DogSense:HowtheNewScienceofDogBehaviourCanMakeYouaBetterFriendtoYourPet.
《狗的心灵世界：狗类行为科学新发展让你更加走进爱犬的内心世界》
ByJohnBradshaw.BasicBooks;324pages;$25.99.PublishedinBritainasInDefenceofDogs:WhyDogsNeedOurUnderstanding.AllenLane;20.BuyfromAmazon.com,Amazon.co.uk
作者：约翰布拉德肖;BasicBooks出版社出版;324页;售价25.99美元;英国出版名为《为狗辩护：为何狗需要我们的理解》;Allenlane出版社出版;售价20英镑。本书也可在Amazon.com,Amazon.co.uk购得。
THErelationshipbetweenpeopleanddogsisunique.Amongdomesticatedanimals,onlydogsarecapableofperformingsuchawidevarietyofrolesforhumans:herdingsheep,sniffingoutdrugsorexplosivesandbeingourbelovedcompanions.Itishardtobepreciseaboutwhenthefriendshipbegan,butareasonableguessisthatithasbeengoingstrongformorethan20,000years.IntheChauvetcaveintheArdcheregionofFrance,whichcontainstheearliestknowncavepaintings,thereisa50-metretrailoffootprintsmadebyaboyofabouttenalongsidethoseofalargecanidthatappearstobepart-wolf,part-dog.Thefootprints,whichhavebeendatedbysootdepositedfromthetorchthechildwascarrying,areestimatedtobeabout26,000yearsold.
人狗关系可谓独一无二。在各种家畜中，只有狗可为人类担负如此多重任：看护羊群，搜寻毒品、炸药，做我们的挚爱伙伴。人类与狗之间的友情很难精确追根溯源，一种比较合理的说法是2万多年前开始，这种友情就开始逐渐深厚了。法国阿尔代什省的萧维岩洞中保存着迄今为止最早的岩洞壁画，岩洞中有一串50米长的约十岁男孩的脚印，旁边还有一串半狼半狗的大型犬类的脚印。从男孩所持火把掉落的灰尘来看，这些脚印是在约2万6千年前留下的。
Thefirstproto-dogsprobablyremainedfairlyisolatedfromeachotherforseveralthousandyears.Astheybecameprogressivelymoredomesticatedtheymovedwithpeopleonlarge-scalemigrations,mixingtheirgeneswithothersimilarlydomesticatedcreaturesandbecomingincreasinglydog-likeintheprocess.ForJohnBradshaw,abiologistwhofoundedtheanthrozoologydepartmentattheUniversityofBristol,havingsomeideaabouthowdogsgottobedogsisthefirststagetowardsgainingabetterunderstandingofwhatdogsandpeoplemeantoeachother.Partofhisagendaistoexplodethemanymythsabouttheclosenessofdogstowolvesandthemistakesthatthishasledto,especiallyinthetrainingofdogsoverthepastcenturyorso.
狗最早的祖先们相互之间并无太多交集，这种情况很可能持续了数千年。随着驯化程度越来越高，它们随人类进行大迁移，并同其他驯化的动物进行交配，狗的特征逐渐明显。约翰布拉德是布里斯托尔大学人与动物关系学院的创始人，对这位生物学家来说，了解狗如何演变为狗是更好地研究人类与狗关系的第一步。书中，他想要打破关于狗狼近亲的种种谬论以及由此而导致的错误做法，尤其是过去约一世纪中人类对狗的驯化问题。
Oneideahasgoverneddogtrainingforfartoolong,MrBradshawsays.Wolfpacksaresupposedlydespotichierarchiesdominatedbyalphawolves.Dogsarebelievedtobehaveinthesamewayintheirdealingswithhumans.Thustrainingadogeffectivelybecomesacontestfordominanceinwhichtherecanbeonlyonewinner.Toachievethisthetrainermustuseavarietyofpunishmenttechniquestogainthedogssubmissiontohismastery.Justlettingadogpassthroughadoorbeforeyouorstandonthestairsaboveyouistoriskencouragingittobelievethatitisgettingtheupperhandoveryouandtherestofthehousehold.MrBradshawarguesthatthetheorybehindthisapproachisbasedonbadandoutdatedscience.
布拉德肖说，长期以来一种观点指导着狗的驯化。一般认为，狼群内部等级森严，头狼具有绝对领导权，狗在与人类相处时，这一点也与狼相同。于是训狗实际就成了一场领导权的竞争，最后只有一个胜者，要么人胜，要么狗胜。为赢得这场竞争，人类必须用各种惩罚手段使狗对自己服服帖帖。例如，若允许狗在你之前进门或上台阶就会让狗觉得自己可凌驾于你和家人之上。布拉德肖认为这种训狗方式背后的指导思想是过时的谬误理论。
Dogsshare99.6%ofthesameDNAaswolves.Thatmakesdogsclosertowolvesthanwearetochimps,butitdoesnotmeanthattheirbrainsworklikethoseofwolves.Indeed,theoutgoingaffabilityofmostdogstowardshumansandotherdogsisinsharpcontrasttothemixoffearandaggressionwithwhichwolvesreacttoanimalsfromotherpacks.Domesticationhasbeenalongandcomplexprocess,MrBradshawwrites.Everydogalivetodayisaproductofthistransition.Whatwasonceanotheroneofthewildsocialcanids,thegreywolf,hasbeenalteredradically,tothepointthatithasbecomeitsownuniqueanimal.Ifanything,dogsresemblejuvenileratherthanfullyadultcanids,asortofarresteddevelopmentwhichaccountsforthewaytheyremaindependentontheirhumanownersthroughouttheirlives.
狗和狼的DNA相似度高达99.6%，这样狗与狼的相似度甚至比人与大猩猩还要高。但这并不意味着狗和狼大脑运作方式相同。实际上，狗对人类和其同类都友好和善，与狼对本群之外的其他动物怀有的恐惧和攻击心理形成鲜明对比。布拉德肖说在书中写道：驯化是一个漫长复杂的过程，如今每一只狗都是这个过程的产物。比如灰狼曾经是一种野外群居犬科动物，现在已经在这个过程中彻底改变，形成了一种新的独特物种。如果说狗与犬科动物确有相似性，那么也只是像未成年而非成年犬科动物。这种类似发育停滞的现象可以解释狗为何一生都如此依赖主人。
Butwhatmakesthedog-wolfparadigmespeciallymisleading,MrBradshawargues,isthatuntilrecently,thestudiesofwolveswereofthewrongwolvesinextremelyartificialconditions.Inthewild,wolfpackstendtobemadeupofclosefamilymembersrepresentinguptothreegenerations.Thefatherandmotherofthefirstlotofcubsarethenaturalleadersofthepack,butthebehaviouralnormisoneofco-operationratherthandominationandsubmission.However,thewolvesonwhichbiologistsfoundedtheirconclusionsaboutdominancehierarchieswereanimalslivinginunnaturallyconstitutedgroupsincaptivity.MrBradshawsaysthatferalorvillagedogs,whicharemuchclosertotheancestorsofpetdogsthantheyaretowolves,arehighlytolerantofoneanotherandorganisethemselvesentirelydifferentlyfromeitherwildorcaptivewolves.
布拉德肖认为，近来某些研究中的狼都是生活在人工色彩极重的环境中的豢养狼，是不可以作为研究对象的，这让狗狼相似理论变得尤其具有误导性。野生狼群常常以数个家庭为单位，祖孙三代共同生活。第一窝狼崽的父母顺理成章地成为狼群领袖，但狼群之内行为模式是以合作为主的，而非统治与服从。然而生物学家关于狼群等级统治的结论是建立在非自然聚合的豢养狼群之上。布拉德肖说：同狼相比，野狗或者说土狗与如今宠物狗的祖先关系要近得多，野狗个体之间非常宽容，狗群的组织方式与野生和豢养的狼也完全不同。
Dogsarenotlikenicelybrought-upwolves,saystheauthor,noraretheymuchlikepeopledespitetheirextraordinaryabilitytoenterourlivesandourhearts.Thisisnottodenythatsomedogsareverycleverorthattheyarecapableoffeelingemotiondeeply.Buttheirintelligenceisdifferentfromours.Theideathatsomedogscanunderstandasmanywordsasatwo-year-oldchildissimplywrongandaninappropriatewayoftryingtomeasurecanineintellect.Rather,theiremotionalrangeismorelimitedthanours,partlybecause,withlittlesenseoftime,theyaretrappedalmostentirelyinthepresent.Dogscanexperiencejoy,anxietyandanger.Butemotionsthatdemandacapacityforself-reflection,suchasguiltorjealousy,arealmostcertainlybeyondthem,contrarytotheconvictionsofmanydogowners.
MrBradshawbelievesthatitisdifficultforpeopletoempathizewiththewayinwhichdogsexperienceandrespondtotheworldthroughtheirextraordinarysenseofsmell:theirsensitivitytoodoursisbetween10,000and100,000timesgreaterthanours.Anewlypaintedroommightbetortureforadog;ontheotherhand,theirolfactoryabilityandtheirtrainabilityallowdogstoperformalmostunimaginablefeats,suchassmellingtheearlystagesofacancerlongbeforeanormalmedicaldiagnosiswoulddetectit.
布拉德肖觉得，关于狗有一点人们很难理解，即狗靠其灵敏的嗅觉来体验周围世界并作出反应：狗的嗅觉灵敏度是人类的1万到10万倍。让狗呆在新粉刷的房屋里可能对它就是巨大的折磨;另一方面，狗的嗅觉敏锐度和高度可训练性让它们能够做到几乎无法想象的事情，例如早在医学诊断结果出来之前，狗就可以嗅出早期癌症。
Thelatestscientificresearchcanhelpdogsandtheirownershavehappier,healthierrelationshipsbyencouragingpeopletounderstanddogsbetter.ButMrBradshawisalsofearful.Inparticular,hedeplorestheincestuousnarrowingofthegenepoolthatmodernpedigreebreedershavebroughtabout.Dogstodayarerarelybredfortheirworkingabilities,butforaveryparticulartypeofappearance,whichinevitablyrisksthespreadofphysicalandtemperamentalabnormalities.Instead,hesuggeststhatdogsbebredfortheidealbehaviouraltraitsassociatedwiththeroletheywillactuallyplay.Healsoworriesthattheincreasingurbanisationofsocietyandthepressuresoncouplestoworklonghoursareputtingdogsunderhugestrain.Heestimatesthatabout20%ofBritains8mdogsandAmericas70msufferfromseparationdistresswhentheirownersleavethehouse,butarguesthatsensibletrainingcanteachthemhowtocope.
DogSenseisneitheramanualnorasentimentalaccountofthejoysofdog-ownership.Attimesitsrigorouslyresearch-ledapproachcanbeslightlyheavygoing.Afewmorejollyanecdotesmighthaveleavenedthemix.Butthisisawonderfullyinformative,quietlypassionatebookthatwillbenefiteverydogwhoseownerreadsit.
《狗的心灵世界》既非养狗手册亦非养狗之乐的温情系列。书中有的地方引用大量研究结果，读起来可能还有些费劲，如果书中再增加些趣事的话可能会让内容轻松一点。但不管怎样，本书是一本内容充实、充满热情又不失宁静的好书，读读这本书会让你的爱犬幸福无比的。