Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know

Alexandra Horowitz racked up major brownie points right from the beginning with this book. The title comes from one of my favorite quotes ever, from the mouth of Groucho Marx. Also, early on she heads complaints off at the pass by stating that she is using "owner" rather than "pet parent" or some other such silly phrasing because that's the legal term, and she will use "him" and "his" when referring to dogs in general because that's the English default, and, knowing dogs as she does, "it" is not an option. That latter scored high with me: I have Issues with writers who use "it" for animals (particularly those who talk about a mare or stallion and then call the horse "it"), so this made me happy. She is a long-time dog person, so all show more else being equal we are kindred spirits.

And it is a fascinating look at canine life and behavior. I'm not sure it made me see my dog in a whole new light as she promised it would, except for a qualm every time I scratch her back that I might be asserting my dominance – but she loves every second of it, so if I am dominating her she's ok with it. I pretty much knew about the dominance of scent in a dog's life; I did not know about the way a dog perceives color (they're not colorblind, exactly). I knew a little about signs of dominance and submission; I didn't know about what face-licking might really mean. (Pop goes the illusion…ew.) I like the insight that the pitch of a voice, canine or human, in many ways equates to size: low and menacing indicates not only a warning but the idea "and I'm big enough to follow through, too."

Something I sort of knew but found confirmation for: wolves howl when they're lonely. So, I can attest, do beagles. Only moreso.

One valuable thing this book does is reiterate the common-sense yet somehow easily overlooked point that, just as we don't know why our dogs do some of the things they do, most of what we the people do (much less say) is utterly incomprehensible to dogs. That, very simply, they don't think the way we do. It's all very well for us to say "don't get up on the couch, no, bad!" – but there's a very simple reason it's so hard to enforce. To a dog the couch is not an expensive piece of furniture which needs to be protected from shed fur and stains – it's a nice soft elevated surface to curl up on, with a nice back to it to curl up against, and after all that's what the bipeds use it for. And how can you honestly expect a dog to ignore that pail of food scraps and wrappers under the sink when it's just sitting there at her level smelling (to her) so wonderful? Again, "no, bad!" doesn't really make sense to a dog, however often and however loudly it's repeated. It's food. It's there. It's unprotected. It's hers. Dogs don't naturally do many of the things we ask them to do; many owners, and even many trainers seem to either forget that they're not mute people but canines, and this is where dressed-up dogs doing ridiculous things on command come from. Poor things.

This book made me happy I never successfully trained any of our dogs to heel (not that I tried too strenuously).

I was simultaneously impressed with and bemused by the tales of the research studies that have been conducted on dogs; on the one hand, some of the results are fascinating – where dogs' mental processes may (or may not) function like toddlers'; on the other, I found myself marveling that well-educated grownups spend their days fooling around with dogs, all in the name of science. Some of them wore buckets on their heads.

Overall, this book did an admirable job of both teaching me what an umwelt is and helping me deepen my understanding of a dog's. This was a comprehensible, mostly-plain-language, often very funny and occasionally moving study which both solidified and informed my stance as a fiercely partisan dog person. While it's not intended as a training guide, there's some wonderfully common sense information, particularly toward the end, which will be valuable both with Daisy and when – hopefully years from now – I next need it. Did it change the way I see my beagle? Not much. But I do feel like I have a better handle on what's going on between those long ears. I have an even deeper appreciation for that always-busy nose.

And I'm kind of glad she's never been much of a face-licker. show less

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandria Horowitz weaves research with personal observations of her dog. Horowitz writes with both passion and detachment in a way that explains how and why we interact with dogs the way we do. Inside of a Dog weaves together research that can be a bit academic at times with the story of the relationship between humans and dogs to create a compelling and interesting story. There were several times where I'll admit I didn't like needing to rethink my perceptions of why the dogs in my life behaved in certain ways, but Horowitz often showed examples from her relationship with her dog that further illuminated how natural it is for us to assign things to the dogs in our lives using the show more language we understand. It's important for us to see the world from the animals who share our homes. It's easy to view the animals who share our lives through the lens with which we live our lives. Inside of a Dog offers those who love dogs an opportunity to see the world from the dog's point of view. show less

A compelling read that totally changed how I look at my dog and gave me a richer understanding of the worldview of my fuzzy friend. I found the science interesting and well presented - even if the results sometimes seemed frustratingly vague about what we do and do not know. And Horowitz' personal relationship with her dog Pumpernickel added a nice emotional touch.

INSIDE OF A DOG was a fascinating and informative read, and probably would be for any "dog-owner," or, if that's already a politically incorrect term, then for anyone who has ever shared his or her life with a dog. And there have been dogs around for most of my life, so I certainly qualify. Yeah, I liked Alexandra Horowitz's scientific study of canine behavior. If it doesn't contain all the answers on why dogs do the things they do, it certainly gives you plenty to gnaw on, and entertains you in the process. There are plenty of "yes" moments in the book, like "Barking can be contagious ... one dog barking might prompt a chorus of barking dogs, all joined in their shared noisiness." That's an "OH, yes" statement I can heartily agree show more with. Walking around the block with my two dogs I know of nearly two dozen dogs in that four-block stretch. Those other dogs often all take note of our walk and, well, yeah, "a chorus of barking dogs." (This reminded me of something I read somewhere about a guy who had devised a special collar for dogs which 'translated' their barks. Turned out they were all saying: "hey! hey! HEY!")

Or, conversely, here's another favorite bit -

"... it is the very fact that they do not use language that makes me especially treasure dogs. Their silence can be one of their most endearing traits ... There is no awkwardness in a shared silent moment with a dog: a gaze from the dog on the other side of the room; lying sleepily alongside of each other. It is when language stops that we connect most fully."

Perhaps my favorite chapter here was toward the end, "You Had Me at Hello." In it Horowitz states: "Often it is contact that draws us to animals. Our sense of touch ..." Again, an 'aha' moment of recognition for me. Our most recent dog, adopted from the local shelter, is a delicately leggy Boston Terrier-Chihuahua mix. Emmy was not at all the kind of dog we were looking for, but she was the only dog in the place who wasn't barking, which intrigued me. Upon being let out of her cage, she shyly approached me, stood up on her hind legs and placed just one front foot ever so softly upon my knee. Touch. She had me even withOUT Hello. Emmy has owned me for just over a year now.

Horowitz is a psychologist and specializes in animal behavior. But she is also a doglover. Me too. If I have any complaints about INSIDE OF A DOG, it's that it can be on occasion a bit TOO scientific and a little redundant here and there. But that's a small thing. This is a damn good read. If you've got a dog that owns you, you'll enjoy dipping into this book. I recommend it. show less

This is a sublime combination of years of studying and filming dog behavior and the author's experience with her own beloved pet, Pumpernickel. Whether they are smelling, hearing, seeing, playing, observing, or at rest, here dogs are regarded with the goal of appreciating them as they really are, and maximizing our enjoyment of them. A beautiful balance of the personal and the general. I miss Pump myself.

I should probably begin by saying that this book isn't for everyone. While the language is easily accessible to laypeople, therefore making this one of the few books focusing on cognitive ethology that gears away from more specialized language, that doesn't mean it's going to appeal to the general public. While this book did see high sales, a quick perusal of the different GoodReads reviews shows a great number of people who found themselves bored to tears. Personally, I found this book both enthralling and difficult too put down. Comparative psychology is also one of the topics I find most interesting.

This book is written with a keen wit and a loving attention to detail. [a:Alexandra Horowitz|2874371|Alexandra show more Horowitz|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1261499384p2/2874371.jpg] intersperses anecdotal evidence culled from her sixteen years with her mutt Pump along with case studies from both prominent scientists in the field of ethology and up-and-comers to explain the umwelt of a dog. Earlier chapters primarily deal with separating the truth from fiction behind canine evolution (i.e. just because dogs evolved from wolves doesn't mean they still view the world the way that wolves do) while later chapters delve into... well, more doggy-ness. Eventually the book makes strides towards explaining just what it is that dogs do know, while not doing dogs any disservice for, well, being dogs.

This book marks the first step towards a more scientific understanding of man's best friend, and hopefully will spearhead more thorough analysis in the years to come. I am as surprised as [a:Alexandra Horowitz|2874371|Alexandra Horowitz|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1261499384p2/2874371.jpg] was that more studies haven't been done on dogs, though she does make a very fine point towards the end that there are some things that simply can't be studied objectively. Nonetheless, the bond between dogs and humans is very well explained in this book. I certainly will be looking at the dogs I see with a keener attention and doing what I can to interact with them on their own terms more often in the future.

It never ceases to amaze me that we can interact with animals as well as we can. show less

A fascinating and beautiful look at what we can infer about the inner lives of our dogs. I love that the author leans on scientific studies for the information but is willing to provide some commentary and interpretation of her own to fill out the places the available science doesn't take us. This isn't really a practical guide to dog training—look elsewhere if that's what you want. But it's a great read for anyone who wants a better idea of how our dog friends see the world, how they see us, what they understand, and what they feel.