There are so many books out there that dog lovers should read. This one is a book for anyone interested in ANY animal, even the human animal. Ms. Grandin is a woman who is living with Autism. If you are anything like I was, you don’t know the first thing about Autism. Grandin gives deep insight into a subject that most people find confusing or even uncomfortable. And she does it in a way that makes even the most casual reader able to follow and enjoy. Animals in Translation takes the idea that because animals have very similar brains to humans with some mental “illnesses”, you can hypothesise how animals feel and react to the world by observing how someone with Autism does.
I won’t go into all the details, as I am not nearly as clear a writer as Ms. Grandin, but I believe if you are a first time reader of books related to animals then this is a perfect book to start with! Grandin adjusted my view of animals in a way that helped me clarify to myself what kind of dog trainer I wanted to be.
If you are not used to looking at situations from your dog’s perspective, this book will show you how to see the world from your pet’s point of view, or even your livestock’s! Why is this important? Because all too often we are caught up in our own humaness, we see life from just one perspective. This can cause us to completely misunderstand and react with frustration to a situation that, if we look at with a set of canine eyes, we can see a simple solution to.
I have advocated to my students “think like the animal you are working with”. This philosophy has helped me train animals that others felt were difficult or impossible; it has even saved my life on at least one occasion. Ms. Grandin can show all of us how to see life more like our animal companions and because of that I believe this is one of the most important books for a student of animals to read.
