The Social Dog. Behavior and Cognition

✍ Scribed by Juliane Kaminski and Sarah Marshall-Pescini (Auth.)

• Publisher: Elsevier Inc, Academic Press
• Year: 2014
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 402
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Dogs have become the subject of increasing scientific study over the past two decades, chiefly due to their development of specialized social skills, seemingly a result of selection pressures during domestication to help them adapt to the human environment. The Social Dog: Behaviour and Cognition includes chapters from leading researchers in the fields of social cognition and behavior, vocalization, evolution, and more, focusing on topics including dog-dog and dog-human interaction, bonding with humans, social behavior and learning, and more.

Dogs are being studied in comparative cognitive sciences as well as genetics, ethology, and many more areas. As the number of published studies increases, this book aims to give the reader an overview of the state of the art on dog research, with an emphasis on social behavior and socio-cognitive skills. It represents a valuable resource for students, veterinarians, dog specialists, or anyone who wants deeper knowledge of his or her canine companion.

• Reviews the state of the art of research on dog social interactions and cognition
• Includes topics on dog-dog as well as dog-human interactions
• Features contributions from leading experts in the field, which examine current studies while highlighting the potential for future research

✦ Table of Contents

Content:
Front Matter, Page iii
Copyright, Page iv
Preface, Page xi
Contributors, Pages xiii-xiv
Chapter 1 - The Social Dog: History and Evolution, Pages 3-33
Chapter 2 - On the Way to a Better Understanding of Dog Domestication: Aggression and Cooperativeness in Dogs and Wolves, Pages 35-62
Chapter 3 - The Social Organisation of a Population of Free-Ranging Dogs in a Suburban Area of Rome: A Reassessment of the Effects of Domestication on Dogs’ Behaviour, Pages 65-104
Chapter 4 - Social Behaviour among Companion Dogs with an Emphasis on Play, Pages 105-130
Chapter 5 - Auditory Communication in Domestic Dogs: Vocal Signalling in the Extended Social Environment of a Companion Animal, Pages 131-163
Chapter 6 - The Immaterial Cord: The Dog–Human Attachment Bond, Pages 165-189
Chapter 7 - The Personality of Dogs, Pages 191-222
Chapter 8 - When the Bond Goes Wrong: Problem Behaviours in the Social Context, Pages 223-245
Chapter 9 - Social Learning in Dogs, Pages 249-293
Chapter 10 - What Dogs Understand about Humans, Pages 295-317
Chapter 11 - Dogs’ Sensitivity to Human Ostensive Cues: A Unique Adaptation?, Pages 319-346
Chapter 12 - Do Dogs Show an Optimistic or Pessimistic Attitude to Life?: A Review of Studies Using the ‘Cognitive Bias’ Paradigm to Assess Dog Welfare, Pages 347-372
Chapter 13 - Wagging to the Right or to the Left: Lateralisation and What It Tells of the Dog’s Social Brain, Pages 373-393
Index, Pages 395-404
Color Plates, Pages 1-6