this topic called What It's Like to Be a Dog: And Other Adventures in Animal Neuroscience, which I am absolutely adding to my to read list.

If you've ever wondered what your dog is thinking or what they think or feel about you, this book is for you. (And, it's currently $1.99 for Kindle.)

If you're interested in Berns' work but don't want to commit to a book, you can see some news about his work here and here or see his website here.

And, if you're interested in this area, another book on my to read list that might be of interest is Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.




What am I currently reading?

• The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherford - Stay tuned for a review
• The Americans (of the Kent family chronicles) by John Jakes - Stayed tuned for a series review 
• The Vatican Princess by CW Gortner - Stay tuned for a review