John Bradshaw, one of the world’s leading dog experts and director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol, is dedicated to studying the relationship between man and the animal world. In his book, In Defense of Dogs, he calls for a new understanding of our canine friends . This book is a compelling insight into what dogs would ask us for, if only they knew how. The dog has been mankind’s faithful companion for tens of thousands of years, yet today finds itself in a type of crisis.

If you were a dog just over 100 years ago, life would have been simple. You would likely have been gainfully employed – perhaps hunting, herding or guarding – and provided you did your job, your owners would have accepted that you were sometimes messy, loud or unpredictable. Most dogs today are never expected to work, even though they are often still tuned into functions their breed has fulfilled for thousands of years. Instead, they are expected to behave like small children, yet be as independent as adults. To make things worse, our culture is awash with myths that prevent dogs being properly understood – in particular, the enduring idea that they harbour a powerful desire to dominate their family pack. Put simply: dogs are on the brink of a crisis. And as we have put them there, it is our responsibility to help them. ~ John Bradshaw

This scholarly and passionate book shows us a new understanding of our canine friends. It’s a “stand up for dogdom” – to understand dogs as they truly are, not as we assume they are. As a canine expert and dog lover, Bradshaw discusses how our treatment of dogs is based on so many mistaken beliefs, misperceptions, and assumptions. He sets the record straight through canine science.

In Defense of Dogs shows us the science behind:

• Why dogs need us
• Why reward-based training works
• Why punishment never works
• How they experience fear, love, affection and joy, but they do not experience guilt
• How and why our better understanding of dogs can help them thrive in our human world

Biologists now know far more about what really makes dogs tick than they did twenty years ago, but this new understanding has been slow to percolate through to owners, and has not yet made enough of a difference to the lives of the dogs themselves. This book is here to set the record straight and it’s a must-read for all dog guardians.

You can read 2 reviews of In Defense of Dogs here and here