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

Rating:
Summary: STIMULATING AND JUST SHOCKING ENOUGH
Review: Alot of "Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home" reads as if the author did not speak and write English as a first language. Alot of this book reads like a medical journal. That being said, alot of this book will astound and delight anyone who has even a slight fondness for animals...not just dogs, mind you, but all animals.

Most of the stories in the book are about dogs, but as a cat owner and lover, I was pleased to find enough anecdotes about felines who knew the exact time when their owners were going to come home, who knew the person on the other end of a telephone and who knew that their owners were in some kind of grave physical or emotional trouble. There are pets in this book who, we are told, knew that a human diabetic or epileptic fit was on the horizon and we even read of pets who could sniff out cancerous lesions. There are tales of horses, fish, termites, monkeys and more with telepathic powers.

Pet owners from all over the world were obviously eager to relate their stories to Rupert Sheldrake, even those whose stories are terribly sad in the extreme: animals who, through their own mysterious telepathy, knew of the deaths of people close to them or even of the owners, themselves, who knew, from very far distances, that their pets were in harm's way.

True, some of the stories are weird enough to have been written by the folks living on Planet Xerbo, but enough are them are stimulating and just shocking enough to make believers of us all.

Rating:
Summary: STIMULATING AND JUST SHOCKING ENOUGH
Review: Alot of "Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home" reads as if the author did not speak and write English as a first language. Alot of this book reads like a medical journal. That being said, alot of this book will astound and delight anyone who has even a slight fondness for animals...not just dogs, mind you, but all animals.

Most of the stories in the book are about dogs, but as a cat owner and lover, I was pleased to find enough anecdotes about felines who knew the exact time when their owners were going to come home, who knew the person on the other end of a telephone and who knew that their owners were in some kind of grave physical or emotional trouble. There are pets in this book who, we are told, knew that a human diabetic or epileptic fit was on the horizon and we even read of pets who could sniff out cancerous lesions. There are tales of horses, fish, termites, monkeys and more with telepathic powers.

Pet owners from all over the world were obviously eager to relate their stories to Rupert Sheldrake, even those whose stories are terribly sad in the extreme: animals who, through their own mysterious telepathy, knew of the deaths of people close to them or even of the owners, themselves, who knew, from very far distances, that their pets were in harm's way.

True, some of the stories are weird enough to have been written by the folks living on Planet Xerbo, but enough are them are stimulating and just shocking enough to make believers of us all.

Rating:
Summary: STIMULATING AND JUST SHOCKING ENOUGH
Review: Alot of "Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home" reads as if the author did not speak and write English as a first language. Alot of this book reads like a medical journal. That being said, alot of this book will astound and delight anyone who has even a slight fondness for animals...not just dogs, mind you, but all animals.

Most of the stories in the book are about dogs, but as a cat owner and lover, I was pleased to find enough anecdotes about felines who knew the exact time when their owners were going to come home, who knew the person on the other end of a telephone and who knew that their owners were in some kind of grave physical or emotional trouble. There are pets in this book who, we are told, knew that a human diabetic or epileptic fit was on the horizon and we even read of pets who could sniff out cancerous lesions. There are tales of horses, fish, termites, monkeys and more with telepathic powers.

Pet owners from all over the world were obviously eager to relate their stories to Rupert Sheldrake, even those whose stories are terribly sad in the extreme: animals who, through their own mysterious telepathy, knew of the deaths of people close to them or even of the owners, themselves, who knew, from very far distances, that their pets were in harm's way.

True, some of the stories are weird enough to have been written by the folks living on Planet Xerbo, but enough are them are stimulating and just shocking enough to make believers of us all.

Rating:
Summary: This author shows great courage.
Review: Animal lovers, especially those who share strong emotional bonds with their pets, are well aware of the special powers that a lot of animals possess. These powers are researched and discussed in Rupert Sheldrake's book. I find it reassuring that someone from the scientific community has had the courage to take these phenomena seriously, to give them the time and the research they deserve, then present the findings to the world.If you are an animal lover, are open-minded enough to entertain controversial ideas, or just want a theory based on research as to how your pet seems to be able to read your mind, then this would be an excellent source of enlightenment for you. I find it refreshing to read a book written by a modern scientist with an open mind.

Rating:
Summary: What dogs know ...
Review: As an experimental psychologist who has closely examined claims of the paranormal (see "The Conscious Universe" here on Amazon.com), I wasn't sure what to think of Sheldrake's experiments with telepathic dogs. Then I had an opportunity to review and analyze the raw data in some of his controlled experiments. I was astonished with the results. There is basically no doubt that some dogs do indeed anticipate when their owners are about to return home, even at randomly selected times, and without benefit of any explicit or subliminal cues. For me, this significantly raises the credibility of some of the other "powers" of animals that Sheldrake discusses so clearly. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever gazed at their dog and wondered what was going on in that furry little head.

Rating:
Summary: What dogs know ...
Review: As an experimental psychologist who has closely examined claims of the paranormal (see "The Conscious Universe" here on Amazon.com), I wasn't sure what to think of Sheldrake's experiments with telepathic dogs. Then I had an opportunity to review and analyze the raw data in some of his controlled experiments. I was astonished with the results. There is basically no doubt that some dogs do indeed anticipate when their owners are about to return home, even at randomly selected times, and without benefit of any explicit or subliminal cues. For me, this significantly raises the credibility of some of the other "powers" of animals that Sheldrake discusses so clearly. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever gazed at their dog and wondered what was going on in that furry little head.

Rating:
Summary: I'm Convinced
Review: First let me say, parts of the book are rather dry. Perhaps that's the scientist doing his best to provide adequate proof. I found myself wanting to say, come on already... I accept your arguent, give me some more stories.

With that said, I did enjoy the book and find Sheldrake's proof more than adequate. Many animals are sensitive in ways we don't understand.

There was a story, from the book, of someone who was going to commit suicide by overdose. When they went to open the bottle, their springer spaniel jumped in their lap, bearing it's teeth and growling fiercly. The person was so shaken that they put the pills away, at which point, the springer jumped back in the lap and happily lapped at their owners face.

I knew of a young girl who was walking home, down a deserted street, when a sedan approached with a man demanding that she get in the car. She began to walk faster... the car sped up... the demands became angrier... The car stopped, and a man got out and came towards her... She said the only preyer she could think of at the time. "God, please help me." Suddenly two dogs appeared and began barking at the man. Shaken, but not disuaded, he reached for the girl, and a beagle juped up and bit his wrist. That was enough, the man got back into the car and it sped off.

It has been over 6 years since that incident and the girl still goes to the farmhouse near where this happened to visit Molly and Dolly.

By the way, that was not their names when all of this happened... You see, no one had ever seen these two dogs before... before that fateful night when a young girls prayer was answered... by two dogs who appeared from nowhere.

This story was related by Paul Harvey on his program *The Rest of the Story* December 8, 1999

Have you ever found yourself staring at someone and they turn and look directly at you. How do they do that? How do pigeons find their way home from hundreds of miles away? How do some dogs react when their owner merely has the thought of coming home?

Good questions.

This book doesn't provide all the answers, but it establishes the reality which is a significant step.

Rating:
Summary: Discusses the power of the analog mind!
Review: I am quite desolate when I read apriori comments about the book (although, only a few seem to be this time). Nevertheless, 'I know this cannot be,' or 'most doctors wouldn't agree,' etc. etc. apriori arguing always irks me. Read the book before speculating what it might say.

The numbers are there and this is what I was looking for. Rupert Sheldrake is the classic, dry, British author, arguing something very exciting and not at all dry. Nevertheless, he is able to explain himself well. However, quantative analysis are really where the argument either stands up or falls apart. Thankfully, the argument is well supported; while some may lament the sample size, which was not awful but not great either, it is important to note that getting funds for this kind of work is harder than theoretical mathematics, so Sheldrake cannot really be blamed.

Sheldrake's work is just another layer on the ESP debate; I am fairly convinced ESP exists--most striking experminets are probably the RNG experiments (because they are the easiest conduct properly, scientifcally, and without bias). However, Sheldrake's work is every bit as important as it begs the question where conscioussness resides. The numbers in this book certainly seem to suggest that the answer may not be as simple as previously imagined.

One should probably read the Consciouss Universe by Dean Radin beforehand, which established more general research questions and designes.

Finally, Sheldrake has a website, in which he addresses not only this research, but also research not yet published in his books. Furthermore, he has a full section dedicated to 'controversies' his work has caused. Well worth a read for the open mind. The website is: http://www.sheldrake.org/

Rating:
Summary: Splendid
Review: I am quite desolate when I read apriori comments about the book (although, only a few seem to be this time). Nevertheless, 'I know this cannot be,' or 'most doctors wouldn't agree,' etc. etc. apriori arguing always irks me. Read the book before speculating what it might say.

The numbers are there and this is what I was looking for. Rupert Sheldrake is the classic, dry, British author, arguing something very exciting and not at all dry. Nevertheless, he is able to explain himself well. However, quantative analysis are really where the argument either stands up or falls apart. Thankfully, the argument is well supported; while some may lament the sample size, which was not awful but not great either, it is important to note that getting funds for this kind of work is harder than theoretical mathematics, so Sheldrake cannot really be blamed.

Sheldrake's work is just another layer on the ESP debate; I am fairly convinced ESP exists--most striking experminets are probably the RNG experiments (because they are the easiest conduct properly, scientifcally, and without bias). However, Sheldrake's work is every bit as important as it begs the question where conscioussness resides. The numbers in this book certainly seem to suggest that the answer may not be as simple as previously imagined.

One should probably read the Consciouss Universe by Dean Radin beforehand, which established more general research questions and designes.

Finally, Sheldrake has a website, in which he addresses not only this research, but also research not yet published in his books. Furthermore, he has a full section dedicated to 'controversies' his work has caused. Well worth a read for the open mind. The website is: http://www.sheldrake.org/

Rating:
Summary: Dogs Who Don't Know When They're Owners Come Home
Review: I recently saw the 20/20 episode concerning this book. While doctors agree that animals have some senses about their owners, a test they aired proved that most dogs do not know when they're owners are coming home. The episode showed one camera on a pet, and the other camera with the pet's owners. This particular dog waited by the window for hours, so , of course, when the owner got home, the dog was already by the window. I will agree that dogs have certain senses about things, but the "super human" abilities, come on! That is ridiculous. Until my dog saves me from a car accident or saves me from a life-threatening situation, I say this book has no merit.