What's a Dog For?: The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man's Best Friend

Written by John Homans

Narrated by Don Hagen

John Homans adopted his dog, Stella, from a shelter for all the usual reasons: fond memories of dogs from his past, a companion for his son, an excuse for long walks around the neighborhood. Soon enough, she is happily ensconced in the daily workings of his family. And not only that: Stella is treated like a family member—in ways that dogs of his youth were not. Spending humanlike sums on vet bills, questioning her diet and exercise regimens, contemplating her happiness—how had this all come to pass, when the dogs from Homans’s childhood seemed quite content living mostly out in the yard?

In What’s a Dog For?, Homans explores the dog’s complex and prominent place in our world and how it came to be. Evolving from wild animals to working animals to nearly human members of our social fabric, dogs are now the subject of serious scientific studies concerning pet ownership, evolutionary theory, and even cognitive science. From new insights into what makes dogs so appealing to humans to the health benefits associated with owning a dog, Homans investigates why the human-canine relationship has evolved so rapidly—how dogs moved into our families, our homes, and sometimes even our beds in the span of a generation, becoming a $53 billion industry in the United States in the process.

As dogs take their place as coddled family members and their numbers balloon to more than seventy-seven million in the United States alone, it’s no surprise that canine culture at large is also undergoing a massive transformation. They are now subject to many of the same questions of rights and ethics as people, and the politics of dogs are more tumultuous and public than ever— with fierce moral battles raging over kill shelters, puppy mills, and breed standards. Incorporating interviews and research from scientists, activists, breeders, and trainers, What’s a Dog For? investigates how dogs have reached this exalted status and why they hold such fascination for us. With one paw in the animal world and one paw in the human world, it turns out they have much to teach us about love, death, and morality—and ultimately, in their closeness and difference, about what it means to be human.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Nov 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469085746

Reviews for What's a Dog For?

[fence_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nothing I hadn't heard before unfortunately

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this book, the author looks at various aspects of the history of dogs and dog-human relationships. Some of the topics include evolution, dog behaviour (also compared to other animals), breeds, rescues, etc.

I quite liked this. Despite being an audio book, I was kept interested (though apparently, I don’t have much to mention in my review!).

[liscarey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There's a lot of interesting material here, and yet in the end I am deeply frustrated with this book.

Homans gathers together in highly readable form much of the most recent research on dogs, their ancestors, and their relationship with us. Teasing out the history of dogs, just barely genetically different from wolves, has been a tricky business, not least because early dogs and proto-dog wolves would not have been physically different from their wolf relatives in any way that shows up in the fossil record. It's a fascinating story, and almost as fascinating is the story of how hard it has been to get any real research on dogs. Dogs, you see, were until the last couple of decades too mundane and familiar for research on them to be "respectable." Homans has studied the research, interviewed the researchers, and attended the academic conferences, and has a lot of good information to impart.

So what's my complaint? Homans clearly feels he's way too smart and sophisticated to be one of us crazy dog lovers, even though yes, he has a dog whom he loves dearly. Dogs, we are told, are kitsch. Not just the subject of a lot of kitschy art, but kitsch themselves, because their emotions are simple and basic, compared to ours. Dogs' status in our lives is as "honorary humans." That's the only explanation for why we don't treat them like chickens. The possibility that we could connect with dogs as individuals and incorporate them into our lives because, especially for early humanity, they were useful partners and continue to have useful, practical roles to play in the modern world, as well as having been heavily selected over those thousands of years (at least ten thousand, possibly much longer) to fit in with and respond to humans--that we might mesh well socially with them while still recognizing them as dogs and not humans, seems to be unimaginable for Mr. Homans.

In addition, Mr. Homans seems to have swallowed whole a lot of PETA propaganda and not really looked at objective information. A few of the Vick dogs are permanently in sanctuary--but the overwhelming majority of them have been successfully placed in pet homes where they are happy and loved. Several are therapy dogs. One of them now has a career in law enforcement. There's nothing overly sentimental or silly about insisting that all dogs be individually evaluated, rather than declared excess solely on the basis of breed and possible bad prior experiences. There are also successful, effective, open admission No Kill shelters in every part of the country, for a total of well over fifty and still counting. Some dogs coming into shelter will always need to be euthanized for health or behavior reasons, but communities that commit themselves to it can save all the dogs who are at all suitable as pets. Dogs don't have to be killed merely because "there are too many dogs." And the transport rescues he agonizes over, and from on of whom his own dog, the Lab mix Stella, comes, are a part of the challenging puzzle of getting dogs from where they are to where the right homes for them are. Finally, Nathan Winograd, whom Mr. Homans clearly regards as a starry-eyed yet inflammatory fool, has actually turned a high-kill shelter into a no-kill shelter. He's really done the job, rather than just pontificating about how it's impossible.

Do I regret reading this book? No. It has some great information and is well-written. It is not, however, one of the great dog books of our time.

I bought this book.

[rdra1962 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author, executive editor of New York magazine adopts Stella, a lab mix from a shelter and starts to wonder....An overview of the history, science and anecdotal research about dogs and their relationship to humans. I have read many of the theories covered in this book, but it is interesting to see them pitted against each other and to see how differing the scientific theories can be. The chapters contrasting the views of east/west coast (pampered family members) vs flyover states' (possessions, at best) on pet ownership are a bit disheartening and help explain why so many rescue dogs are from the central and southern states. The chapter about the Westminster Dog Show and the evolution of purebreds was quite disturbing, and I loved the recounting of how Jemima Harrison's 2008 documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed has forced (kicking and screaming) the Kennel Club and the AKC to deal with the horrific suffering that inbreeding for purebreds causes. Homans loves Stella, she is a part of the family, he just wants to know how that came to be. Why is dog ownership so different now compared to other times in history or other parts of the country/the world?

Having grown up with dogs, I frequently find myself longing for another one - a big, wolf-like real dog. It is an ongoing argument I have been having with myself for years. Since I also plan to live in the city, Chapter 9 - The Wolves that Came in from the Cold, has finally settled that argument for me.
If you love dogs you will want to read this book.

[bereanna · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I did not finish this one. The title's question did not seem to be answered. It was August 2015's OLLI nonfiction bookclub choice.

[kaymackey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Disclosure: I received a free copy of What's a Dog For? The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man's Best Friend by John Homans via GoodReads First Reads, courtesy of Penguin Press.

What's a Dog For? is a blend of a touching story about the author's love for his own rescued dog, a Lab mix named Stella, a history of dogs as pets, a lengthy speculation on intelligence and empathy in dogs and other companion animals, and a discussion of the ethics of animal rescue. As it might sound, this mashup of subject matter and attempt to mix personal tales with a somewhat subjective history of dog ownership fails to create a truly cohesive narrative that would satisfy either fans of cute animal stories or those interested in a more factual account of dog and human relationships through time. Despite this, and the owner's obvious personal bias against the purebred "dog fancy," this book will appeal to many dog lovers who can't get enough true-life pet stories and will doubtlessly lap it up.

[annbury_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thought provoking look at the Modern Dog: where it came from, how we treat it, and -- though the question is never really answered -- what it is for. Mr. Homans has a lot of material on the newly emerging subsector of animal behavior studies that focusses on dogs. He also has an enlightening -- and disturbing -- section on the background of most modern dog breeds. This is much less in the mists of the deep past than many dog owners like to think, and much more in the breeding programs of Victorian dog fanciers. Then, he proceeds to discuss the change in attitudes towards dog rescue and in the practices of dog rescue: much progress has been made, but much is still needed. All in all, a worthwhile book, though those who love a certain breed of dog (like me) may find it distressing. Lab devotees will be an exception -- he has a lot in here on the source and virtues of the Lab.

[gwendydd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting examination of the relationship between humans and dogs. Homans provides a history of domestication and breeding of dogs, and some fascinating recent research on dog cognition and communication which brings up just as many questions about human brains as it does about dog brains. The book is a survey, so I can't really criticize it for not being something it isn't meant to be, but I wish the book had gone into more depth about just about everything it covered.