I’ve spent the best part of thirty years studying dog behaviour, first at the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, then at the University of Southampton, and finally at the University of Bristol’s Anthrozoology Institute. Some of what I’ve learned about dogs has come from direct observation, especially in the early days, but much has been informed by collaborations and discussions with many colleagues and graduate students. The original research described in this book owes much to them, though of course I take full responsibility for the interpretations presented here. In roughly chronological order, they are: Christopher Thorne, David Macdonald, Stephan Natynczuk, Benjamin Hart, Sarah Brown, Ian Robinson, Helen Nott, Stephen Wickens, Amanda Lea, Sue Hull, Sarah Whitehead, Gwen Bailey, James Serpell, Rory Putman, Anita Nightingale, Claire Hoskin, Robert Hubrecht, Claire Guest, Deborah Wells, Elizabeth Kershaw, Anne McBride, Sarah Heath, Justine McPherson, David Appleby, Barbara Schöning, Emily Blackwell, Jolanda Pluijmakers, Theresa Barlow, Helen Almey, Elly Hiby, Sara Jackson, Elizabeth Paul, Nicky Robertson, Claire Cooke, Samantha Gaines, Anne Pullen and Carri Westgarth – and many more too numerous to list. Two deserve a special mention: Nicola Rooney, who in addition to producing consistently world-class research on dog behaviour and welfare for the past dozen years, has also been the social life and soul of my research group; and Rachel Casey, arguably the UK’s leading veterinary behaviourist, and unarguably an indefatigable champion of evidence-based dog training and behavioural therapy. I am grateful to Emily Blackwell and Nicola Rooney for their comments on parts of the manuscript. My thanks also to the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Medicine, and especially Professors Christine Nicol and Mike Mendl, and Dr David Main, for nurturing the Anthrozoology Institute and its research.
Our research has relied on the co-operation of literally thousands of volunteer dog owners and their dogs, to whom I express my gratitude. Also, much of our research would have been impossible without the facilities and co-operation offered by the UK’s leading animal rehoming charities: Dogs Trust, the Blue Cross and the RSPCA.
There are many other academics and dog experts that I’ve met only briefly, but whose published work has been an enormous inspiration. Many I have been able to mention specifically in the notes. Like any branch of science, the systematic study of dog behaviour embraces many approaches and opinions, and sometimes these can be expressed quite forcefully. Yet there is a crucial difference between canine science and canine folklore; scientists are ready to evaluate evidence gathered by others, and to change their opinions if that evaluation indicates that they should. Canine scientists are not in the business of peddling opinion as if it were fact; they contribute to a body of knowledge which, while never complete, continually gains strength from being the product of many heads and much discussion. I am grateful to them all, even those whose views are now largely discredited or unfashionable. Science advances through the replacement of one hypothesis by another that better fits the data; without the first to act as a stimulus to creative thought, the second might never have been conceived.
Condensing all this science into a book of reasonable length has not been easy, but my agent Patrick Walsh, and Lara Heimert and Will Goodlad, my editors at Basic Books and Penguin respectively, have all taught me a great deal about how to aim for a wider audience than the academic community that I have mainly written for in the past.
I’ve been amazed and delighted by how my old friend Alan Peters’ drawings have brought my descriptions of dogs and canids to life. He’s not only a wonderful artist, he’s also a skilful gundog trainer (and falconer) and so was able to bring to the task a lifetime’s experience of how dogs move and interact.
Finally, to my family. My wife Nicky has been an unwavering source of support throughout all the years of my academic career, and especially during the year or so it has taken me to write this book – I cannot thank her enough. Thanks also to my brother Jeremy for giving me the encouragement to start this book in the first place. Netty, Emma and Pete, thank you for refreshing my brain with music; Tom and Jez likewise but with ales, Rioja and cricket.