A Dog's Best Friend In Why We Love the Dogs We Do, Stanley Coren provides a foolproof guide to understanding which dog will make the best lifetime companion. He brings together his expertise in the fields of human psychology and animal behavior to provide a completely new approach to the dog/human relationship. Working with a team of animal experts, Coren has identified seven groups of dogs based on characteristics such as friendliness, protectiveness, independence, and steadiness. Each group contains dogs from different breeds that share similar personality traits -- a unique departure from the familiar American Kennel Club breed groups. Perhaps even more fascinating are the results of Dr. Coren's extensive work matching human personality types with canine characteristics. Using his personality tests, anyone can determine which dog is the right match and which dog is almost certain to cause heartbreak. Rich in anecdotes and grounded in scientific study, Why We Love the Dogs We Do offers us the tools we need to find happiness in what can be among the most satisfying relationships of a lifetime. Michael Capuzzo USA Today Coren concocts nothing less than an entire classification system...based on personality. The book is filled with compelling stories. Ranny Green The Seattle Times Coren's newest work...may rank as dogs' best literary friend -- ever. Elizabeth Abbott The Globe and Mail (Toronto) All dog lovers should read Why We Love the Dogs We Do, and humane societies and breeders should adopt it as their bible. Stanley Coren an international authority on sidedness, is professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Born to Bark: My Adventures with an Irrepressible and Unforgettable Dog (2010), among other books. Chapter One Loving and Hating Dogs It was a hot day. The light wind off the Mediterranean Sea did little to cool the men, who were on their hands and knees. They were gently uncovering something buried in the sandy soil using small trowels and brushes. They were archaeologists, and the site that they were excavating was known as Ein Mallaha. It is located on the coast of what is now Israel and is one of the remains of many small villages that were built near the shore. The archaeologists call them Natufian communities; they date back to around ten thousand years ago. This Old Stone Age settlement was moderately sophisticated. There were about fifty round huts, some with stone foundations. There were some agricultural tools, such as flint sickles and grindstones for wheat. There was also evidence that animals, such as sheep, had been domesticated. The location where the archaeologists worked was an ancient cemetery. The Natufians buried their dead with treasured personal ornaments and special tokens of the deceased. Thus these graves provide valuable information about the people and the culture of this time. This archaeological team had already uncovered some carved bone and stone artwork and were hoping for more. The body they were uncovering was that of an elderly man. He was in a curled position, with knees up near his chin -- the traditional burial posture of the time. As they uncovered the upper part of the body they found that the man's head was resting on his left hand. Working to clear the area around the hand, they found that it had been gently placed on the chest of a four- or five-month-old puppy. A surprised scientist stood up and brushed one eye with the back of a sand-covered hand. "He must have really loved dogs," he said, "to have chosen to take one along on his journey to eternity." A HISTORY OF COMPANIONSHIP Even from the dawn of civilization, some five hundred generations ago, we have evidence of the powerful bond between some people and their dogs. If we had some kind of video camera that could go back in time, we could see for ourselves, for instance, that Rameses the Great had four dogs that he particularly loved. According to information carved into his tomb, one was a great hound named Pahates but called Kami by his master. This dog was so special that it was allowed to sleep with the Pharaoh. If our time-traveling camera does a fast-forward, we can find other historical and powerful figures sharing their beds with their dogs. Alexander the Great, resting from his battles, was known to sleep beside his great Mastiff, Peritas. Mary Queen of Scots spent her long hours of prison confinement with her small spaniels, and they comforted her through the night. In 1587, when she was beheaded, it was found that she had hidden one of the toy dogs under her voluminous robes. Afterwards, according to one eyewitness, it "would not depart from the dead corpse" and had to be carried away. It is reported that the person who ordered her execution, Elizabeth I, spent her own last night in life "counsolled only by her dogge" -- a very similar toy spaniel. One of Elizabeth's direct successors eventually gave his name to tha