Your Dog Is Your Mirror

The Emotional Capacity of Our Dogs and Ourselves

By: Kevin Behan

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

In Your Dog Is Your Mirror, dog trainer Kevin Behan proposes a radical new model for understanding canine behavior: a dog’s behavior and emotion, indeed its very cognition, are driven by our emotion. The dog doesn’t respond to its owner based on what the owner thinks, says, or does; it responds to what the owner feels. And in this way, dogs can actually put people back in touch with their own emotions.

Behan was originally trained under the dominance theory by his father, John Behan, one of the first in America to make dog training a career. But he eventually came to believe that what made the modern dog trainable was not the dominance hierarchy but the dog’s ability to work as a cooperative group member in the hunt. This ability then evolved into an emotional capacity that perfectly complements human emotion.

Behan demonstrates that dogs and humans are connected more profoundly than has ever been imagined - by heart - and that this approach to dog cognition can help us understand many of dogs’ most inscrutable behaviors. This groundbreaking, provocative book opens the door to a whole new understanding between species, and perhaps a whole new understanding of ourselves.

©2011 Kevin Behan (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Beautifully written and deeply engrossing, Your Dog Is Your Mirror is destined to change the way we think about dogs.” (Lee Charles Kelley, dog trainer and best-selling mystery novelist)

“There are scores of books on how to change the outward behavior of a dog. But Kevin Behan challenges us to look deeper, to examine the dog’s behavior as an emotional reflection of its owner, revealing our own unresolved issues. Your Dog Is Your Mirror is beautifully written, with entertaining and insightful examples from throughout Kevin Behan’s remarkable career. This book will forever change your relationship with your dog, and you will never look at your dog in the same way again. It is a must-read for every committed dog owner.” (Kyra Sundance, internationally best-selling author of 101 Dog Tricks and 101 Ways to Do More with Your Dog!)

“Your Dog Is Your Mirror is a very thought-provoking book that will force you to reconsider who we are and who dogs are and why we are so attracted to one another. Kevin Behan calls upon his extensive experience with our best friends and makes the important point that in the emotional interactions between dogs and humans, it’s not the human reading the human in the animal but the animal reading the animal in the human. Whether you agree with Kevin’s provocative theories or not, the age-old adage that no one knows you like your dog clearly rings true. I learned a lot from this wide-ranging and unique book.” (Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and The Animal Manifesto)

highly reccomend for a deeper understanding of dogs

i have read hundreds of dog books, dogs are my passion. this is one of the best and many of the original concepts I have reflected on. Mr. Behan has a great understanding of dogs: he helped me understand dogs on a more spirtual level, it opened my eyes to nuances of our communication, This is not a obdience or training book, there are enough of those, but if you are interested in improving your relationship with dogs, understanding what respect is from a dog’s point of view, learning from Mr. Behan’s extensive real life experience, a must read or listen to, I loved this book, and I understood more about my mirror, mirroring and dog love, thanks for a much needed voice to open my mind about what dogs feel, need and want!

Great insight to dogs training us to heal

I never had dogs. Until I had three. Big. Untrained puppies. Overwhelming and not understanding how to manage their energies, i imposed my programming. This audiobook helped me see how I transferred my pain to them. And they transferred it right in back to me. Brilliant book. And now… to transform.

Thought this was a pretty good

Listened with pleasure, was educational and entertaining. Loved the story. This book challenged my perception of doggies and made it better.

A must for all dog owners

So enlightening! It will make you take a look in the mirror! If you want to reflectivity understand your dog's behavior this is a must read.

Ahead of its time!

This author has had a lifetime to analyze modern dog training. His concepts are mind blowing, and really open your eyes to a new way of thinking about this very unique animal we call our best friend, and why we call them our best friend. He offers a new and radical perspective that is completely different from everything else written about dog training. He knows dogs, and he knows people. I loved it!
It’s the answer to so many questions about the human-dog dynamic.

Victoria

I laughed, I cried, I learned a lot about myself and what my dog is teaching me. Highly recommended.

This was amazing

From the initial opening story that was my story my mirror to the ending sentence. I have learned so much that I am going to purchase the book so I can reread make notes highlight and continue to improve my Heart and relationships with 6 dogs. Thank you so much for this book.

Amazing insight and makes totally sense.

Thanks for opening my eyes. Yours absolutely right on! Insightful and a reminder that we are communication on all levels whether we are speaking or not. Dogs are truly mama best friend.

Good Read

Interesting perspective and approach to not only viewing your dog and how you train it but also yourself and how it equats to it.

A truly important perspective.

This is a must read if you have any empathy for your dog(s) true wellbeing.