I'm sorry, I was never able to read this. Shortly after getting this book to read, my pet passed away and since then it has been difficult for me to read any non-fiction animal books. I few chapters I had managed to read before hand, though, were really well written and it seemed very well researched. It looked like it would be a really good book for anyone who is interested in neuroscience. I think the title should have indicated more that it was a neuroscience book more then just an animal behavior book? My rating here is based on the chapters I read.

Very repetitive and went off on tangents. Didn't end up with much insight and what information there was could be boiled down to about 20 pages.

Gregory Berns is a bioengineer turned physician specializing in the use of MRI’s to study the decision making abilities of humans. He became interested in the dog-human relationship and whether dogs loved. A dog own himself he used his dog Callie who liked learning new things. Gregory enlisted the help of an animal trainer to teach Callie and other canine participants to go into an MRI and remain still for the duration of the testing. The aim of the research was to discover if differences in personality came from genetics, levels of puppy socialization, or variations in brain function. Additional research was conducted eg using sea lions who were found to have the rudiments for synchronizing auditory and motor systems in rhythm. Border Collies also did well when tested. Until reading this book I hadn’t given any thought to how small a dog’s brain is.
Originally I put my hand up for this thinking it was devoted to dogs. Any initial disappointment was replaced with thinking WOW!, what a great book and a wonderful opportunity to learn things along the way eg what an incredible organ the brain is whether human or animal. Also I now know that dolphins can hear through their jaws using bone conduction like we do, are super-fast at processing personalities and have likes and dislikes. This gives their behavior a purpose and indicates a higher level of thinking than experts have previously given them credit for. It was also remarkable to learn info can be obtained from the brain after death.
I was really touched and saddened by the writers experience as a medical student, his subsequent awareness of animals and struggle with his choices.
You will see animals in a different light after this read. I was amazed, touched, enlightened and a little bit humbled well before the last page. Highly recommend this to a wide variety of readers including dog lovers.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of this book in return for an honest review.

In this gripping description of investigating the way that animals think and feel, Berns opens the door to an entirely new way of regarding the animals around us. His science is made personal, immediate, and the discoveries shared so that a layman understands highly technical and advanced discoveries. I loved every word of the book, feel that it has had a profound impact on how I think about and live with animals. Ultimately, he brings warmth, connection, and respect to those who cannot speak but with whom we share our lives.

I loved this book - I found it fascinating and I think anyone like me, with a massive interest in how animals work, and how we can help them, will also find this fascinating.

I did however find a few bits a bit boring, if that is the right word, for my level of knowledge about this subject, I did find quite a few bits where I started to drift because I couldn't fully understand the details. But, the whole book in general wasn't boring at all and I learnt a lot. About animals, about the brain, about organisations set up around the world to help animals, even about animals that I thought I already knew quite a lot about and that was what I was hoping for when I read this book.

There's no straight answer to what it's like to be a dog, and I think the title is rather misleading, but I agree with it, because what Gregory has been doing all equals up to one thing, what it's like to be a dog. To understand dogs, and many other animals, in ways we never have before. To give them a voice, a voice that they need so badly right now.

It may be a bit over the top to say this, I don't think so, but when I finished this book, the first thing I felt was proud. Proud that there's people out there that are still, and will for as long as they can, fighting for the animals. People who know that animals need to be as equal as us and it's honestly so heartwarming to know that.

I hope that this book gets read by everyone, so that people can learn to understand why we need to help animals before it's too late.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A couple of years ago, I read an article in the New York Times about a researcher who had trained dogs to lie completely still in an MRI machine so her could do functional MRI (fMRI) scans on their brains. Of course, I was fascinated and couldn't wait for more information to be published. This book relates how Dr. Berns and his associates taught a small coterie of dogs to lie still and accept the MRI tube, as well the tests and the results. He also discusses fMRI brain scans of other mammals that he's undertaken, notably several dolphin species and the extinct Tasmanian tiger (the thylacine). Absolutely fascinating, especially the section on the thylacine. But I'd have to disagree with the title--just because canine and human brains may process information apparently the same way in the same cranial anatomy doesn't mean that I know what a dog feels when it sees the same image that I do. All of this is very valuable science, and it underscores how arrogant humans have been for a long time, assuming they were the only sentient beings who could think and process information. But I still don't know what it's like to be one of my dogs and live their life and experience their world, much as I'd like to. Excellent, well written and very readable, even for non-scientists (there's not much jargon), with a tantalizing philosophical question at the end. I'd recommend it to dog lovers and anyone interested in science and nature.

Also: no typos, formatting issues, etc. Photos reproduced fine on a Kindle (although I wish I'd read it on my laptop to see the brain scans in color, if they're published that way)

I was very intrigued when I read the synopsis for this non-fiction book, as I work in veterinary medicine myself and am always keen to read about research and new insights into things as obscure as the brain and the mind. Though this title is a bit misleading (as one review on GoodReads used as the excuse to downrate!) I was not bothered in the slightest by the fact that - besides the information about dogs - there were also many interesting and until now unknown facts and research done in other species. Apart from the chapter about the brains setup and how it works, which took some more attention even for me who is already familiar with the basics, the rest of the book was a very easy read. I love the inclusion of pictures of the dogs and the brains. I liked that, while we cannot answer the question posed fully, we can use it to think about how we treat animals, and that this message was conveyed in a very natural and non-preachy way in the final conclusion.

After the mission to kill Osama bin Laden was made public, neuroscientist Gregory Berns thought about Cairo, the dog who rappelled with his handler from a helicopter into the desert compound in Pakistan. If a dog could be trained in that context, surely Berns could train dogs to enter an MRI machine for a scan. The Dog Project was born. Starting with his dog Callie and using a mock MRI tube and coils, he began training dogs. The dogs were not sedated or restrained and were given the respect according to human subjects--the right to refuse, which some did.

Working with Peter Cook and other colleagues, Berns developed innovative and well-designed studies that revealed aspects of the dog's brain structure and provided insight into their mental processes. Investigating self-control, preferences, and even emotion recognition, over and over, Berns discovered that humans and dogs shared the same brain structures and that they functioned in the same way. Berns' interest in dog neuroscience extended to other animals as well. He scanned the brains of sea lions, dolphins, and Tasmanian devils and the extinct Tasmanian Tiger (thylacine). The results Berns shares here provide insight not just into dog neurology, consciousness, and behavior, but into other animals as well, including human animals. We are much more similar than different, and, as Berns anticipated, the "inevitable" result of the studies is a necessary questioning of how we use and abuse animals and their habitats.

I loved <em>What It's Like to Be a Dog</em>, thought I have to admit that this book appeals to my interests as a dog guardian, animal lover, and animal rights supporter. Even if you do not fall into all or even one of these categories, the book is worth reading. While I thought this might be a rather light-hearted summary of Bern's research, I was proven wrong. I learned so much about brain structure and function across species. Though the concepts are complicated, Berns writes in an engaging and straightforward manner that make the scientific descriptions easy to follow. Berns summarizes his own research which is innovative and well-designed, and the book itself is well-researched, drawing on the most recent studies. While Berns is excellent recounting the science, he is at his best when describing the dogs who participated in the research. His love for them is clear, and there's nothing I love more than someone who loves dogs.

Berns' concludes that research has not yet show that animals are self-aware, but there is no question they are sentient, and he criticizes how we approach animals as property. His analysis only supports my personal beliefs, but this may be controversial for some readers who have a utilitarian approach to the use of animals in research and food production. Although this is definitely a science book, it is completely relatable, and more than once, I was brought to tears. A description of the last Tasmanian Tiger's final days in an Australian zoo absolutely gutted me, and I had to skip a few paragraph when Berns recounts his experience at his medical school's dog lab.

The book is illustrated with photographs of the MRI dogs in action as well as some of the brain scans, the former adorable and the latter intriguing. I did wish that there had been an diagram showing the regions of the brain since Berns often referred to different areas. With the title and cover image, I was primed for a book on dogs, so I was surprised to read about sea lions and marsupials, but I welcomed the perspective these studies provided.

Whether you love dogs, enjoy reading about cutting-edge science, or are an animal rights advocate, you should read <em>What It's Like to Be a Dog</em>. You will learn as much about your own brain as about those of our animal relatives.

Fascinating this book really made me think about animals differently. The research Berns describes here focuses on neuroscience, specifically scanning brains with MRI, and he's not interested so much in what human activities animals are able to do (language, music, etc.) so much as how the animals experience doing these things.

What a great science book! I was attracted by the cover and by the synopsis and all my expectations were met.
It's a fantastic travel into the animal mind and how it work.
The style of writing and case illustrated are clear and easy to understand making this book a great educational text.
Highly recommended to animal lovers and people interested in neuroscience.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A DOG is a totally delightful and fascinating book by Gregory Berns, Emory University Professor of Psychology, and a guy who loves his dog Callie so much that it led to this research.

Named one of the "TEN BEST SCIENCE BOOKS OF 2017" by Smithsonian, Berns’ book shares his groundbreaking research using MRI brain scanning to determine how dogs think, feel, use language, and take in their world. He learned that dogs’ emotions are similar to ours, as he trained canines to lie still ... voluntarily ... in MRI machines while he scanned to explore their brain function.

In an interview with Marc Bekoff for Psychology Today, Berns said, “What started with two dogs grew to almost 100, and we began discovering things about how dogs’ minds work. So, much of my new book is about what we discovered. And not just about dogs — about other animals, too.”

Berns and his team went on to scan the brains of autopsied dolphins, sea lions, raccoons and even an extinct Tasmanian tiger to extend his understanding of animal neuroscience.

He explained, "The overarching theme is that we see startling similarities in how animals’ brains function. This means that all animals — whether dog or human — have many neural processes in common. So when we see the same part of a dog’s brain active as a human’s under similar conditions, the implication is that the dog is experiencing something very similar to us. Also, just like humans, we see tremendous variation in these responses from one dog to another. This means that dogs, like humans, are individuals. We are quickly moving beyond the question of “what it’s like to be a dog” to “what it’s like to be that dog.”
  
As Bekoff concludes after his discussion with Berns, "All in all, based on neuroimaging and other research, we can now learn what each individual animal wants and needs to have the best life possible in a human-centered world, and what we must do to make sure they do."

What It's Like to Be a Dog is highly recommended for those who love animals, are interested in neuroscience or just want an absorbing read. 5/5

Pub Date 02 Oct 2018

Thanks to Perseus Books, Basic Books and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#WhatIt'sLikeToBeAdog #NetGalley

Thinking Like Animals = Better Communications?

What It’s Like To Be A Dog is all over the place. Gregory Berns is passionate about dogs, but his life is neurological investigation. He uses various flavors of MRI to examine and record the brains of all kinds of animals. He has gone to the point of obtaining the pickled brains of extinct animals to scan and analyze. Several chapters deal with his adventures in bureaucracy, trying to borrow the brains and figure out how they worked. Far more than dogs, that is what the book is about.

He does keep coming back to dogs, though. Berns and company devised numerous experiments to see if dogs could pass tests that two year old humans ace. Importantly, this is not to prove humans are smarter, but to see how much dogs process their own observations. He patiently trains the dogs to enter and stay in MRI machines, despite the enclosure and the racket, and to follow directions. It means endless repetitions in dry runs. The idea is to find out if dogs can transfer their attention as directed. Or what has priority: praise or food? In that way, we might understand how dogs think.

Dogs don’t think in labels like humans do. Humans have a name for every little thing. Dogs don’t care. For example, given a choice to pick out a close substitute for a specifically named toy, a dog will look at shape last. It will first look for substitutes of the same general size, and then of the same texture, the very opposite of what humans would do. That should color how we think about communicating with dogs.

Dogs are not about things; they are about actions. They will follow instructions to do things all day long. But telling them to select an object by name shows most unsatisfactory results. Dogs expect/hope that commands are for actions. If we can change our approach to recognize that bias, perhaps we can communicate better with them, Berns says.

There are a bunch of fascinating sidelights, too. Dolphins, another subject of brains scans, process sound over 100 times faster than humans. Sound travels at 3355 mph under water (Sound travels at 768 mph in the air), so fast that it is near useless to use slow, low level sounds which echo back all at the same time. Dolphins instead employ high pitched sounds in the range of 100 KHz. Meanwhile, humans can only hear up to about 20 Khz, and dogs 40 Khz. Dolphins hear through their jaws, and can distinguish objects a fraction of a millimeter that way. They are far more accurate hearing than humans are with sight.

The book ends in a totally unexpected way, totally unconnected to the title. Berns is a big animal rights activist. He has the greatest respect for them, and pushes to end the suffering humans inflict on them. He goes on for pages about Dog Lab in med school and how he regrets it. He also sees the decline and fall of humans, as DNA editing will allow custom humans to be produced at will.

This is a wild conclusion to a book that already has relatively little to do with the title. It shows Berns to be a multifaceted scientist with a lot of heart. But it’s not really about what it’s like to be a dog.

David Wineberg

In a manner as convenient as possible to dogs with the available technologies, Berns sets out to further unravel the mysteries of the animal mind (dogs, in particular): How's their sense of self? To what degree do they make a choice out of free will? Do they really love you, or do they just associate you with food? Those kinds of things.

There are other books in this same arena that I've either heard of or read sections of---ones that put (or try their best to put) you in the position of an animal. If those books are the 101 course, then consider this a 201. You're a little deeper into the inner workings of the brain, what (or what we think) does what, and why that matters. When other books would say, "Yeah, that's just something they don't have," Berns explains it out a little more. Some might glaze over during the explanations; others might rejoice. You probably know which one you are before you turn over the first page.

The books's biggest pro, oddly enough, might be its biggest con: The transparency of the material that Berns is presenting, and the amount thereof. As you would imagine a person trained in the scientific method would conduct himself, we're treated to the good, the bad, and the ugly in regards to his (not cruel at all) experiments on dogs and formerly-living animals. He practically flays himself open in this manner, giving you details you might consider as supremely superfluous/yawn-worthy; on the flip-side, however, the reader is given stupendous insight into the steps, the process, and the splendor that comes when usable data is obtained. For a reader desperately wanting to get to the subject matter on the book cover, frustration might set in when a few detour chapters are taken to explain moments in evolution and the brain, using two examples.

In a book all-but-advertised to show what it's like to be in the head of a dog, there's really not much to glean about, well, what it's like to be in the head of a dog. Is there progress shown? You betcha. Will you learn something? I sure hope so, because the information's there. There's no mic-drop moment here, yeah, but Berns, with one hell of a last-third-of-a-book that reveals much of his reasoning for doing this research (along with a terrible memory he was kind enough to share), draws out what we know, what we think we know, and what we should one day know.

Animal lovers (dogs and otherwise) can hope to gain some insight and knowledge here.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Perseus Books, and Basic Books for the advance read.

I really like this kind of stuff- of course I was attracted by the title, pretty much anything animal catches my eye.

I also love neuroscience, as much as anyone really knows about it. The combination of the science with brain processing, for dogs and others, is really fascinating and I think helps me love the critters even more.

Not limited to only dogs, others as well.

Really nice read.

This book was a very interesting read. I am a psychology major, so found the information on the ways that various animals' brains work to be quite interesting. That being said, I think that this book should have a different title to include the fact that it discusses brain function for more than just dogs. I felt like information on dogs actually took up less of the book than all of the other animals did. I am still giving it 4 stars because it was a fascinating read. I just couldn't get past the title.