I read this book after reading Berns's first book about dog imaging (How Dogs Love Us) to see what else he learned. It was interesting to see how those initial fMRI studies with dogs led him to also do imaging in the brains of other large animal species, including sea lions, dolphins, and Tasmanian devils and tigers. So there is a lot of comparative anatomy and big picture thinking about how different brains are configured and what that means about the life and dignity of each species. I found one of the most delightful chapters to be the one entitled: Why a Brain? More wonderful big picture thinking.

"Animals have brains to tailor their actions to their environment.
In other words, animals do not exist in isolation. They are embedded in the world around them, and part of the function of a brain is to link the external world to the animal’s decision-making system, and ultimately, its body."

This book does add to his the body of data trying to understand what your dog is thinking and experiencing, but it is so much more than that. Maybe so much so that the main title is a bit deceiving and may be disappointing to many. It was all interesting to me and I'm glad to have read both books.