ESPOO, Finland, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A deeper understanding of dog behaviour makes life easier and more enjoyable for dogs and people alike. One of the keys to dogs' minds is knowing that in some ways, dogs see the world as if they were wolf cubs, not adults. These and many other gems for on how dogs think and feel will be explored in a new book, The Mind of a Dog. Science Meets Comics. The same team's previous book, on horses, was met with an enthusiastic reception, and pre-ordering of the new book is now underway.

"Yay, you came home!" The joy is palpable. A swiftly wagging tail, a tongue lick on your face, maybe touching you with front paws. This happy scene meets you almost daily - if you are a wolf parent in the remote woods. That is how wolf pups greet adults returning from hunting to their home den.

It is no coincidence that dogs in our homes are echoing this behaviour. "Scientists studying dogs' origins have long known that the brain of a dog is similar to that of a four-month-old wolf pup," says Dr Helena Telkanranta, the author of several popular books on animal behaviour. "Dogs do fully mature in some ways - otherwise they could not reproduce. However, their social behaviour is largely that of a young wolf. Dogs look up to safe parent figures and join in their activities, especially if the dogs know good things will happen as a result."

This, and many more gems on how dogs think and feel, will be explored in the newest book by Dr Telkanranta and her team. Illustrated by the renowned science artists Maija Karala and Ville Sinkkonen, The Mind of a Dog. Science Meets Comics is an 80-page nonfiction book on dog behavior, training, health, well-being, puppy care and many other topics.

A unique aspect of the book is delivering in-depth knowledge as a comic-book story with relatable characters. For those willing to delve deeper, there are text pages and links to exclusive online content. "The book has been designed to delight a wide variety of readers," Dr Telkanranta says. The team has included content for many kinds of dog owners, ranging from those considering getting their first dog to experienced professionals working with dogs. The book is mainly designed for adults and teenagers but can also be read by children.

The book will come out in September 2025. Pre-ordering is already underway. "There are pre-order perks, such as free shipping to anywhere in the world and a pdf guide to dog facial expressions as an exclusive gift. They have resulted in quite a lot of pre-ordering activity," Dr Telkanranta says. "Most pre-orders have been from individual people, but there also have been pet product stores, veterinary clinics, dog training schools and other businesses. These are pre-ordering in bulk at a discount, then selling to their customers."

This the appeal is partly because enthusiastic reception to the team's previous book, The Mind of a Horse. Science Meets Comics. It has been praised, among others, on the website of Psychology Today that has nearly 11 million readers, and it has amassed five-star ratings on Goodreads.

Happy Returns - with Better Behaviour

If licking our faces and jumping at us is natural behaviour, should we let dogs do it? "A dog can be trained to greet us in a different way without losing any of that joy," Dr Telkanranta says.

The key is whether the training itself makes the dog feel good or bad. A positive approach involves lavishing the dog with attention at the exact moment when the front paws actually are on the floor. If the dog tries to jump, the best way is to immediately ignore it by turning away or leaving the room. The dog learns it can still enjoy interaction with the owner - by keeping the front paws down. Or by keeping the tongue inside the mouth, if that is what the owner wants to train in the same way.

Punishments are a different matter. If a dog is punished for its behaviour, it will be less able to enjoy its reunion with the owner. It will still learn not to jump or lick, but the emotions associated with this new learned behaviour will be more conflicted than when trained by positive methods.

"The same applies to dog training in general," Dr Telkanranta says. "Research has shown that reward-based training, also called positive reinforcement, leads to better well-being overall - not only during training." Positive reinforcement has also been shown to lead to faster learning and more reliable performance than training methods based on coercion or punishment. An increasing number of professional users of dogs, such as the police and customs authorities in some parts of the world, have therefore changed their training methods from the old coercive ones to positive reinforcement.

The Caring Wolf

"There seems to be two reasons why training with pressure or punishment has prevailed for so long," Dr Telkanranta ponders. "Firstly, success in positive reinforcement requires skill. Good intentions alone do not take a trainer very far. The trainer also needs to learn precise timing and other skills." The new book by Dr Telkanranta and her team, The Mind of a Dog, includes illustrated step-by-step guides to success.

"The second reason seems to be a widespread misunderstanding of how hierarchy in a wolf pack works," she says. "In reality, wolf packs are family units where the younger ones follow the example of their parents. The older wolves' role is to make sure the youngsters feel safe. The old wolves also are the most experienced hunters, so the young ones have noticed that good things follow when they join in what the older ones are doing."

The image of an alpha wolf as a growling dictator is mainly a product of popular imagination. However, it does have one root in reality: zoo wolves in crowded enclosures. "When scientific research on wolf behaviour was first started, about a hundred years ago, those early scientists studied wolves in zoos. In zoos of those days, enclosures were very small, and wolves had to compete over resources," Dr Telkanranta explains. That is when the iconic drawings of a "dominant" and "submissive" wolf were made.

From the 1960's onwards, when scientists started to observe wolves in the wild, a very different picture emerged. The social life of wolves turned out to be much more caring and nuanced than previously believed.

Puppy Brain, Cute Teeth

How dogs originated from wolves has been a question of much speculation and stories. Archaeological evidence has put to rest the old assumption that a Stone Age hunter found a wolf pup and decided to raise it as a hunting companion. Instead, findings of early dog burials have shown that they already had the small brains and teeth of young wolves, retained throughout adulthood. If ancient people had wanted to develop fierce hunters, they would hardly have selected for such a puppy mind and cute little teeth.

Instead, scientists now think that some wolves started to hang out around people's campsites, eating leftovers and warning everyone of approaching dangers. As they no longer needed the energy-consuming big brains and teeth of a top predator, the brain and tooth size gradually became more economical generation after generation. Only after that did people start developing different types of dogs. Much later, that led to the variety of breeds we see today.

A Puppy Mind Does Not Require a Baby Face

Despite the multitude of body sizes and head shapes, dogs still retain that wolf-puppyish ratio of skull size to body size. The same applies to puppylike behaviour that may well be one of the main secrets of dogs' popularity as pets.

"You don't need a baby face to have a puppy mind," Dr Telkanranta notes. There are some differences between breeds and individuals in how far they grow up mentally. However, they are not tied to nose length or other recent changes in dog anatomy. "While some of the dogs with very short noses may look like babies to a human eye, making them attractive to some, this actually is a deformity that risks a dog's health without adding to the youthfulness of its mind," she says. "Similarly to dogs with short legs, which often have a mutation that makes them prone to back pain, these characteristics were first developed by breeders who did not know of the associated health issues. Nowadays, when scientists and veterinarians have much more knowledge, it is important to use it to improve dogs' health."

How can at-risk breeds be developed towards better health? And how can an owner recognize whether their dog has painful issues, and what can be done to alleviate them? The new book by Dr Telkanranta and her team, The Mind of a Dog. Science Meets Comics, explores these and many other secrets to a happier life.

More information:

https://www.arador.fi/mindofdog

Requests for interviews and embargoed review copies:

Email: helena.telkanranta@arador.fi
Phone: +358 505 445 840

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