Border Collies A Breed Apart: Secrets of the Working Mind (Shopworn)

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SKU:
B1393DMG
Weight:
1.50 LBS
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Calculated at Checkout
Author:
Carol Price
Publication Year:
2017
ISBN:
9781910488461
Page Count:
126
Publisher:
Carol Price and First Stone Publishing

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(Damaged in shipping)

Imported from the UK this book is the first of a new three part series, Collie Psychology author, Carol Price, helps us to achieve a greater understanding of the highly complex yet hugely intelligent Border Collie. She takes us back to the origins of the Collie, looking at how genetic make-up and the founding dogs of the breed have influenced its character, mannerisms and behaviour today. She analyses why these traits were sought after and how they present themselves in the modern day version of the breed, as well as the best way to manage them in order to create a happy and relaxed dog. 

She also discovers many similarities between how the mind of the Collie works with the autistic human, leading her to pose the question: does an autistic spectrum exist in the breed?

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  • 3
    Okay, but I expected more

    Posted by Pat P on 23rd Jul 2019

    I wanted to like this book, I really did. But its only real contribution seems to be the author's proposal that border collies be viewed as somewhat autistic i.e. having mental characteristics similar to people on the autism spectrum -- which is an interesting and sometimes maybe useful idea, but she goes galloping off as if it is a thoroughly proven fact. It's not, and honestly I do not think it makes sense to presume we ever really know what is going on in a dog's mind. Beyond that, there are too many parts of the book that made me stop dead in my tracks and go "whoa, *what*?!?!". For instance she keeps citing something she calls "genetic memory", by which most of the time she seems to simply mean instinct (i.e. brain is hardwired for certain behaviors/reactions/predispositions), HOWEVER she starts out by defining it (with an anecdote, too), as "the process whereby animals are capable of passing their acquired memories, knowledge and instincts on to their offspring in their genes". Sorry, but I am too much an evidence-based kind of person to believe that an individuals life experiences are somehow passed on in their offspring's DNA :P And the section on pedigrees reflects a lot of popular misconceptions. Etcetera. It's not a bad book, and I did glean some useful ideas from it... but for the price, and for how it is promoted, I'd really expected more than "hey, maybe BC's are sort of autistic".