Being that we are farmers and raise dogs, I have a good-sized stack of books on these topics in the queue.... and being (mostly) from Colorado, I've heard about Dr. Temple Grandin for a long time. She is a professor at Colorado State University, who's Veterinary Teaching Hospital is one of the primary reasons we located in Northern Colorado in 2009.
A friend had the opportunity to hear Dr. Grandin speak recently which got me looking into her schedule and publications (autism, livestock).
I've added a couple of her books to my library. Animals Make us Human is the first to read.
Each chapter is dedicated to an animal type... Dogs, Cats, Horses, etc. But each chapter covers more than just the type identified. She talks about family relationships, and how domestication is believed to occur.
I especially appreciated the discussion about symbiotic vs mutualistic relationships between humans and dogs vs humans and cats.
She also talks in depth about the Blue Ribbon Emotions (Seeking, Rage, Fear, Panic, Lust, Care, Play) and that we as keepers should be working to maximize seeking and minimizing fear thru the environment we provide for our animals
In this social media world we live in where "everyone is an expert" I find it refreshing to read a text with cited references and objectivity. I love scientists because they are clear about what is known and what is not known... there is skepticism around certain techniques, but allowance for why they seem to work in some situations.
Nothing is 100% right or wrong. Scientists know this, where social media posters don't often seem to understand it.
Animals Make Us Human is definitely worth a read... Especially if you don't understand why your animals are doing certain things.
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