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

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 thoroughly delightful and very interesting book about dogs. It's not the usual "how to get your dog to behave and to x, y, z". Instead, this book is about how dogs see and experience the world, how they interact with other dogs and humans, and what sets them apart from many other animals, both wild and domesticated. One big take-away for me from this book is that dogs are special: the way they are able to bond with humans, how good they are at working with humans, and how well they understand us makes them a rather unique species.

I particularly enjoyed the scientific breakdown of how dogs play with each other, and Horowitz' engaging explanation of how various behavioural experiments show how deep the connection is between dogs show more and humans.

This book is an engaging and easy read, with lots of new insight and information for any and all dog owners. It also promotes a much more easy going and relaxed relationship between dogs and dog owners than many "dog books", something I very much appreciated. show less

A great look at the psychology behind dog’s actions. I enjoyed the author’s personable writing style and comments about her relationship with her own dog. The book gave me a much bigger appreciation for the importance of smell in my dog’s daily life. It’s a pleasant quick read, but people should keep in mind that it was never intended to be a training book. Its goal is to help you understand your dog better through a look at their ancestors and the root of their actions.

This is not a book you can read straight through. It's too dense with science and sociology and tiny details.

However it's fascinating to anyone who loves dogs and really wants to know what makes them tick.

We try to make them human but nope they're dogs. This explains why we should stop trying.

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.

What is it like to be a dog? Horowitz attempts to answer this question by calling on science. She explains how a dog smells, sees, hears, and even responds to emotions.

She follows the breeding path from wolf to dog and rejects the notion that a dog is at heart still a wolf, a "pack animal", and that it must be forced to be submissive to behave correctly. Dogs can be bred with wolves and share close genetics with them but the two are clearly different animals. Dogs were bred to be with humans, and it is this trait that spells the primary difference between dogs and wolves - and in fact between dogs and any other animals, really.

Throughout this well-written book, Horowitz inserts short paragraphs from notes she took while enjoying her show more own dogs, especially Pump, to illustrate certain points. The notes also serve to remind us that the dog is not a dog without a human.

One of the points Horowitz makes that had not occurred to me is that dogs and humans tend to operate at the same "speed". They walk well together, they tune in to each other at the same rate, they sleep when we sleep. Because of their physiological characteristics, dogs are actually just a little "ahead" of us, thus the amazing way they can grab a frisbee from the air, for example. But it is just a little, and only serves to increase our admiration.

It isn't a training manual but a human companion training a dog might find this book useful for its insight into how the dog thinks, sees, hears, insofar as it is possible to explain and to know these things. For anyone, the book can increase understanding and appreciation. Beyond that, it is enjoyable to read. show less