The Puppy Kindergarten

"When ... Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods fell in love with a trained service dog named Congo, they wanted to understand what made him such a great companion. Given that there hadn't been a large-scale study of puppy development since 1950, they decided to start one. ... Using the same kinds of cognitive tests and games that have become standard for understanding human infant development, they initially wanted to know if they could predict which qualities would make puppies grow up to be great assistance dogs. But they quickly realized that these special dogs have a lot to tell us about how all dogs navigate the world, solve problems, and learn from the people around them. ... Introducing us to the many puppies who contributed to this research and synthesizing findings from cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology, this ... book will teach readers how puppies begin to develop abilities that allow them to succeed as adults and flexibly solve problems"--