The Hidden Life Of Dogs
by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
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Book Summary Information
Author: Elizabeth Marshall ThomasEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-07-01
ISBN: 0671517007
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Gallery
Book Reviews of The Hidden Life Of Dogs
Book Review: Fascinating and sometimes outrageous observing
Summary: 5 Stars
Anthropologist ("The Harmless People"), and novelist ("Reindeer Moon"), turns her prodigious talents to life-long observation of 11 pets in this bestselling classic of dog observation.
Her project began accidentally, with a guest dog, a husky named Misha who jumped fences with ease. "As Misha violated the [leash] law I would receive complaints about him, and with the help of these complaints... I soon was able to establish that he had developed a home range of approximately 130 square miles."
Following on her bicycle, Thomas observes his techniques for dealing with traffic (a mixture of logic and obeisance), scent marking and the social encounters which, it turns out, are his purpose. "Is this all?" Thomas asks the dog irritably. But Misha's ritual maintains his dominant image -- a necessity in the life of a pack, less crucial, even pointless, in a domestic pet
.
Misha is a great relief after the two nervous and sadly comic pugs Thomas acquired for her children, so she introduces a female husky, Maria. What follows is a clown's tale of pathos as the male pug dances circles around himself trying to win Maria and is instantly vanquished by the return of Misha.
The "marriage" and puppy rearing of the two huskies is a celebration of health, cooperation and alpha status.
But human intervention puts an end to the idyll. Misha is taken away and Maria, unable to attract another alpha dog into the household, disdains mating with her sons, while two subordinate female dogs, aware of their unworthiness, give birth. In the wild only alpha dogs mate. Straying subordinates would likely have their pups killed since feeding two litters lessens the chances of both.
Thomas' study is full of hilarious and poignant anecdotes, unflinching observation and unabashed emotion. Marshall, illuminating the dignity of a dog's life, demonstrates its powerlessness in the face of human whim.
Summary of The Hidden Life Of Dogs
In this beautiful account, based on thirty years of living with and observing dogs, wolves and dingoes novelist and anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas brings us a completely new understanding of dogs. We meet Misha, a friend's husky, whom Thomas followed on his daily rounds of more than 130 square miles, and who ultimately provided the simple and surprising answer to the question What do dogs want most? Not food, not sex, but other dogs. We also meet Maria, who adored Misha, bore his puppies, and clearly mourned when he moved away; Bingo, a brave asthmatic pug; and many more fascinating individuals in this unforgettable chronicle, which "brims with insight and respect" (Emily Mitchell, Time International).
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