True confession: I haven’t finished the book The Wolf in the Parlor. I might not, at least not in the near future. Here’s why:
As I said in my last post, the author’s thesis is that “people and dogs, around 12,000 years ago, linked their evolutionary paths together and evolved socially and physically to take on supportive roles. He argues, according to the reviews, that humans lost some of our brain power because dogs took over those functions, and dogs lost some of theirs because we became their protectors and nurturers.” It seems downright churlish of me to stop reading before I read for myself the full extent of his argument, but what I’ve read in the first 60 pages has put me off a bit.
I mentioned earlier that the thesis itself sounded a bit simplistic, but I love speculation and the more the merrier if it’s based on good, solid information. But Franklin’s supporting information seems thin, at best. Here’s an example: Interested in the early evolution of the domestic dog, the author goes to his local library. But he finds little of value, he tells us. He says “Some of the more promising works included a few generalized remarks about the development of the dog; they all sounded the same, and had a ‘just so’ tone to them.” He goes on later to say that the books he ended up checking out were also a disappointment. “Most were superficial, showed some misunderstanding of biology, or were otherwise unsuitable…”. Never in this section does he mention other ways of researching the topic.. he writes as though he accepts that his library has all material relevant to his question. As a lover of libraries, I can tell you that even really, really good ones can only house a small portion of relevant books, and many of those are profoudly out of date. As a science writer, I would assume he is adept at internet searches…?
Eventually, in the books he checks out (we never know which books those are), he finds references to a paleontologist named Stanley Olsen, who spent decades finding and measuring fossils of domestic dogs (dogs can be distinguished from wolves by their shorter muzzles and smaller teeth). He published some of this work in 1974, and Franklin moved heaven and earth to find a copy (The Origins of the Domestic Dog: The Fossil Record) and traveled to the University of Arizona to interview Olsen. Let me be clear: I’d give a lot to interview Olsen myself, he sounds absolutely fascinating and extremely knowledgeable. But 1974 is 35 years ago, and what we’ve learned about the fossil record since then is astounding. Still, I love that Franklin went to meet him–but what about other sources of information about the evolution of the domestic dog? Surely Franklin found many interesting books on that topic? And what books did he read? He is a science writer after all, so I expected him to clearly list his sources.
I turned to the back to see if he had read, for example, Ray and Lorna Coppinger’s book Dogs, its subtitle being “A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution.” But there is no bibliography or reference section, a surprise unto itself. I turned to the index, and Coppinger is indeed mentioned, but only briefly, and only in regard to a discussion about dogs losing the terminal portion of the hunting sequence inhibited (find, chase but don’t kill and eat). Franklin loves Coppinger’s suggestion that dogs are wolves with the ‘kill’ portion of their behavior inhibited, but adds that other scientists “. . . criticized Coppinger’s idea for various technical reasons, …” but doesn’t tell us what those were. Neither had he read Coppinger’s book; he learned about him in a manuscript being edited by James Serpell (now that’s a book I can’t wait to read, I’ll alert you as soon as I find it, don’t know if it’s out yet.)
There are some wonderful sections of The Wolf in the Parlor. Franklin clearly adores dogs and the connection between them and people. He is not only smitten with his current Standard Poodle, he credits him for saving his life (I skipped to the end). If I had no other books to read I’d finish the entire book, and someday I imagine I will. But right now Horowitz’s Inside of a Dog is luring me in, and I just got a book written about a search and rescue dog that looks like a page turner. The wolves in the parlor are just going to have to lie down and stay for awhile.
Meanwhile, back at the farm: It rained! Oh boy oh boy, it finally rained, after almost 3 weeks of no rain. I’m the first to admit 3 weeks isn’t long in many areas of the drought-stricken country, and I know it’s flooding right now in some areas, but we really, really needed the rain and just looking at the moisture soaking into the ground feels so nurturing and good. Willie and I got to go to a new place to work sheep; a good friend and neighbor’s not far away just got a small flock to work her rescue BC on. We had a ball; Will was wonderful, I was a bit slow–not being used to faster reacting sheep, but a good time was had by all. Well, maybe not the sheep, but Will was excellent around them and worked them very quietly. The trick with Will is balancing his speed with his lack of confidence (too slow and he loses power and confidence, too fast and he starts the sheep running.) We’ll be back soon I’m sure!
Here’s a video I took this morning, in the rain by the way, of Willie & Lassie playing with their Chewber. At first you’ll just see Willie, while I make silly noises to hype him up and get him exercising without having to stress his shoulder by fetching or leaping. It takes him longer to get moving than usual (because I have the camera?), but you can see how he runs and shakes the Chewber as if he was trying to kill it. (What was that about the final stage of the hunt being inhibited? Just kidding, I think Coppinger is right to some extent on that; I don’t think I’d use a wolf as a herding partner!).
As I do every morning, I asked Will to lie down and let Lassie get the toy. Watch how she turns and looks at him when she returns. Anthropomorphically, I always imagine her saying “I’ve got the toy-oy. Nee Nee Nee Boo Boo!”
Kelly says
Oh Trish, I LOVE the video! I love watching Will just stare at the frisbee once you’ve told him to get back and lie down. He just knows what’s coming. And Lassie looks at him a lot as she comes in with the frisbee. I think she probably IS telling him “Neener, neener I have the toy!” I’m sure my old dog does the same when I make the younger dogs sit back and let him fetch a bit.
Ann says
Thanks for the book review. “A Wolf in the Parlor” sounds entertaining, though not entirely sound scientifically. I’d check it out from the library, but I probably wouldn’t buy it.
Also thanks for the lovely video of your two BC playing nicely. Lassie has the most interesting markings!
Meganwf says
What a fun clip! It made my 8-month-old English Shepherd go bark at the door then stare at the video and cock his head to the side (like at 7 then 8 then 9 on a clock face) then back to the door to try and find the friendly sounding intruder!
Kim says
i was just listening to NPR’s interview with Horowitz….interesting stuff…..
great video!
retrieverman says
I also have read The Wolf in the Parlor, but I am not (currently) revealing my thoughts on it.
I have, however, some issues with Coppinger’s suggestion that dogs with particular inherited motor patterns are unable to kill or consume prey.
I had a golden retriever that was an excellent, very drivey working strain golden that would retrieve anything. This behavior was mostly innate. However, she could catch, kill, and consume rabbits, which she learned from watching another dog (a Norwegian elkhound, which was used as a working varmint dog).
Further, the HPR breeds point and retrieve, but they can also bay and dispatch a wounded boar, fox, or stag.
Kate T. says
What about massage and gentle stretching for that achy shoulder of Will’s? I offer free seminars and would be happy to fly to WI to do a demonstration for you. I’m sure Willie would appreciate it! There is nothing like the look a dog’s eyes when he’s comfortable and completely relaxed….
kim g says
i too have manys dog books to read. i love your insight on the book wolf in the parlor. i would love to hear more about other books you have read or are going to read. i love the video always brings tears to me eyes when i see dogs interacting. chewber looks like a winner. think i will order a few for my lab/collies mixes. a50th birthday gift for me to give my dogs that give me so much pleasure.
KateH says
So what is the search and rescue dog book’s title? I got The Wolf in the parlor out, but stopped reading after the second page. I also wanted to see what books he’d gotten info from and when I didn’t see any, nor any substantial info from the few names I recognize as experts in the field, I returned it, unread. I agree, there are so many books, with much more sunstantial info than that, and I’ll spend my time reading them instead.
S says
Please do share the name of the search and rescue dog book and continue to share books you find interesting! There are so many and its nice to have some solid perspective to know which ones to prioritize to read. The video is amazing – your dogs are so well trained and attuned to you. The one thing that struck me the most is how sing song your voice is when asking Will to lie down and back off – I find my voice always becoming very stern as if that will make my dogs pay attention more. Thanks for sharing!
Trisha says
To retrieverman: We’ll be interested in your comments re Wolf in the Parlor when you are ready! And in regard to your comment about some dogs killing small animals–I agree completely that some dogs can and do kill small animals. My most submissive Border collie once watched my new cat flounder around a mouse for about 20 minutes, until she finally lunged in, grabbed the mouse, slung it up into the air, and caught it with open mouth. She turned and looked at the cat while it slid down her throat. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what she was thinking. That’s a far cry though from a wolf’s behavior around sheep compared to that of a domestic dog’s. Certainly I’ve seen some BC’s who were far too agressive on sheep, chasing, running and biting, and I pulled one perfectly lovely Huskie off of a hapless ewe once when the pet dog had inadvertently gotten loose at a herding dog exhibition. The dog had her teeth sunk into the ewe’s shoulder muscle, but immediately dropped off when I said NO and pulled her away. (Bless her!) But put 100 wolves (one at a time please) into a pen with sheep, and compare that with the behavior of a hundred dogs. No don’t, I couldn’t bear watching….but I promise there’d be a lot more sheep left alive after the dogs left than the wolves.
To Kate T: How sweet are you! My goodness, what a generous offer. However, Willie gets lots of stretching
(designed by a canine physical therapist) exercises and although I am absolutely SURE that your massages are far better than mine, I’m not confident that more would help. But hey, when are you coming to the area?!
KateH: The rescue book is titled Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search and Rescue Dog. I might read it before Inside of a Dog because it hasn’t been released yet and they are looking for a quote…
FYI, in non-dog related books, I am just finishing Dark Star Safari by travel writer Paul Theroux (wonderfully written and terribly depressing) and finished Loving Frank last weekend. It’s a novelized account of the woman who left her husband to live with Frank Lloyd Wright and is stupendously good. I live just a few miles from Taliesin (sp?), so it is extra interesting, but it lusciously written and deserves, in my humble opinion, all the praise it has received.
Lori says
Oh yes – loved Dark Star Continent. Theroux is a wonderful travel writer. But yes, depressing. I certainly research any aid organization operating in Africa before donating money after reading his book.
His Riding the Red Rooster about train travel in China is also enthralling. It was written over 20 years ago, but I bet it is still a good read. He really gets in and mixes it up with the locals when he travels. How he remembers the conversations later, I don’t know. He must carry a big notebook!
Susan says
Loved the video! Wondering- when I play fetch with Arie (2 y/o female BC) and she gets excited, she starts chewing up the grass beside the toy as she tosses it around, extremely enthusiastically might I add! Wondering if you’ve seen this behavior and have any explanation for it? Not sure if it is some kind of displacement behavior, plain excitement, something else? Just curious!
Cindy says
Thought I’d check the video after reading your comments on The Wolf in the Parlor (there are similar undocumented books circulating in the horse world!). My 18-month old Standard Poodle, Jeter, looked up at the sounds and came over to see what he could see on the computer screen. He watched it through twice. Can dogs recognize dogs on a video?
Devorah Friedman says
Do you think the Coppingers’ book is definitive on the the question of canine origins?
Shaya says
My read of most of Coppinger’s research was that it was meant more as a guideline than a rule. Most sheepdogs won’t kill and most dogs don’t have the eat and dissect pattern. Of course, in any species there are individuals who have abnormal qualities because that’s how evolution works. I have a greyhound who stalks rabbits, like a cat, and that certainly doesn’t fit the prey pattern she “should” have.
Another great book about search and rescue dogs is Caroline Hebard’s, “So That Others May Live: Caroline Hebard and Her Search and Rescue Dogs.” She writes really well and you can learn about search and rescue through her stories.
Marie says
This brings up a question about a theory of mine. (or maybe I heard it and asimilated it) Do you think dogs are lacking the part of the brain that tells them “this other dog outweighs me and could kill me easily” because of being domesticated? I wonder if the years of us protecting them repeatedly is why they sometimes make fatal choices when it comes to interations with other clearly stronger dogs. (think small dog attacking a larger one)
Joanna says
Your voice is very cute and sing-song! I should use more tonal variation with my dog — he’s partially deaf and it would probably help him recognize the cues.
Cowdog says
Wow…I am so so SO impressed by Will’s impulse control (in general and PARTICULARLY for a border collie) in leaving the toy, backing up and letting Lassie (who looks great by the way) have a play.
This has really inspired me to work further with my cattle x cross on controlling her impulses and learning that “good thinks come to those who wait.” She has trouble controlling herself but after lots of training is much more polite at waiting at doors, waiting for dinne, treats etc but seeing this video of Will has made me think that I can go even further with her!
Thanks for the great video…nice to hear someone else sweet talking, cooing and making sounds at there dogs too…although my neighbours still look at me strangely.
josh says
I did not read the book (Wolf in the Parlor) I listened to it on my 10 hour flight to Asia and enjoyed it immensely. it brought back memories of all the dogs that was part of my 75 years….