UNDERSTANDING EINSTEIN, A BORDER COLLIE WHO TALKED


Book Description

“Out!” Who said that? Einstein, a brilliant Border Collie (aren’t all of them very smart?),has told his family he wants to go outside. He hit a prominent button with his paw that triggered this recorded message. The button is one of many buttons on a board that he can use to communicate and talk. “Food,” “water,” “come,” “dog,” “cat,” “fire,” ”yes,” “no,” “help!” and many more are in different sizes and shapes, giving him a limited, but valuable vocabulary after laborious training, as described by Christine Hunger in her ground-breaking documentary book, How Stella Learned to Talk. Einstein becomes a working dog -- a Therapy Dog --- having an important job and a knack for making himself understood even in a crisis. A crisis does arise. There is no romance for Einstein, but some humans seem likely to pair off once they get over some initial misunderstandings. A firebug generates too much warmth. Much happens in Riverview! Christine Hunger’s path-breaking work on training her dog, Stella, to communicate by hitting buttons on small recording devices opens the way to improved understanding between us and our dogs, many of whom have the intellectual abilities of young children. Border Collies, Shepherds, Poodles, and Retrievers are among the brightest breeds. Helen Bemis has enjoyed working with dogs all her life. She is grateful for the opportunity to help others understand these loving companions. Helen Bemis has enjoyed working with dogs all her life. She is grateful for the opportunity to help others understand these loving companions. She grew up on a dairy farm in Upper New York State. She obtained a college degree at SUNY Adirondack, earned the Certified Professional Dog Trainer international certification, and has a successful business, K-9 Karing. Helen has published almost twenty novels in her UNDERSTANDING… series. She loves to hear people say, “Helen has gone to the dogs.”




Chaser


Book Description

Chaser has a way with words. She knows over a thousand of them—more than any other animal of any species except humans. In addition to common nouns like house, ball, and tree, she has memorized the names of more than one thousand toys and can retrieve any of them on command. Based on that learning, she and her owner and trainer, retired psychologist John Pilley, have moved on to further impressive feats, demonstrating her ability to understand sentences with multiple elements of grammar and to learn new behaviors by imitation. John’s ingenuity and tenacity as a researcher are as impressive as Chaser’s accomplishments. His groundbreaking approach has opened the door to a new understanding of animal intelligence, one that requires us to reconsider what actually goes on in a dog’s mind. Chaser’s achievements reveal her use of deductive reasoning and complex problem-solving skills to address novel challenges. Yet astonishingly, Chaser isn’t unique. John’s training methods can be adopted by any dog lover. Through the poignant story of how he trained Chaser, raised her as a member of the Pilley family, and proved her abilities to the scientific community, he reveals the positive impact of incorporating learning into play and more effectively channeling a dog’s natural drives. John’s work with Chaser offers a fresh perspective on what’s possible in the relationship between a dog and a human. His story points us toward a new way of relating to our canine companions that takes into account our evolving understanding of the way animals and humans learn.




The Other End of the Leash


Book Description

Learn to communicate with your dog—using their language “Good reading for dog lovers and an immensely useful manual for dog owners.”—The Washington Post An Applied Animal Behaviorist and dog trainer with more than twenty years’ experience, Dr. Patricia McConnell reveals a revolutionary new perspective on our relationship with dogs—sharing insights on how “man’s best friend” might interpret our behavior, as well as essential advice on how to interact with our four-legged friends in ways that bring out the best in them. After all, humans and dogs are two entirely different species, each shaped by its individual evolutionary heritage. Quite simply, humans are primates and dogs are canids (as are wolves, coyotes, and foxes). Since we each speak a different native tongue, a lot gets lost in the translation. This marvelous guide demonstrates how even the slightest changes in our voices and in the ways we stand can help dogs understand what we want. Inside you will discover: • How you can get your dog to come when called by acting less like a primate and more like a dog • Why the advice to “get dominance” over your dog can cause problems • Why “rough and tumble primate play” can lead to trouble—and how to play with your dog in ways that are fun and keep him out of mischief • How dogs and humans share personality types—and why most dogs want to live with benevolent leaders rather than “alpha wanna-bes!” Fascinating, insightful, and compelling, The Other End of the Leash is a book that strives to help you connect with your dog in a completely new way—so as to enrich that most rewarding of relationships.




Dog Talk


Book Description

It was slow going but I was able to get a general overview of what he was driving at. I’ve been at this writing game long enough to know much will change over the course of the project. I tried to make Sam see this, My throat started to grow raw again and my voice was taking in a growling rasp. I had difficulty clearing my throat and had to excuse myself a number of times for water. As our conversation continued, I became impressed with Sam’s intelligence, though there were large gaps in his experience. This was more than made up for by a view of life that was unique; a view I would have difficulty imagining another human being holding. “I know,” he said. “A dog would.”




Dog Squad


Book Description

Introducing DOG SQUAD, the crime-fighting, tail-wagging, hilarious new series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library and coauthor of Max Einstein! When trouble calls . . . it's DOG SQUAD to the rescue! Duke is not your average dog. Along with his crew, he fights crime and goes on claw-biting adventures helping dogs in peril in the hit streaming sensation--DOG SQUAD! Fred is a pretty average dog. He's scrappy. He's loveable. But he's not brave like his heroes on Dog Squad. Fred looks an awful lot like Duke from Dog Squad though. In fact, when Duke needs a stand-in, Fred's the perfect choice. But the Dog Squad action doesn't always stop on screen! When there's danger in real life, can Fred find the courage to step up and save the day?! It's all paws on deck in this action-packed, middle grade adventure series just right for anyone who loves dogs--and anyone who loves to laugh! “Doggone fun.”—Kirkus Reviews




Understanding Border Collies


Book Description

The Border Collie is an extremely versatile breed, faithful enough to be a loyal friend, honest enough to be a hard worker and intelligent enough to be an asset in rescue and other services. This comprehensive, illustrated book gives essential advice on how to become the pack leader by understanding and interpreting the body language of man's best friend. Topics include: choosing your Border Collie; taking your puppy home; commonsense dog training; nutrition; creating a partnership; training, adolescent and older dogs.




What Dogs Know


Book Description

My dog understands me! At least, many dog owners think so. New scientific studies actually show that dogs understand a lot about us humans. For example, they can figure out what humans can and cannot see. Some dogs can even distinguish large numbers of toys by name, like Rico, the internationally famous Border collie. But do dogs also understand our emotions? Can they grasp cause and effect relationships? What fascinates us humans about dogs? Is it only the proverbial ‘puppy dog eyes’ that make dogs look sympathetic? Or is it the fact that these animals have grown very well-attuned to humans and are willing to cooperate with them? In a total of ten chapters, Juliane Bräuer and Juliane Kaminski present the results of the most important scientific studies of the last twenty years on dog cognition.




No Substitutes


Book Description

It's usually a pretty low-key day when you get a substitute teacher, but not so for Miss Florence's class. The "cool" assistant principal is using them as guinea pigs to try out a series of new prospective subs, from a wannabe inspirational teacher, to a conspiracy theorist, to a border collie. It's almost enough to make you want to quietly finish your work! You never know who's going to show up next in this outrageous comedy full of larger-than-life characters. Comedy One-act, 30-35 minutes 8-25+ actors (suggested casting: 16 any)




Don't Shoot the Dog!


Book Description

Includes a new section on clicker training.




Blindsight


Book Description

Hugo and Shirley Jackson award-winning Peter Watts stands on the cutting edge of hard SF with his acclaimed novel, Blindsight Two months since the stars fell... Two months of silence, while a world held its breath. Now some half-derelict space probe, sparking fitfully past Neptune's orbit, hears a whisper from the edge of the solar system: a faint signal sweeping the cosmos like a lighthouse beam. Whatever's out there isn't talking to us. It's talking to some distant star, perhaps. Or perhaps to something closer, something en route. So who do you send to force introductions with unknown and unknowable alien intellect that doesn't wish to be met? You send a linguist with multiple personalities, her brain surgically partitioned into separate, sentient processing cores. You send a biologist so radically interfaced with machinery that he sees x-rays and tastes ultrasound. You send a pacifist warrior in the faint hope she won't be needed. You send a monster to command them all, an extinct hominid predator once called vampire, recalled from the grave with the voodoo of recombinant genetics and the blood of sociopaths. And you send a synthesist—an informational topologist with half his mind gone—as an interface between here and there. Pray they can be trusted with the fate of a world. They may be more alien than the thing they've been sent to find. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.