Howdy! Today, I’m doing a quick review of Victoria Stilwell’s The Secret Language of Dogs: Unlocking the Canine Mind for a Happier Pet. If you don’t know already, I love my dogs. I’ve had dogs since 1989 and have loved each and every one of them like family. So it was only fitting that when this book popped up on bloggingforbooks.com to review, I snagged it and eagerly awaited its arrival. I wanted to see if there were things I didn’t know about what my dogs were thinking.
Many of the things in the book were old news to me. I’ve had dogs for 27 years and have a pretty good idea of what’s going on inside their heads. But there were a few things that were new to me, like the direction a dog’s tail wags means something specific, why female dogs sometimes try to mark trees, and how some of my thoughts on dog training and social hierarchy were wrong.
Did you know dogs are just red/green colorblind and see with vision that’s about 20/70 by human standards? I’d always heard they were colorblind and just assumed that it meant they saw in grayscale. Nope! Also, my dogs’ vision is better than mine! Those punks.
For somebody who’s new to owning a dog, this book would be fantastic. It covers everything and doesn’t get overly scientific. While I love getting into the science behind things, I know that’s not everybody’s cup of tea, and this book is really good at not talking down to the reader. It’s also a very quick read and I finished in under an hour.
But wait–I left out the best part of the whole book: the pictures! This book has pictures on almost every other page and they’re beautiful. I loved seeing different dogs as I turned the pages.
If you’re a very experienced dog owner, I’d probably give this a 4/5 because of the lack of new information. If you’re new to the game, I’d probably give it a 5/5 for the solid info and giving you the opportunity to get into your dog’s head for a bit. Definitely check it out sometime!
This review is dedicated to my dearly departed dogs Freckles, Shadow, Gizmo, and Chance; to the dogs that we had to surrender (Rusty and Sasha); to the one that we acquired as a stray and ran away (Toby); to my fur-siblings Darla and Porkchop; and to my fur-children Norm and Cliff.
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