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Understanding Science Gail Radtke reviews Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy by Dr. Zazie Todd
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n Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy, Dr. Zazie Todd has delivered a book that should be on your reading list, if it isn’t already. I was excited for the release of Wag as I had been a follower of Dr. Todd for quite some time through her blog, Companion Animal Psychol ogy, her business Blue Mountain Animal Behavior and her additional blog with Psychology Today. She is a consistent contributor to the force free training philosophy, sharing her desire to educate people on the science of behavior through her writings, volunteer work and now, by reaching a new level with this publication. The book’s foreword is penned by Dr. Marty Becker DVM and founder of Fear Free®, who states that the work is “meticulously re searched and up to date on the latest science about dogs” and high lights Todd’s passion for dogs’ emotional welfare. And this is evident throughout the book. Todd starts out by telling us about her relation ships with her own dogs and how adopting Bodger and Ghost, whom the book is dedicated to, changed her life path dramatically. She holds a Ph.D in social psychology and admits that she “didn’t think much about animal learning until we adopted Ghost,” but went on to volunteer at her local branch of the SPCA in Maple Ridge, British Columbia and also became a certified dog trainer. Todd writes with the ability to captivate both canine professionals and dog guardians who want to learn more about dogs for the benefit of their own pets. As a canine professional, I was taken back by the vol ume of research she conducted when writing this book and the count less interviews she conducted with many of the learning experts in today’s canine behavioral science fields. And, if you love research as much I do, you will be as excited as I was when I saw the book’s refer ence section. Todd takes the reader through the book in stages, like she is building our understanding of dogs from their welfare and development, to how they learn, to their training and health. The discussion includes canine body language and communication, how dogs learn, dogs and other dogs, dogs and their people, walkies, puppies, socialization and early developmental stages, enrichment, fear and other behavior issues, sen ior dogs, end of life and, at the very end, a checklist for a happy dog. As you flow through the chapters, the information is delivered in a way that retains the attention of an interested dog guardian without
The book’s foreword is penned by Dr. Marty Becker, DVM and founder of Fear Free®, who states that the work is “meticulously researched and up to date on the latest science about dogs” and highlights Todd’s passion for dogs’ emotional welfare
I feel that Wag is going to be a staple in the canine learning library for all dog people. As Todd explains in the book’s introduction: “Although I write about specific scientific studies, I’ve tried to make them easy to understand and not get too bogged down in technical details.” In this, I believe, she has been successful.
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