The top Frans de Waal books for dog owners to read
Spoiler: He's my favorite author and ethologist
If you follow our Instagram, it’s no secret I’ve become something of a Frans de Waal fan girl. I first stumbled upon the Dutch ethologist’s work while picking up other holds from our local library, and within the first 100 pages of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are I’d declared it my new favorite book.
It’s yet to be usurped.
While De Waal is first and foremost a primatologist, his ideas have strengthened my relationship with my cattle dog—and rekindled my childhood fascination with the animal kingdom in general.
Here’s a look at the top three Frans de Waal books I think dog owners should consider reading! (If you’re interested in a broader list of my book recommendations, check out this article.)
1. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are
I like to joke that this book has become my bible. I’m only half kidding.
What it’s about
De Waal’s discussion of evolutionary cognition offers insights ranging from the number of animals who use tools or practice mental time travel to the value of respecting different types of specialized intelligence and more. It’s full of engaging anecdotes and grounded in reputable research.
How does Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are apply to dog owners?
This book encouraged me to push past strict behaviorism to see the animals around me less as a mere product of reinforcement or punishment and more as fellow creatures.
This theme meshed well with my passion for play and recent thoughts on hand feeding and inspired an entire article imagining my dog’s “umwelt”.
I enjoyed Matthew Cobb’s a review of De Waal’s 2016 work. Here’s an excerpt that sums up many of my own feelings:
“De Waal’s holistic and empathetic approach to animals contrasts starkly with the arid dead end of BF Skinner’s behaviourism, which dominated studies of animal behaviour in the second half of the 20th century and banished all talk of feelings or mind, looking instead at learned behavioural responses. If you are at all interested in what it is to be an animal, human or otherwise, you should read this book.”
— Matthew Cobb
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are details
2. Mama’s Last Hug
What it’s about
As Barbara J. King says, in this book “De Waal firmly puts to rest the stubborn notion that humans alone in the animal kingdom experience a broad array of emotions [through colorful stories and riveting prose].”
How does Mama’s Last Hug apply to dog owners?
One of the most helpful things De Waal talks about in both Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are and Mama’s Last Hug is the balance of anthropomorphism (ascribing human characteristics to non-human animals) and anthropodenial (denying human traits) necessary to really understand the creatures around us.
This book is particularly centered around that theme. As owners it’s easy to look at our dogs, feel connected with them, and believe that they have emotions—and it’s even better to be able to think about how our companions might really experience those emotions and where they come from.
Mama’s Last Hug details
3. The Age of Empathy
What it’s about
While already over a decade old by the time I read it, De Waal’s 2009 work still resonated with me. He discusses his definition of empathy and explores how it comes naturally to a great variety of animals (yes, including us humans).
How does The Age of Empathy apply to dog owners?
I’d say The Age of Empathy has fewer direct applications to life with dogs than the previously mentioned books. If your primary goal is to think differently about your canine companion, I’d start with Are We Smart Enough and Mama’s Last Hug.
With that said: This work is definitely still impactful. Not only did it help me think more critically about social animals and the drives we develop, it also inspired reflection on the way I interact with my fellow humans (particularly when it comes to stressful dog-ownership events like being charged by off-leash dogs or feeling compelled to judge someone else’s choices).
The Age of Empathy details
We can find value in so many places
Of course Frans de Waal’s books aren’t written explicitly for dog owners like some other titles are. And of course they aren’t perfect—I don’t agree with every sentiment, every extrapolation, every last word. But when it comes to being better for our dogs, there is so much value in opening ourselves up to broader sources of information.
A primatologist has taught me more about life with my canine than many professional trainers I’ve encountered.