Book review: Listen to me! by Tricia Hollingshead

Recognizable? As a dog and book lover, you collect a large collection of books on your favorite subject over time, and the ‘still to read’ pile keeps getting bigger and bigger. If you recognize yourself in this, we can shake hands. My pile is huge! I decided to do something about that: finally start reading all those books that deserve to be read. And I decided that it would be fun to also write a review of those books I read.

The first book I read in my ‘mission’ was that of Tricia Hollingshead: ‘Listen to Me!, exploring the emotional life of dogs’. The book was released in 2020 in the English version that I read, but was also released in Dutch at the end of 2021 and can be purchased as such at Bol.com, among others, for €29.99.

First impression

The book contains 112 pages, and – as is indicated on the cover – more than 200 photos. On the back it is stated that the book contains ‘top quality’ photos, I think opinions on this will vary considerably. In addition to my work as a behavioral therapist, I am a dog photographer by profession, and I must say that I found many of the photos very small and anything but ‘top quality’. However, I must add: it is extremely difficult to capture subtle body language in a photo, so sometimes something is better than nothing.

Looking further at my first impression of the book, I must say that I really like the layout. A clear font has been chosen and the book is nice and large in size. I thought it was a bit thin considering the price, but the larger size and a slightly smaller font than I am used to in such books mean that a lot of information can still fit in it.

Content

The book starts with an introduction explaining the bond and cooperation between humans and dogs, domestication and the extent to which dogs depend on us. This is more than many of us sometimes think!

This is followed by an explanation of different situations our dogs can find themselves in, with increasingly escalating body language. The subtle signals are highlighted, but the signals that are more visible to us are also explained. Tricia writes about, among other things, the introduction of puppies to their new environment, dog-human relationships (do dogs really enjoy cuddling as much as we do?), play between humans and dogs, pain is discussed in detail, and she also talks extensively about emergence of undesirable behavior. Each section contains tips on how to deal with specific situations, after an extensive explanation of the different behaviors you can see in each situation.

Final verdict

Tricia has a nice writing style, the book is easy to read. Although many reference works are not really intended to be read cover to cover, but rather to specifically look up things in them, this book is ideal for that. I read it in one sitting!

By telling about different situations, explaining the different body language and also giving tips on what we can do to make such a situation easier for the dog, the book becomes really enjoyable and informative. Many people can write a simple summary of all possible body language in dogs, and I think translating it into contexts that are understandable and applicable to dog owners is great work.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about body language in dogs, whether you are a new dog owner or have had dogs for years. We never stop learning, right?

For the breeders among us: this book is a great one to include in the recommended reading list for puppy buyers!

I end this book review with my favorite statement from this book: ‘Enjoy is not the same as tolerate’. Something to think about!