Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Dogs are pretty smart. Though most of us dog owners already know that simple fact. In Bruce Miller’s The Science and Secrets of Dogs, dogs will reveal some of their clear-thinking methods, from sensing a chemical change in their owner’s body that might signify a health risk, to knowing how to interpret what their owner is thinking or doing at any given moment. We are just as much a part of their life as they are ours. And they can communicate with us, in their subtle facial expressions, their pacing and moving around the room, even in the way they nudge you when they want something or when they just want to remind you that they are there with you and for you. It’s really quite amazing!

Bruce Miller’s book, The Science and Secrets of Dogs: How Dogs Think, Feel, and Communicate — The Science of Dog Behavior Explained in Plain Language for Everyday Dog Owners, is the first book in the Family Dog Series. The author uses clear, practical language as he leads readers and dog lovers through the various ways a dog thinks. He utilizes modern canine science, combined with canine behavior research and insight into real-world events that have been documented, to demonstrate a dog’s supreme intelligence. The author teaches readers how to read their dogs, how to communicate with them, and how to build a calmer, trusting relationship with their dog. The author has not presented his research like a manual, but rather as an interesting and insightfully useful tool to help dog owners develop a more meaningful relationship with their dogs. This is a must-read for dog owners.