Dog Knows: Learning How to Learn from Dogs

This book has been an eye opener. So insightful that it makes me want to be a better pet parent.

As a dog lover and one who wants to understand more about how dogs communicate there’s a lot to be learnt from this book. The book truly makes one introspect on how to develop a companionship with our dogs based on mutual respect.With the backdrop of the author’s journey of understanding her dogs better in order to offer them a better quality of life, she also educates us, using personal observation backed by scientific study and research. Her insight into the canine psyche is easy to understand, practical and logical. The author’s use of personal anecdotes, vivid examples of her own dogs and Streeties, as well as examples of human psychology make the book very relatable.“Dog Knows” has now been added to my list of all time favourite books.I would also like to add that I found the book cover stunning and visually engaging with the eye of the dog resembling the all too familiar glint/sparkle we see in our dog’s eyes.I would highly recommend this book to all animal lovers.

I read this book... and felt I had to read it again, before I could do justice to reviewing it... I was wrong. I could read this book may times, and still find so much to learn and ponder over each time. It is just one of those books... an eye opener, an ode to Sindhoor's Nishi and Uttam, a heartfelt narrative of the author's journey with warm and funny anecdotes, a book that opens ones eyes to the beautiful beings that are dogs, evocative, and for a dog parent - life altering.

This book is very insightful. So many things very important bits of information that I plan to use to understand my dogs better, a species I have co- habited with for over 20 years and completely miss read. A must have for every dog parent that wants to have a deeper connection with their dog babies and really improve the quality of their lives. And Sindhoor’s writing is so personal, peppered with examples that it doesn’t feel heavy to read. I got through it in 1 weekend!

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is how powerless we are in the face of nature's wrath. In her book, through in-depth research on Indian streeties, Sindhoor demonstrates how animals communicate with us all the time, if only we knew how to listen. The book opens up the fascinating world of dog psychology and shows that it's as complex as its human counterpart. Lastly, it drives home so well the point that as humans, we need to develop more respect and empathy for the natural world, and learn to co-exist peacefully with it, instead of riding roughshod over it.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to learn about dogs. The book if highly informative and more importantly it will change your philosophy on the relationship between humans and their best friends (dogs). It’s a great book to understand dogs’ lives better which in turn will help in your relationships with your own dogs and street dogs. The stories and experiences are very honest and straight from the heart, which instantly connects with you. There are a lot of mistakes I have made with my dogs and had a lot of misconceptions too, and I cannot thank Sindhoor enough to share this knowledge with us. Definitely a must buy!

A must-buy for pet parents. Through the author's personal journey in learning about dogs and navigating her difficult experiences, this book explains how dogs think, perceive and understand things and how we can change our actions to communicate better with them. Many common misconceptions and training practices are examined from a physical, psychological and physiological point of view.

Superb...well written...gives a wonderful insight into the behaviour of dogs and challenges the usual methods of training.It has helped me understand my dog better and made me realise that pet dogs are not meant to be made into robots who just follow commands but should be treated with respect and love.

The information Sindhoor has provided in this book is easy to follow and understand and most importantly, takes us to the truth of how humans and dogs evolved and were meant to interact. Far, far from the oft touted and deeply flawed harmful narrative of dominance, punishment, and being the boss or pack leader, that so easily feeds into our human egoic addiction to control those around us, Sindhoor exposes the truthful, loving, essence of what the human/canine bond was always meant to be. Thank you Sindhoor. 🙏🏼🐾❤️

Sindhoor Pangal’s book urges a shift in perspective on understanding dog behavior and on the strategy that dog owners adopt with their pets.A friend had recommended Turid Rugaas’s book, Calming Signals, and I’d been really impressed by Rugaas’s respect for dogs’ skills and knowledge, especially in complex social behavior. She struck a chord with me as a dog-owner with a dog who had struggled with aggression, anxiety, and the whole works. What she taught mirrored what my own dog had done — his learning had far surpassed my own abilities to teach or train him. Sindhoor Pangal is a student of Rugaas, and she builds her book, and her own story, around that same central message. Pangal strongly emphasizes respect for dogs, their autonomy and learning skills. She contrasts that emphasis with the belief that well-behaved, “good” dogs are above all, obedient dogs, over whom we need to exercise control and dominance.Pangal writes, “The concept of using dominance to get a dog to fall in line is now considered an outdated one that does more damage than good.”The book is as much autobiography as essay on dogs and the dog-human relationship. Pangal was a naive dog owner when she and her husband first adopted their dog, Nishi. Some of her anecdotes about their mistakes are downright disturbing — for example, a pretty extreme overfeeding on the very first day because Nishi ate however much they put in front of her! There are other incidents related throughout the book that may make you wonder, “Really??? Should I listen to his woman?”But I think you should. You may not be convinced by everything she says. But that central message — that dogs do not so much need to be trained as they need the opportunity to learn (and to do so safely). As she says, “A decade of life with Nishi, and I have now learnt that the skills she really needed were not how well she obeyed us.”Given that opportunity to learn dogs will learn, as dogs have evolved to do, to get along with us, their human environment, and with other dogs. That’s what they have evolved to do, that’s what they naturally learn if given the opportunity, and that’s what they teach each other.The most important skills that Nishi learned were not skills she could have learned from her owners or trainers. Those things — especially skills for interacting with other dogs — are skills that dogs already understand much better than humans do. What’s more, social skills that Nishi and other dogs learn through their own experiences and interactions are more reliable and lead to less stressful lives than skills at doing what we tell them to do.You may feel reticence to go as far as Pangal goes on some points. As a professional researcher and dog behaviorist who works with problem dogs and their owners, as well as with the street dogs of India (“streeties”), she emphasizes that she does not “train” dogs. I get it — again the emphasis is on the dog’s own ability to learn from his own experiences and from other dogs. You, as the dog’s owner, have responsibilities to understand your dog’s learning experiences and to guide her safely through those experiences, but it is not a matter of, as Pangal says, controlling or dominating — it’s a matter of letting your dog learn what she needs to learn, relying on her own capabilities.Pangal says, “When I talk about not training my dogs, people assume I mean that there are no boundaries in my home and that it is pure chaos.” We are not all tyrants with our dogs, but we, at least I, feel the draw to command and control. Good behavior is obedient behavior. Pangal is urging us to take a different perspective.She stresses, following Turid Rugaas’s repeated message, giving a dog choices. Choices regarding when and what to eat, where to sleep, the pace and direction of walks, who to make friends with and who to avoid, how to learn to behave toward strangers, . . . anything within the bounds of safety and practicality. Dogs who learn from their own choices and who feel in some measure of control of their lives and circumstances are likely to shed the stresses and anxieties that can otherwise produce problem behaviors, as well as physical ailments.While Pangal’s stance is an ethical one, it is also one informed by observation and study. She has learned a great deal not only through her mentorship by Turid Rugaas but also through her experience with those “streeties." In India, around Bangalore where Pangal lives, street dogs are common — dogs that no one owns, that live in small groups, and that nevertheless rely on their relationships with humans for food, safety, and shelter.No one trains the streeties, but, as Pangal noticed, they don’t commonly exhibit the kinds of problem behaviors we associate with “untrained” dogs. They get along with the humans around them, they don’t typically fight with one another, they don’t run in front of moving cars (or all the other vehicles that move through Indian streets). So how did they learn, apparently on their own, the kinds of behaviors we try to train our pet dogs into?The answer goes back to that central message. Dogs know how to learn. They know how to learn to get along with their human environment, how to get along with each other, and how to fend for their own welfare. As dog “owners” our job is to give our own pet dogs the chance to do that.I didn’t find myself convinced by everything Pangal says (e.g., her criticism of games of fetch), but the shift of perspective she urges is one that I carry with me, and my dog, more strongly now every day.

Really easy to read and lots of useful information in it, I would recommend it

Having also had the good fortune to experience Turid Rugass' course, I was interested in comparing notes. I found the book very interesting, honest, filled with valuable perceptions, many experiential pearls and told from the heart. I highly recommend this book. I am also very interested in India's street dogs, so am hoping there will be a follow up book.

I love this book for it’s beautifully observed and insightful understanding of dogs, their behaviour, emotional intelligence, and communication skills. Also their relationships with each other and the humans they encounter along the way or the ones they cohabit with. The fascinating lives of the ‘streeties’ is explained in careful detail from Sindhoor’s hours of observations into their relationships and interactions- and her wonderful insights can help us to better understand the dogs we share our lives with and encounter.This book is my favourite of all dog books. I think this is because it reminds me to take time to consider how our dogs try so hard to please us and fit in with us, even when this compromises themselves and their needs…. but we can easily forget what they might choose if they actually had a choice, what they need and most of all what they are capable of.Thank you Sindhoor :)