Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals

Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals

Selected Book Details

  • Paperback
  • Edition: Reprint
  • Author: Temple Grandin, Catherine Johnson
  • Publisher: Mariner Books
  • Release Date: January 2010
  • ISBN-10: 0547248237
  • ISBN-13: 9780547248233
  • List Price: $15.95

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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon

Summary

How can we give animals the best life-- for them? What does an animal need to be happy?
In her groundbreaking, best-selling book Animals in Translation, Temple Grandin drew on her own experience with autism as well as her experience as an animal scientist to deliver extraordinary insights into how animals think, act, and feel. Now she builds on those insights to show us how to give our animals the best and happiest life-- on their terms, not ours.
Knowing what causes animals physical pain is usually easy, but pinpointing emotional distress is much harder. Drawing on the latest research and her own work, Grandin identifies the core emotional needs of animals and then explains how to fulfill the specific needs of dogs and cats, horses, farm animals, zoo animals, and even wildlife. Whether it’s how to make the healthiest environment for the dog you must leave alone most of the day, how to keep pigs from being bored, or how to know if the lion pacing in the zoo is miserable or just exercising, Grandin teaches us to challenge our assumptions about animal contentment and honor our bond with our fellow creatures.

Animals Make Us Human is the culmination of almost thirty years of research, experimentation, and experience. This is essential reading for anyone who’s ever owned, cared for, or simply cared about an animal.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5

Recognizing Toil

Rating: Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5

Oh Temple Grandin, though you have created another masterpiece in our shared awareness toward animals, where is your reference to Donkeys? A largely unrecognized and hugely important animal who is noble, intelligent, and humble. I recommend to you Andy Merrifield's book, "The Wisdom of Donkeys: Finding Tranquility in a Chaotic World". Get to know a Donkey, their dignity amidst the folly of humans will astound you!

Walk in Beauty
Go in Grace

Jenny B.

Interesting read

Rating: Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4

I'm not sure what role the co-author played (Catherine Johnson), but the book's strong suit is Gradin's command of scientific literature on animal behavior. Her areas of expertise are really livestock, though the chapters on domestic pets (dogs and cats) may be of most interest to most readers. (I'm surprised there isn't a chapter devoted to sheep and/or goats.) On p. 5, she states "all animals and people have the same core emotion systems in the brain," and then discusses the core emotions of SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, PANIC & PLAY in subsequent chapters on various animal groups (other core emotions--LUST, CARE--aren't focused on). Despite her work for the meat industry, Grandin has probably single-handedly done more to promote quality-of-life for livestock than any animal rights' organization. She recognizes the contradiction and moves on. Whatever the case, this is an important work that is not an easy read but worth the effort. The author seeks to understand the emotional life of animals through the filter of her autism and scientific literature, making for a fascinating read.

Everything old is new again

Rating: Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3

This is the second book by this author I have purchased and read. This one is very much a rehash of "Animals in Translation" and had very, very little new information in it. Chapters on zoos and wildlife are interesting, but not really worth buying the book if you've read the other title. All in all it was just OK.

This will change the way you look at dog behaviors!

Rating: Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5

I believe that I have read all of Dr. Grandin's previous books, however this to me is the best one yet! As someone who nearly never marks up a book, my copy of Animals Make Us Human has now set the record for my most folded, underlined and highlighted so far!

Dr. Grandin provides numerous "ah-HAH" moments......presenting us with ideas where you immediately feel its' truth.

As an example, I've never been able to buy into the "alpha-dog" concept presented in so many dog training books and popular TV shows. Employing domination techniques (and especially an "alpha-roll") is counter-intuitive when I look into the eyes of my canine friends.

Dr. Grandin cites studies of wolves in their natural environment that indicate that, "In the wild, wolves don't live in wolf packs, and they don't have an alpha male who fights the other wolves to maintain his dominance. Our whole image of wolf packs is completely wrong. Instead, wolves live in the way people do: in families made up of a mom, a dad, and their children."

To some, the difference between an alpha male and a father may not seem so significant, but to me it makes all the difference in the world. It's the difference between a relationship based in dominance and aggression and one based on love and mutual respect.

For all serious students of our relationship with dogs this is not only a "must read", but a "must read twice"!

Interesting and debatable concepts

Rating: Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3

Ms. Grandins' ideas are thought provoking. As a dog trainer I also question her ideas. One such idea is that dogs just want to make us happy.Particularly the dog that brought the leash to his owner and bent his head down to have his collar put on. She said the dog trained himself to do this because it made his owner happy. I would say that this is a case of Premack theory. Would the dog sit by his owner if he had to have ear medicine put in his ear if the dog hated it??? That would make an owner happy!! I enjoyed the book but I would have liked Ms. Grandin next to me to debate some of her theories and ideas.