Puppy Kindergarten - by Brian Hare & Vanessa Woods (Hardcover)

About the Book

"When ... Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods fell in love with a trained service dog named Congo, they wanted to understand what made him such a great companion. Given that there hadn't been a large-scale study of puppy development since 1950, they decided to start one. ... Using the same kinds of cognitive tests and games that have become standard for understanding human infant development, they initially wanted to know if they could predict which qualities would make puppies grow up to be great assistance dogs. But they quickly realized that these special dogs have a lot to tell us about how all dogs navigate the world, solve problems, and learn from the people around them. ... Introducing us to the many puppies who contributed to this research and synthesizing findings from cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology, this ... book will teach readers how puppies begin to develop abilities that allow them to succeed as adults and flexibly solve problems"--

Book Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling authors of The Genius of Dogs take us into their "Puppy Kindergarten" at Duke University, a center to study how puppies develop, to show us what goes in to raising a great dog.

Don't miss Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods in Netflix's film Inside the Mind of a Dog!

"A firehose of knowledge suffused with levity and charm."--Alexandra Horowitz, author of Inside of a Dog

What does it take to raise a great dog? This was the question that husband-and-wife team Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods hoped to answer when they enrolled one hundred and one puppies in the Duke Puppy Kindergarten. With the help of a retired service dog named Congo, Brian, Vanessa, and their team set out to understand the secrets of the puppy mind: What factors might predict whether a puppy will grow up to change someone's life?

Never has cuteness been so cutting edge. Applying the same games that psychologists use when exploring the development of young children, Hare and Woods uncover what happens in a puppy's mind during their final stage of rapid brain development. Follow the adventures of Arthur, who makes friends with toy dinosaurs; Wisdom, the puppy genius; and Ying, who fails at cognitive games that even pigeons usually pass with flying colors. Along the way, learn about when puppies finally start to retain memories for longer than just a few seconds, or when they finally develop some self-control.

Raising dozens of puppies on a college campus means you get pretty good at answering big questions, such as: When do puppies sleep through the night? How do you stop them from eating poop? How can we help our puppies grow up to be the best dogs they can possibly be? Whether you are a new puppy parent or a perennial puppy lover, Puppy Kindergarten will answer every question you've ever had about puppies--and some you never thought to ask.

Review Quotes

"As the ingenious minds behind starting a Puppy Kindergarten at Duke, there is but no question that Vanessa Woods and Brian Hare needed to write a book on puppies. Nor is there any question of the pleasures this book brings, for fans of science, puppies, and puppy science. Read it, and get a firehose of knowledge suffused with levity and charm."--Alexandra Horowitz, New York Times bestselling author of Inside of a Dog

"Insightfully and delightfully, Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods combine deep affection and wide experience with their unique scientific approach to puppy minds. Lots of people can tell you about dogs, but Hare and Woods--having worked with hundreds of puppies and collected data on thousands of family dogs--understand dogs in a unique way. This book isn't just about puppies. This book shows us who puppies are, how their minds develop, and how to raise a great dog. And it does so gently and lovingly."--Carl Safina, author of Beyond Worlds

"This book answers questions I have asked myself all my life--can breeds predict personality? Are dogs intelligent, and is it heritable? Why do we feel so attached to them to the point that they are part of our families? This book satisfies me on all levels--as an ethologist, a volunteer who raises guide dogs, and as a dog lover."--Isabella Rossellini, actress and activist

"Convincingly shows that each puppy is a unique puzzle--solve it and you will have a perfect friend."--Anderson Cooper, host of Anderson Cooper 360°

"This book will make you a better dog parent! Packed with evidence-based advice and practical wisdom, this is the essential guide for understanding and rearing your next generation of furry best friends."--Laurie Santos, professor of psychology and director of the Canine Cognition Center at Yale University

"Everyone wants the perfect dog. But dogs, like people, are all different, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach for raising a puppy. In Puppy Kindergarten, Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods describe cutting-edge research that, for the first-time, puts real science behind raising a great dog. A must-read for all dog lovers!"--Dr. Gregory Berns, author of How Dogs Love Us

"Wonderful . . . These explanations of individual canine foibles will make raising your next best friend more fascinating, successful, and joyful than ever."--Richard Wrangham, author of The Goodness Paradox

"I started to read and then could not stop. A fascinating exploration of a mind that is not human, which reminds us that we share the earth with many animal minds. Puppy Kindergarten is a thrilling account of the evolutionary journey from wolves to dogs, and how domestication allows us to expand our kinship to include not just dogs but these other wonderful animals that possess incredible minds."--Dr. Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven

About the Author

Brian Hare is a professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University, where he founded the Duke Canine Cognition Center.

Vanessa Woods is a research scientist at the Center as well as an award-winning journalist and the author of Bonobo Handshake. Hare and Woods are married and live in North Carolina. They are the authors of Survival of the Friendliest and The Genius of Dogs.