Animal Madness
How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, Gorillas on Drugs, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves
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Narrated by:
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Madeleine Maby
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By:
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Laurel Braitman
About this listen
For the first time, a historian of science draws evidence from across the world to show how humans and other animals are astonishingly similar when it comes to their feelings and the ways in which they lose their minds.
Charles Darwin developed his evolutionary theories by looking at physical differences in Galapagos finches and fancy pigeons. Alfred Russell Wallace investigated a range of creatures in the Malay Archipelago. Laurel Braitman got her lessons closer to home - by watching her dog. Oliver snapped at flies that only he could see, ate Ziploc bags, towels, and cartons of eggs. He suffered debilitating separation anxiety, was prone to aggression, and may even have attempted suicide. Her experience with Oliver forced Laurel to acknowledge a form of continuity between humans and other animals that, first as a biology major and later as a PhD student at MIT, she'd never been taught in school. Nonhuman animals can lose their minds. And when they do, it often looks a lot like human mental illness
Thankfully, all of us can heal. As Laurel spent three years traveling the world in search of emotionally disturbed animals and the people who care for them, she discovered numerous stories of recovery: parrots that learn how to stop plucking their feathers, dogs that cease licking their tails raw, polar bears that stop swimming in compulsive circles, and great apes that benefit from the help of human psychiatrists. How do these animals recover? The same way we do: with love, with medicine, and above all, with the knowledge that someone understands why we suffer and what can make us feel better.
After all of the digging in the archives of museums and zoos, the years synthesizing scientific literature, and the hours observing dog parks, wildlife encounters, and amusement parks, Laurel found that understanding the emotional distress of animals can help us better understand ourselves.
©2014 Laurel Braitman (P)2014 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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In this fascinating exploration of the changing status of dogs and cats in society, pet lover and award-winning journalist David Grimm explores the rich and surprising history of our favorite companion animals. He treks the long and often torturous path from their wild origins to their dark days in the middle ages to their current standing as the most valued animals on Earth. For pet lovers or anyone interested in how we decide who gets to be a “person” in today’s world, Citizen Canine is a must-have. It is a pet tale like no other.
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Cats and Dogs Unite!
- By Gillian on 03-03-15
By: David Grimm
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The Secret History of Kindness
- Learning from How Dogs Learn
- By: Melissa Holbrook Pierson
- Narrated by: Ann Osmond
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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An intimate, surprising look at man's best friend and what the leading philosophies of dog training teach us about ourselves. Years back, Melissa Holbrook Pierson brought home a border collie named Mercy, without a clue of how to get her to behave. Stunned after hiring a trainer whose immediate rapport with Mercy seemed magical, Pierson began delving into the techniques of positive reinforcement.
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Warning: praises ABA done to autistic people
- By Rosslyn on 03-09-16
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What the Animals Tell Me
- By: Sonya Fitzpatrick
- Narrated by: Carol Irwin
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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If you could talk to your pet, what would it say to you? How do animals communicate with people? And what's the best way for people to communicate with animals? In this insightful audiobook, renowned pet psychic Sonya Fitpatrick teaches listeners about the secrets of the animal world and how to learn the telepathic language of animals. Dogs, cats, reptiles, horses and wild animals of kinds have a story to tell.
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Total Fake
- By kortega on 09-02-23
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The Age of Empathy
- Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society
- By: Frans de Waal
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Is it really human nature to stab one another in the back in our climb up the corporate ladder? Competitive, selfish behavior is often explained away as instinctive, thanks to evolution and "survival of the fittest", but in fact, humans are equally hard-wired for empathy. Using research from the fields of anthropology, psychology, animal behavior, and neuroscience, Frans de Waal brilliantly argues that humans are group animals.
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A Lot Of Things In Common With Our Animal Friends!
- By James on 08-14-11
By: Frans de Waal
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How Dogs Love Us
- A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain
- By: Gregory Berns
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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How Dogs Love Us answers the age-old question of dog lovers everywhere and offers profound new evidence that dogs should be treated as we would treat our best human friends: with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence.
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misleading title
- By Cindy on 08-06-15
By: Gregory Berns
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Do Dogs Dream?
- By: Stanley Coren
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In a conversational Q&A format, a leading dog expert answers the most commonly asked questions about how dogs think and act. Do dogs dream? Can they recognize themselves in the mirror or understand what they’re seeing on television? Are they more intelligent than cats? People have a great curiosity - and many misunderstandings - about how dogs think, act, and perceive the world. They also wonder about the social and emotional lives of dogs. Stanley Coren brings decades of scientific research on dogs to bear in his unprecedented foray into the inner lives of our canine companions, dispelling many common myths in the process.
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Must read for dog lovers
- By Elad on 08-01-13
By: Stanley Coren
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Our Wild Calling
- How Connecting with Animals Can Transform Our Lives - and Save Theirs
- By: Richard Louv
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Richard Louv's landmark book, Last Child in the Woods, inspired an international movement to connect children and nature. Now Louv redefines the future of human-animal coexistence. Our Wild Calling explores these powerful and mysterious bonds and how they can transform our mental, physical, and spiritual lives, serve as an antidote to the growing epidemic of human loneliness, and help us tap into the empathy required to preserve life on Earth.
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Sharing our world
- By Scott Br on 10-06-21
By: Richard Louv
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Pit Bull
- The Battle over an American Icon
- By: Bronwen Dickey
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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When Bronwen Dickey brought her new dog home, she saw no traces of the infamous viciousness in her affectionate, timid pit bull. Which made her wonder: How had the breed - beloved by Teddy Roosevelt, Helen Keller, and TV's Little Rascals - come to be known as a brutal fighter? Her search for answers takes her from 19th-century New York City dogfighting pits - the cruelty of which drew the attention of the recently formed ASPCA - to early 20th-century movie sets where pit bulls cavorted with Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.
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It Is a Racist or Class Thing
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 09-17-17
By: Bronwen Dickey
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Cat Sense
- How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet
- By: John Bradshaw
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, and their numbers only continue to rise. Today there are three cats for every dog on the planet, and yet cats remain more mysterious, even to their most adoring owners. In Cat Sense, renowned anthrozoologist John Bradshaw takes us further into the mind of the domestic cat than ever before, using cutting-edge scientific research to explain the true nature - and needs - of our feline friends. Tracing the cat’s evolution from solitary hunter to domesticated companion, Bradshaw shows that cats remain independent, predatory, and wary of social contact.
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Not what I had expected
- By Terry on 03-11-14
By: John Bradshaw
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How to Be a Good Creature
- A Memoir in Thirteen Animals
- By: Sy Montgomery
- Narrated by: Sy Montgomery
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Understanding someone who belongs to another species can be transformative. No one knows this better than author, naturalist, and adventurer Sy Montgomery. To research her books, Sy has traveled the world and encountered some of the planet's rarest and most beautiful animals. From tarantulas to tigers, Sy's life continually intersects with and is informed by the creatures she meets. This restorative memoir reflects on the personalities and quirks of 13 animals - Sy's friends - and the truths revealed by their grace.
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Enchanting Start To 2019....
- By Rory on 01-02-19
By: Sy Montgomery
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Wesley the Owl
- The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl
- By: Stacey O'Brien
- Narrated by: Renée Raudman
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Written with the same heartwarming sentiment that made the memoir Marley & Me a runaway best seller, biologist and owl expert Stacey O'Brien chronicles her rescue of an adorable, abandoned baby barn owl - and their astonishing and unprecedented 19-year life together.
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Maybe good for children
- By Michael on 12-15-08
By: Stacey O'Brien
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Love Is All You Need
- The Revolutionary Bond-Based Approach to Educating Your Dog
- By: Jennifer Arnold
- Narrated by: Jennifer Arnold
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Dogs are the most social animals on the planet, second only to humans in their ability to read and understand emotion. Even chimps and bonobos, our closest genetic relatives, are no match for dogs when it comes to social cognition. Jennifer Arnold understands this better than anyone, having spent the past 25 years training service dogs for people with disabilities at Canine Assistants. She is a pioneer in the emerging field of "bond-based" dog training.
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Best book I have ever read about dogs. Period.
- By Brandon on 04-26-17
By: Jennifer Arnold
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Ever By My Side
- A Memoir in Eight [Acts] Pets
- By: Dr. Nick Trout
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author Nick Trout has captivated audiences with his books that take us behind the scenes into the heartwarming - and sometimes heartrending - world of veterinary medicine. In a perfect follow-up to his first two books, he turns his lens inward and offers a funny, moving, and thoughtful, memoir about the animals he's had all his life. Nostalgic, warm, and insightful, Ever By My Side is about the power of animals to shape our lives....
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This guy is no James Herriot!
- By Crochetaway on 10-11-12
By: Dr. Nick Trout
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The Family That Couldn't Sleep
- A Medical Mystery
- By: D.T. Max
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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For 200 years, a noble Venetian family has suffered from an inherited disease that strikes their members in middle age, stealing their sleep, eating holes in their brains, and ending their lives in a matter of months. In Papua New Guinea, a primitive tribe is nearly obliterated by a sickness whose chief symptom is uncontrollable laughter. Across Europe, millions of sheep rub their fleeces raw before collapsing. What these strange conditions share is their cause: prions.
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A great scientific mystery
- By David on 11-04-06
By: D.T. Max
What listeners say about Animal Madness
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kathryn
- 08-08-16
Wow I learned so much
What did you love best about Animal Madness?
This book was full of stories and information that I had not completely understood
What other book might you compare Animal Madness to and why?
Can not think of any at this time
Have you listened to any of Madeleine Maby’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No I have not
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No it is too long for that
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- Irene
- 06-29-14
If you love animals.... you will love this book
If you could sum up Animal Madness in three words, what would they be?
We're not alone.
What other book might you compare Animal Madness to and why?
I am not sure there is a book that compares the kind of writing this book has. It moves from animal treatment - pet, zoo and wild - to the pharma industry pretty seamlessly.
What about Madeleine Maby’s performance did you like?
She read the book like it was her own. In fact, I thought she WAS Ms. Braitman.
However, one thing that bothered me was she mispronounced the word "supposedly" several times. Suppos-ob-ly. Yikes. When you listen to books, word pronunciation is so important. I have not liked a couple of books solely based on the readers, and that is unfortunate.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Come into the world of synapses, mania, depression, prozac, fido and zoos.
Any additional comments?
I did not want this book to end! It was so full of great stories and information. I picked it up because of a pet who has had some "issues." I found out that we are not alone. Then I found out that there is a world out there that is so much bigger when it comes to these kinds of things. It made me think about brains, mental illness and all animals in an entirely different way. I have never been a fan of caged animals but this gives a whole new meaning to the word.
Really - cannot say enough good about this topic, writing and book.
I would have liked end notes, footnotes, etc. I contacted both Audible and the author. When there are so many things referenced in a non-fiction book, a file of some sort should be included. A paper book is easily flipped through but not so with audibles.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kathi
- 06-11-14
Fascinating book!
This book will touch you deeply and leave you believing there is hope in the world. Laurel Braitman begins with the story of her own adopted dog Oliver, who was clearly emotionally disturbed (at some point diagnosed with separation anxiety, phobia of thunderstorms and a form of animal OCD). Her interest in the plight of Oliver eventually led her to start combing the records for stories of other animals who had strange behaviors, not always understood by their owners, to see if there were indications that other animals have emotional illnesses, much as humans do.
The stories she tells, of dogs, cats, elephants, gorillas, etc...who exhibited unusual, sometimes frightening behaviors, have often resulted in tragic outcomes. But she is able to trace many of the conditions described to similar backgrounds for the animals--such as too early separation from a mother, abusive care from humans, being uprooted from familiar surroundings. She talks with animal behavior specialists and human psychiatrists about treatment for such animals.
There is extrapolation from the suffering of animals to the suffering of humans--in both cases leading to mental illnesses (and in more recent times the knowledge and ability to treat them). But she is very careful not to anthropomorphize (project our human beliefs and conditions onto the other animals). This book is fascinating to listen to. If you love animals it should be a "must read" (listen) on your list. It reminded me, in some ways, of the very moving book by Virginia Morell, "Animal Wise," in which she shows repeatedly how our fellow animals have a wisdom in life that we often miss.
The narration is very good, but in books of this sort, I often find myself wondering why they are not read by the author. Nevertheless, this book is wonderful. I stayed up late into the night listening to it. Highly recommend!
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14 people found this helpful
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- Casey
- 03-04-17
outstanding book
just an outstanding gut wrenching heart breaking book. for anyone who has a pet, this book is for you.
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- scott klutman
- 10-02-17
mental illness and pharmaceuticals for animals
I never would have imagined these things to be true. Animals with mental illness and animal flavored Prozac. are just a couple of the things that shocked me in this book.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-24-24
A captivating insight into animal psychology
Loved that she brought such an educated view about the mental state of animals and that includes humans, it was amazing to see how similar humans and non-humans are.
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- Heidi
- 07-04-14
We have so much to learn.
What made the experience of listening to Animal Madness the most enjoyable?
Probably the author's innate curiosity and desire to know what made her dog act as he did. It was very relatable.
What did you like best about this story?
Hmmmm... Probably the stories about primates and a close second about the elephants. There are so many people in rural parts of this world who sacrifice so much just so, for example, an elephant doesn't have to cry himself to sleep.
What about Madeleine Maby’s performance did you like?
She disappeared into the story. She didn't get theatrical and let the stories stand on their own merit.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I hate crying while listening because I don't want to look like a nut, but the parts about the abuse of circus, and other, elephants hurt me to my core. That, and the testing animals had to go through so we could learn fundamental truths in psychology.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Isadora Dias Munhoz
- 06-13-15
Excelent
For those who are interested in theories connecting animal behaviour, here including human's, to emotional feelings.
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- Jabe
- 08-14-15
Sad but true
The good news is that there is often and possible human redemption in our care taking of our pets and the worlds animals. Her book shows us that we are all animals worthy of care and support regardless of our own special "madness".
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- nancy
- 07-31-14
a magazine article at best
This is a meditation that goes nowhere. The narrator has a very pleasing voice and delivers the prose in a robotic formula. Altogether I just could not finish the book. I am interested in the subject but the subject never really seemed to arrive. Altogether too personal both in the prose and narration and never really finds the rest of us.
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4 people found this helpful