Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals

Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals
Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals
Author: Rupert Sheldrake
ISBN-13: 9780609600924
ISBN-10: 0609600923
Publication Date: 9/21/1999
Pages: 368
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 5

4 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Crown
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

9 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

nascargal avatar reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 352 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
This is an interesting book about animals and their powers of telepathy...it was a bit too science oriented for me...but I'm one of those people who take my dogs' emotions at face value. All and all it is a pretty good book.
borged avatar reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
An excellent look into the realm of the psychic....in your very home! Most pet owners will concede that their animals seem to have psychic abilities. Sheldrake delves into this and more. He takes a scientific and thorough look into this and gives you the facts behind what many already know! A great read for any animal lover!
reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 636 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
The author takes a quite scientific approach to a very unscientific subject - animal telepathy and precognition. Obviously, the examples and case studies are the most interesting parts of the book and the science behind them is easily broken up to make this an entertaining non-fiction book. I do wonder if in the nine years since this book's publication, if the outlined experiments for further study took place.

Either way, I heartily enjoyed this book (though I don't think my Buns or the Chief is terribly psychic) and would most definitely recommend it to anyone at all interested in this subject matter.
reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Very interesting read about how dogs seem to know things before we do. Read in one evening.
ellzeena avatar reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 149 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I've been in the field of animal behavior for a long time and I am not a "behaviorist" in the strict sense of that term, rather I am extremely aware that the arrogance (and hubris) of Homo Sapiens has relegated all other living creatures into a group defined by mechanistic terms and that this is WRONG and a huge error on our part. Sheldrake has taken the information well known to any working professional in this field and formed an elaborate, and credible, explanation; this book represents only part of his efforts. Morphic resonance and morphogenetic fields may be proven, at some point in the future, to be only a part of a very much larger "story" of all living entities on this planet, as is the "story" of evolution. There is definitely a communication among all living species and definitely (proven) among living species (including plants). This is one step forward in the consciousness of Homo Sapiens, hopefully toward a fuller understanding of what *Life* is all about.
lens avatar reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Do not read this expecting to learn the science behind the remarkable actions of animals. The book is 3/4 full of repetitive, anecdotal evidence from pet owners with only a sprinkling of pseudo-scientific testing arranged with a few owners. Dr. Sheldrake spends a lot of time expounding on his theory of morphic fields, which to me seems an oversimplified intro to collective conscious.

All that said, the appendices made this book worthwhile to me. Especially concerning Rene P'eoch's experiments with baby chicks imprinting on, and then affecting the actions of a robot.

I have no doubt that dogs, cats, horses and many other animals are able to accomplish feats that humans cannot understand. Guess I'll have to wait another decade or so to find out how.
reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 61 more book reviews
very interesting happenings between animals and humans
reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 110 more book reviews
"How do cats know when it's time to go to the vet, even before the cat carrier comes out? How do dogs know when their owners are returning home at unexpected times? How can horses find their way back to the stable over completely unfamiliar terrain?"
reviewed Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home : And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals on + 92 more book reviews
Didn't read. From back cover: "exploration of animal behavior that will profoundly change the way we think about animals - and ourselves". Charts, graphs and case studies.