Gregory Berns

A lot of great ideas in this book and possible tales to go with them, but they are never realized. I felt like each chapter led you down a path that ultimately never went anywhere but onto the next chapter. Maybe this is all because the science is only beginning and we have yet to see what it’s really like to be a dog, if we ever really can. The last two chapters were great and put us where we belong on the earth sharing limited resources with all the other species in such a way that our extinction is very likely.… (mehr)

I don’t understand the deeper intricacies of neuroscience, but I am fascinated by it, and as an animal lover, I found this book to be particularly interesting.
I read a few reviews of people who didn’t finish because they thought he lost focus or didn’t deliver what they were hoping to get, based on the title. I wonder if the author had put the last chapter of the book, Dog Lab, at the beginning of the book, if it would have made a difference in how many people stuck with it until the end. I thought the chapter went a long way toward putting his studies, especially the Dog Project, in context, and it very clearly explained his motivation for starting the project. Except for his projections for human evolution at the very end, which struck me as pretty weird, I was on the same page as the author with his views of how we should approach our attitudes about and interactions with animals.
He alternated between being technical beyond my understanding and using a friendlier narrative style that at times felt a little indulgent. If I glossed over some of the details, I found it fairly easy to follow.
I don’t know how much was proved through these experiments, but I appreciate the motivation behind them and the careful standards they set for them.
Overall, a fascinating read for animal lovers, and I recommend reading the last chapter first.… (mehr)

I have read several other books about dog thinking and dog minds that just didn't ring true my own experience. How Dogs Love Us by Gregory Berns is not in the doesn't ring true category. This book tells about a real study where MRIs were used to scan dogs brains while the dogs were awake and alert. Some of the most interesting parts of the book were the chapters telling how the dogs were trained to go into the MRI and sit still for up to 30 seconds. This study was not the first were dogs brains were scanned but it was the first time dogs were awake and cooperating with their humans. The author mentioned that dogs pay more attention to us than we do to them. Many dog owners are convinced that their dogs understand them. This book confirms that it could be true.… (mehr)