“A fascinating glimpse into the canine world, possibly deeper and more accurate than any we have had until now” (The New York Times Book Review). Long before the Dog Whisperer, anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas revealed to readers the nature of pack dynamics, leading to a completely new understanding of dogs, their personalities, and their desires. Based on thirty years of living with and observing dogs, The Hidden Life of Dogs asks one question: What do dogs want? To find out, we must meet the pack. First there is Misha, a husky Thomas followed on her daily rounds of more than 130 square miles. Then there is Maria, who adored Misha, bore his puppies, and clearly mourned when he moved away; the brave pug Bingo and his little wife, Violet; the dingo Viva; and other colorful characters. In observing them, Thomas learned that what dogs want most of all is other dogs. Informative and captivating, The Hidden Life of Dogs will give every canine owner and canine lover great insight into dog behavior. “A wonderful book . . . Too bad dogs can’t read. They’d be fascinated. Dog people will be too.” —USA Today

The groundbreaking, New York Times–bestselling book on canine behavior and how dogs become family from the author of The Hidden Life of Dogs. In the sequel to her New York Times bestseller The Hidden Lives of Dogs, anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas profiles the assortment of canines in her own household to examine how dogs have comfortably adapted to life with their human owners—and with each other. Thomas answers questions we all have about our dogs’ behavior: Do different barks mean different things? What makes a dog difficult to house-train? Why do certain dogs and cats get along so well? How does one of her dogs recognize people he sees only once a year, while another barks at strangers she sees every day? What leads to the formation of packs or groups? As Publishers Weekly raves, “no one writes with greater emotional intelligence about man’s (and woman’s) best friend than Thomas.”

An iconoclast and best-selling author of both nonfiction and fiction, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing, thinking, and writing about the cultures of animals such as lions, wolves, dogs, deer, and humans. In this compulsively readable book, she provides a plainspoken, big-picture look at the commonality of life on our planet, from the littlest microbes to the largest lizards. Inspired by the idea of symbiosis in evolution—that all living things evolve in a series of cooperative relationships—Thomas takes readers on a journey through the progression of life. Along the way she shares the universal likenesses, experiences, and environments of “Gaia’s creatures,” from amoebas in plant soil to the pets we love, from proud primates to Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers on the African savanna. Fervently rejecting “anthropodenial,” the notion that nonhuman life does not share characteristics with humans, Thomas instead shows that paramecia can learn, plants can communicate, humans aren’t really as special as we think we are—and that it doesn’t take a scientist to marvel at the smallest inhabitants of the natural world and their connections to all living things. A unique voice on anthropology and animal behavior, Thomas challenges scientific convention and the jargon that prevents us all from understanding all living things better. This joyfully written book is a fascinating look at the challenges and behaviors shared by creatures from bacteria to larvae to parasitic fungi, a potted hyacinth to the author herself, and all those in between.

When a race of elegant, superintelligent dogs arrives in twenty-first-century New York, they become instant celebrities, but, unable to adjust to the modern world and confronted with an incurable disease, they construct a fantastic castle and barricade themselves inside.

The star of Smithsonian Channel’s Dogs With Extraordinary Jobs reveals how to both interpret and “speak” the hidden language of dogs. Recent studies into the minds of canines show that they have a rich social intelligence and a physical and vocal language as complex and subtle as our own. In this fun and fascinating guide, world-renowned trainer Victoria Stilwell explores the inner world of dogs. This book is your guide to understanding your pooch, communicating effectively, strengthening your bond, and helping dogs learn in the most effective way possible so they feel confident navigating the human world with success. Along the way, you’ll learn the answers to questions such as: • What do different tail wags mean? • What does being right-pawed say about my dog’s personality? • How can I tell the difference between boredom barking and warning barking? • What does it mean when my dog spins around, arches his back, or gives me the whale eye? • Do dogs feel guilt? • How do dogs perceive human faces? • Why do some scientists think dogs’ emotional experience is even greater than ours? Filled with adorable full-color photographs and instructive illustrations, this insightful “dog decoder” will soon make you dog’s best friend.

A photographic tribute to the authors' work as wolf caregivers and advocates documents their efforts with the Sawtooth Pack in Idaho and features a passionate argument for reintroducing and protecting wild wolves.

This guide by the author of Merle’s Door is “beneficial for anyone who wants to ensure that their dogs will be healthy and well” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). From the bestselling author who offers “the most utterly compelling translation of dog to human I have ever seen” (Jeffrey Masson), this is a joyful chronicle of a dog and a groundbreaking answer to the question: How can we give our dogs the happiest, healthiest lives? When Ted Kerasote was ready for a new dog after losing his beloved Merle—who died too soon, as all our dogs do—he knew he wanted to give his puppy Pukka the longest life possible. But how to do that? So much has changed in the way we feed, vaccinate, train, and live with our dogs from even a decade ago. In an adventure that echoes The Omnivore’s Dilemma with a canine spin, Kerasote tackles these subjects, questioning our conventional wisdom and emerging with vital new information that will surprise even the most knowledgeable dog lovers. Can a purebred be as healthy as a mixed breed? How many vaccines are too many? Should we rethink spaying and neutering? Is raw food really healthier than kibble, and should your dog be chewing more bones? Traveling the world and interviewing breeders, veterinarians, and leaders of the animal-welfare movement, Kerasote pulls together the latest research to help us rethink the everyday choices we make for our companions. And as he did in Merle’s Door, Kerasote interweaves fascinating science with the charming stories of raising Pukka among his dog friends in their small Wyoming village. Funny, revelatory, and full of the delights of falling in love with a dog, Pukka’s Promise will help redefine the potential of our animal partners.