"What does an animal need to be happy?" asks best-selling author Temple Grandin on the first page of her latest book, "Animals Make Us Human: Creating The Best Life For Animals."

Dr. Grandin answers that question and many others in this 307-page book that is so very different from the many books written for animal lovers.

Does your family dog destroy furniture when left at home alone? Want to know what to do when your cat stops using the litter box and starts spraying the living room couch?

Before you get to the great training tips, you have to sift through the many scientific animal behavioral studies conducted by academics, including Dr. Grandin, a Colorado State University professor with a Ph.D. in animal science. Dr. Grandin also has autism, which she believes gives her the ability to get inside the minds of animals.

Co-author of the book is Catherine Johnson, a writer who specializes in neuropsychiatry and the brain.

Dr. Grandin thinks the key to understanding animals lies in knowing more about their evolution from wild animals to house pets.

"If we get the animal's emotions right, we will have fewer problem behaviors," she says.

This book made we wince, at times, for the authors make it clear that we are not providing our beloved pets with ideal lifestyles. The book has separate chapters for dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, chickens and other poultry, wildlife and animals in zoos.

"In many cases it's impossible to give a domestic or captive animal the freedom to express a normal behavior," Dr. Grandin writes. "For a dog, normal behavior is to roam many miles a day, which is illegal in most towns. Even if it's not illegal, it's dangerous. So you have to figure out substitute behaviors" that will keep animals "happy and stimulated."

Now back to the problem behaviors:

"Forty to 75 percent of all cats brought to the vet for problem behaviors are spraying, urinating and/or defecating in the wrong place," the book says, adding that the behavior is motivated by anxiety and fear.

The book suggests seven solutions, including "change the flooring under the litter box. Cats don't like the plastic mats people put under the box to protect the floor. ... All animals intensely dislike slippy or unsure footing. Any unstable flooring will frighten an animal."

If you have multiple cats, make sure each cat has its own litter box and put each box in a different room.

Change the location of the litter box. Some cats don't like their box in a busy room. Others don't like the box too far out of the way -- like an attic or the basement.

Behavior problems in dogs are often caused by anxiety because they are home alone for too many hours, the book indicates. Dogs are more dependent on people than cats and many other animals. Find a good doggy day-care facility, Dr. Grandin suggests, get a second dog or make sure you devote at least an hour of quality time per day with the dog.

The one hour could be a long walk, or you could break it down into a 30-minute walk, 15 minutes of play and 15 minutes of learning a new trick. The new trick could be navigating jumps and tunnels on an at-home agility course.

As for play, buy plenty of toys, but don't give them all to the dog at the same time. "Rotate the toys the same way people rotate toys for their kids. Old toys are boring; new toys are fun."

Cats need to play and they "like anything that moves because cats are hunters," the authors write.

The book suggests toys attached to strings and flexible 18-inch wands with feathers on the end. Behaviorist Karen Overall recommends "cat mazes, cat trees, food puzzles and screened-in areas outdoors. These things lower a cat's stress level by giving it choices."

"Animals Make Us Human" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26) is currently No. 12 on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction list.

Linda Wilson Fuoco can be reached at lfuoco@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3064.

"What does an animal need to be happy?" asks best-selling author Temple Grandin on the first page of her latest book, "Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals."

Dr. Grandin answers that question and many others in this 307-page book that is very different from the many books written for animal lovers.

Does your family dog destroy furniture when left at home alone? Want to know what to do when your cat stops using the litter box and starts spraying the living room couch?

Before you get to the great training tips, you have to sift through the many scientific animal behavioral studies conducted by academics, including Dr. Grandin, a Colorado State University professor with a Ph.D. in animal science. Dr. Grandin also has autism, which she believes gives her the ability to get inside the minds of animals.

Co-author of the book is Catherine Johnson, a writer who specializes in neuropsychiatry and the brain.

Dr. Grandin thinks the key to understanding animals lies in knowing more about their evolution from wild animals to house pets.

"If we get the animal's emotions right, we will have fewer problem behaviors," she says.

This book made we wince, at times, for the authors make it clear that we are not providing our beloved pets with ideal lifestyles. The book has separate chapters for dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, chickens and other poultry, wildlife and animals in zoos.

"In many cases it's impossible to give a domestic or captive animal the freedom to express a normal behavior," Dr. Grandin writes. "For a dog, normal behavior is to roam many miles a day, which is illegal in most towns. Even if it's not illegal, it's dangerous. So you have to figure out substitute behaviors" that will keep animals "happy and stimulated."

Now back to the problem behaviors:

"Forty to 75 percent of all cats brought to the vet for problem behaviors are spraying, urinating and/or defecating in the wrong place," the book says, adding that the behavior is motivated by anxiety and fear.

The book suggests seven solutions, including "change the flooring under the litter box. Cats don't like the plastic mats people put under the box to protect the floor. ... All animals intensely dislike slippy or unsure footing."

If you have multiple cats, make sure each cat has its own litter box and put each box in a different room. Some cats don't like their box in a busy room. Others don't like the box too far out of the way -- like an attic or the basement.

Behavior problems in dogs are often caused by anxiety because they are home alone for too many hours, the book indicates. Find a good doggy day-care facility, Dr. Grandin suggests, get a second dog or make sure you devote at least an hour of quality time per day with the dog.

The one hour could be a long walk, or you could break it down into a 30-minute walk, 15 minutes of play and 15 minutes of learning a new trick. As for play, buy plenty of toys, but don't give them all to the dog at the same time. "Rotate the toys the same way people rotate toys for their kids. Old toys are boring; new toys are fun."

Cats need to play and they "like anything that moves because cats are hunters," the authors write.

The book suggests toys attached to strings and wands with feathers on the end. Behaviorist Karen Overall recommends "mazes, cat trees, food puzzles and screened-in areas outdoors. These things lower a cat's stress level by giving it choices."

"Animals Make Us Human" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26) is currently No. 12 on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-sellers list.