The Genius of Dogs How Dogs Are Smarter than You Think

Brian Hare, dog researcher, evolutionary anthropologist, and founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, and Vanessa Woods offer revolutionary new insights into dog intelligence and the interior lives of our smartest pets. Dogs are intelligent-no other animal comes as close to humans-but most of us tend to think domestication makes animals less intelligent. Brian Hare sees things differently. In 1995 he conducted a simple cognition experiment in his parents' garage and proved that his family's dogs were not only smarter than any wolf or fox but also smarter by far than any ape or chimp. Since then, the Canine Cognition Center he founded at Duke has studied thousands dogs and changed the way we think about canine intelligence. Hare's stunning finding: dogs domesticated themselves beginning at least forty-three thousand years ago, and it has made them smarter. Friendlier dogs (and humans) can better solve problems by cooperating and communicating. The Genius of Dogsis in part a journey across a phenomenal scientific career, hopping from Georgia to Russia to the Congo and back to the United States, told with boyish enthusiasm and a personal, engaging voice. Hare's seminal research has led him to work with every kind of dog, from the tiniest shelter puppy to the exotic New Guinea singing dog, from his own mutt, Oreo, to the most fashionable schnoodle. This is nothing less than the definitive dog book of our time, a guide to how the latest research can enrich your relationship with your dog, from the man who started the revolution.

BRIAN HARE is a professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University, where he founded the Duke Canine Cognition Center. VANESSA WOODS is a research scientist at the center as well as an award-winning journalist and the author of Bonobo Handshake. Hare and Woods are married and live in North Carolina.