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I invite you to paw through these pages. You might nod in agreement as you read some of these questions from other dog lovers and then sense the light bulb click inside you as I spotlight practical solutions. The legendary Doctor Doolittle could talk to the animals. I’m here to deliver straight talk to you.

Paws Up!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank all the veterinarians, animal behaviorists, dog trainers, animal shelter directors, and dog lovers who generously shared their time, talents, and ideas in this book. Special thanks to canine behavior experts Alice Moon-Fanelli, Patrick Melese, and Pia Silvani, as well as my editor, Lisa Hiley. Together, we can reach out and improve the lives of dogs everywhere.

PART I

The Nature of Being a Dog

Put yourself in your dog’s paws for a moment. Some 15,000 years ago, dogs and humans developed a relationship unparalleled in history. In exchange for food and shelter, dogs have helped humans in countless ways, becoming our partners, coworkers, and pals. Over the centuries, people have redesigned the dog, creating many distinct breeds with a wide range of physical characteristics and behaviors. Some breeds weigh more than one hundred pounds, while others can literally fit in a teacup. Ears can be floppy, pointy, or in-between. Coats come in textures from dangling dreadlocks to the nearly naked.

We have created canines for herding, hunting, guarding, and just lounging on laps. In the process, however, we’ve taken away what comes naturally to dogs and left them with an identity crisis. We’ve removed them from the social structure of the pack and eliminated their need to hunt for food. And yet we scold them when they seek outlets for their innate need to dig and chew, especially when our gardens or shoes are at stake. In spite all of our meddling, though, the true nature of dogs never wavers: They love us just the way we are.

Brainy Breeds

Q Certain dog breeds seem to be smarter than others, so I purposely chose a Border collie in part because of the breed’s reputation for brains. I didn’t want to fuss with a less-intelligent breed when it came to teaching basic obedience. I don’t have the patience to keep trying and trying to teach a dog to sit or to stay. So far, I’ve been really happy with Einstein’s response to training, but I’m curious: How can I figure out just how smart he is?

A In the canine classroom, your aptly named Einstein rates as the tail-wagging valedictorian. Other top students include poodles, German shepherds, and golden retrievers. Breeds who might need some after-school tutoring include Afghan hounds, basenjis, and bulldogs. Before owners of these dogs bark at me in protest, please keep in mind that exceptions — both bright and not so bright — exist in every breed.

Sizing up a dog’s brainpower can be tricky, because they don’t think the way that we do. Dogs are not begging to enroll in the canine version of Mensa or stealing the newspaper to do the crossword puzzle. Because certain breeds were created to excel at certain tasks, your Border collie can run circles around a Japanese chin when it comes to herding sheep because he possesses the genes to shepherd a flock. But I’d put my money on a beagle sniffing out a rabbit faster than a Border collie, since the almighty nose is a bragging right among hound breeds.

But almost any dog can learn a wide variety of obedience cues if taught with patience. Some can acquire an astonishing array of behaviors. Service dogs are an amazing example of the canine brain in action. These highly trained dogs are encouraged to exercise “intelligent disobedience” when confronting a situation that could harm their human charges. A guide dog, for example, knows not to budge forward when facing a hole or other hazard, despite his blind owner’s insistence.

Developing a foolproof method of testing canine intelligence remains an ongoing challenge for dog trainers, breeders, and animal behaviorists. One pioneer in this field is Stanley