Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition [Elektronisk resurs]

Böcker. Oxford : Oxford University Press. 2007.

The main aim of this book is to provide a basis for a complete dog behavioural biology based on concepts derived from contemporary ethology. Thus, dog behaviour is viewed from both functional (evolution and ecology) and mechanistic and developmental points of view. The study of dogs is placed in a comparative context which involves comparison with their ancestors (wolves), as well as with humans with which dogs share their present environment. Instead of advocating a single theory which would explain the emergence of dogs during the last 20,000 years of human evolution, this book gives an overview of present knowledge which has been collected by scientists from various fields. It aims to find novel ways to increase our understanding of this complex evolutionary process by combining different methods originating from different scientific disciplines. This is facilitated by describing complementing knowledge provided by various field of science, including zooarchaeology, cognitive and comparative ethology, human-animal interaction, behaviour genetics, behavioural physiology and development, and behavioural ecology. This interdisciplinary approach to the study of dogs deepens our biological understanding of dog behaviour, but also utilizes this knowledge to reveal secrets to behavioural evolution in general, even with special reference to the human species.
CH. 1 Dogs in historical perspective, and conceptual issues of the study of their behaviour -- CH. 2 Methodological issues in the behavioural study of the dog -- CH. 3 Dogs in anthropogenic environments: society and family -- CH. 4 A comparative approach to Canis -- CH. 5 Domestication -- CH. 6 The perceptual world of the dog -- CH. 7 Physical-ecological cognition -- CH. 8 Social cognition -- CH. 9 Development of behaviour -- CH. 10 Temperament and personality -- CH. 11 Afterword: heading towards 21st-century science
Electronic reproduction.