Our ability to make meaningful connections with other animal species and their ability to return the favour is, perhaps, never more beautiful than the bond we have with dogs.

This book explores what every dog owner knows – that a dog is never just a dog. They are our companions, best friends, members of the family and for some the most important part of our lives.

Simon Wooler, trainer to social media’s most famous fearful dog, Sophie from Romania, unlocks the heart of the special relationship we have with dogs. He explores how over millennia, they have inveigled their way into our homes and hearts and evolved to live alongside us. He explains how dogs learn (and why they sometimes seem immune to our efforts to train them), how they communicate and what influences the powerful bond they form with their people. He unpacks the problems of fear and reactivity and with insight and humour acts as a guide for all dog lovers navigating life’s changes and challenges.

Demystifying the science of dog behaviour and debunking the sticky myths that all too often can get in the way of understanding, this is a celebration of the joy of life with dogs in all its messy, loveable reality.