When I sat down to read Why We Love the Dogs We Do, I expected a "how-to" book on choosing the right dog. What I discovered was a book more about people than about dogs. If you're interested in psychology and enjoy reading biographies of famous people -- as well as liking dogs -- you'll love this book. If you're just looking for information, you won't.

Human psychologist Stanley Coren explains the four different dimensions of human personality: extroversion, dominance, trust and warmth with a test you can take to see where you fit on each of the four scales.

Meanwhile, working with other dog behaviour experts, animal behaviourist Stanley Coren has regrouped dog breeds into seven categories based on personality traits: friendly, protective, independent, self-assured, consistent, steady and clever. He then shows which group of dog is most suitable for which human personality type -- and which personality types shouldn't have dogs at all.

What makes the book unique and particularly interesting is that Coren illustrates the matches with biographical sketches of famous people and their dogs. Several US president, authors John Steinbeck, Eugene O'Neill, Lord Byron and Emily Bronte, historical figures Queen Victoria and Napoleon, and artists Picasso and Emily Carr are just some of the famous people included. In addition to the extended biographical anecdotes, Chapter 17 lists breeds of dogs from the seven groups and famous people who have owned them.

If you're looking for a straight-forward, quick-fix "how-to" book, you'll probably find Coren's work a little long. But if you're looking to expand your understanding of people and their relationships with dogs, don't miss it. Along the way, you'll find out which dogs you should have, and looking back on the dogs in your life, perhaps realize why one particular dog was the perfect companion or a constant challenge.

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Chapter Titles

Loving and Hating Dogs
Can You Love Dogs and Still Love People?
The Image Dogs Create
Do You Look Like Your Dog
A Personality Primer
A New Dog Classification Method
Measuring Your Personality
Dogs for Extroverted and Introverted People
Dogs for Dominant and Not-So-Dominant People
Dogs for Trusting and Controlling People
Dogs for Warm and Cool People
One Size Fits All
No Dogs at All
The Cat People
Putting It All Together
The Right and the Wrong Dog
The Chosen Dogs
Appendices
How the Statistics Were Done for This Book
The Breed Groups

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