Interesting because I'm interested in that subject
How useful was it?
Pretty useful
Would you read it again?
Yes
Value for money
Excellent
Advantages:
Satisfyingly dog - centred
Disadvantages:
Has given mr - zeeman an appetite for another dog
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
mr-zeeman loves dogs with a passion bordering upon obsession. So in order to convince myself (and others) that this fascination is perfectly respectable and harmless, I collect books which reflect other peoples' similar devotion to these remarkable creatures. I've collected, for example, "Buster's Diaries" by Roy Hattersly; "Dogs in the News" by Martyn Lewis"; "500 Mile Walkies" by a chap whose name I have temporarily forgotten; "Dog Facts" by Joan Palmer … and a whole sagging shelf-load of other titles.
Hence it was with massive coronary-inducing excitement that I handed over 20pence in a charity shop in exchange for a dog-related volume that I hadn't seen before … "The Hidden Life of Dogs" by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas [E.M.T for brevity]. A quick scan of the dust-jacket confirmed that this was not a nerdish training manual, nor a collection of amusing doggy anecdotes ... but an entertaining, and easily-digested academic study of the behaviour of domestic dogs.
~~~~~~
"How might dogs conduct themselves if left undisturbed in normal circumstances?"
This was the recurring thought that propelled dog enthusiast Elizabeth Marshall Thomas into conducting a totally unsentimental piece of research into normal, unrestricted, uncontrolled, canine behaviour. At first glance one would assume that this very same thought had reverberated through a multitude of brains throughout the centuries. After all, we humanoids have shared our living quarters, and our lunches, with domesticated dogs from time immemorial. So where is all the literature on this most obvious topic of study? Strangely, it appears to be so thin on the ground that it verges upon being non-existent. Disappointingly, the few truly 'anthropological' studies of free-range dogs that are available concern the wild species … such as foxes, and wolves. Interesting beasts these may be - but they are nowhere near as agreeable or as available as the average mongrel.
Those of us who have quietly slept our way through various Social Science lectures ought to know the difference between qualitative and quantitative research, and will thus be in total awe of the fact that E.M.T based her qualitative study upon the day-to-day lives of eleven dogs … and 100,000 hours of close observation. One-hundred-thousand-hours … that's almost 23 years (based on an exhausting 12-hour-day). Just as an anthropologist might study a particular and specific group of humans, E.M.T watched as her collection of dogs (of different breeds, ages, abilities, shapes, sizes and temperaments) formed themselves into a pack and settled into a daily routine unregulated by human rules. She provided them with food, water, shelter, comfort, affection (and occasionally ice-cream) but made no effort to train them. Indeed, her study might not have been successful if the animals had been already brain-washed by the silly and arbitrary training that most owners routinely inflict upon their pets.
However, some interference with the dogs' innate behaviour was inevitable … for example, it was necessary to control their roaming to some extent, in order to comply with The Law, and to avoid being shot by the neighbours. It also became necessary to control their breeding in order for E.M.T to maintain the status of 'responsible dog owner'. In total twenty-two pups were born and most were dispersed, free of charge, to new owners. The author strongly believes that it is morally wrong to sell dogs. Hoorrraaayyyyy … is this woman fabulous: or is this woman FABULOUS?!
To mr-zeeman's delight, in the introduction to the book the author poo-poos the popular heresy which maintains that only we humans have 'consciousness' and thus only we humans are capable of emotions. E.M.T likens this particular breach of understanding to the Christian creationist myth, and points out that: "human beings have consciousness which, in the absence of miracles, we have acquired through our long mammalian past". She then provides four examples to prove the existence of canine consciousness [no plot spoilers here!]
The main body of the book is almost as tub-thumpingly strident as the 15 page introduction, and further controversial dog-issues are tackled by this very competent advocate of canine rights. She has a pop at idiots who dress Yorkshire Terriers in clothes; and makes passing reference to veterinary greed … using the example of the botched spaying of one of her bitches to graphically illustrate the point. Two members of E.M.T's dog pack were pugs, so I was pleased to see her slot in a reference to the perverse habit of creating flat-faced designer-dogs with their attendant breathing difficulties: "Born with the same number of sinuses and teeth, the same amount of tongue, soft palate, and nasal passages as normal dogs, they lack the proper space to house these organs: all are squashed together inside the deformed skull".
However, a number of the dogs were rescued from inappropriate and/or incompetent owners by the author: "... her first few weeks of life had been spent inside an ice-cold, pitch-dark barn belonging to the animal dealer from whom I rescued her. I had had to leave her starving mother and her siblings behind ..." and I would like to have seen a bit more venom being spat in their direction.
About a dozen pages of the slim (148 page) volume are given over to details of some wolf-observing carried out by E.M.T and others. I skimmed these … because I've done wolf-reading many times before and I don't actually see the value in comparing wolves with domestic dogs. They are two quite distinct species … even if the latter did evolve from the former, and the two share some similar traits.
~~~~~~
So what was the outcome of E.M.T's 100,000 hours of compulsive dog watching? The author does a great job in familiarising her readers with each member of the pack ... their history, appearance, individualistic personalities, and the way they relate to each other. The dogs seem to have put a great deal of effort into organising themselves into a pecking order … after all, this was not a 'naturally formed' pack, but one that was artificially created. A system of social hierarchy is of particular importance to dogs in a pack, and is so willingly embraced by ALL ranks that in-house strife and fighting are virtually eliminated. This is perhaps the main characteristic of dogs that is so misunderstood by owners who regard their pets merely as 'living toys': "Virtually all dog-fights are caused by disagreements over status ... and interestingly enough, this is what causes dogs to bite children. Many dogs willingly and gracefully submit to human adults, but they'll be darned if they'll do the same for human children, who as anyone can see have not yet earned high status".
Amusingly, E.M.T studied the navigational skills of the more adventurous dogs by following them on her bike. She closely observed the maternal skills of the female dogs and the mating prowess of the males. She discusses the den-building process and how it became the focus of the dogs' lives. The dogs' ailments are described … their departures to other homes … and ultimately, their deaths.
But as anyone who has ever owned a dog will know, Rover, Prince, Lassie et al spend a heck of a lot of time doing … absolutely nothing. Zilch! At one point E.M.T decided to join the dogs as they busily didn't do anything: "To sit idly, not doing, merely experiencing, comes hard to a primate, yet for once I wasn't among primates ... primates feel pure, flat imobility as boredom, but dogs feel it as peace".
"What do dogs want most?" the author asks repeatedly. Overwhelmingly, it seems, they want each other. We humans are merely a cynomorphic substitute. "Dogs who live in each other's company are calm and pragmatic, never showing the desperate need to make known their needs and feelings or to communicate their observations, as some hysterical dogs who know only the company of our species are likely to do" argues the author. Hmmm ... sounds like a good enough excuse for mr-zeeman to annoy the neighbours by adopting a fourth mutt.
~~~~~~
Curiously there is no 'contents' menu to the book. The different chapters aren't numbered. They aren't titled either. In fact the only hint that the reader is passing from one chapter to another is the inclusion of a black and white illustration of one or more of E.M.T's dogs. Personally I found this a little bit annoying … particularly when I wanted to refer back to the contents for the purpose of this review. There is no index … although there is a short bibliography, and an entire seven pages of acknowledgements.
Apparently this book has been a "runaway American best-seller" … so would mr-zeeman recommend it to others? It certainly offers a fascinating glimpse into the unleashed world of the domestic dog. Personally, I would like to make it compulsory reading for all the owners of pedigree breeds in Southport who object to Bob the Greyhound's interest in their pets' genitals ... on the grounds that he's being "rude". Cat afficianados, meanwhile, will probably find it soporific. "The Hidden Life of Dogs" is Elizabeth Marshall Thomas' 5th book.
Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson London 1994 Illustrations by Jared T Williams ISBN 0 297 81461 3
Plenty of copies available on amazon - new & used from 99p - £6.99 . Or why not bid for a copy on eBay?
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