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    Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
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    Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
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    Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
    Ebook419 pages6 hours

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

    By Alexandra Horowitz

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    As an unabashed dog lover, Alexandra Horowitz is naturally curious about what her dog thinks and what she knows. As a cognitive scientist she is intent on understanding the minds of animals who cannot say what they know or feel.

    This is a fresh look at the world of dogs -- from the dog's point of view. The book introduces the reader to the science of the dog -- their perceptual and cognitive Abilities -- and uses that introduction to draw a picture of what it might be like to bea dog. It answers questions no other dog book can -- such as: What is a dog's sense of time? Does she miss me? Want friends? Know when she's been bad? Horowitz's journey, and the insights she uncovered from studying her own dog, Pumpernickel, allowed her to understand her dog better, and appreciate her more through that understanding. The reader will be able to do the same with their own dog.

    This is not another dog training book. Instead, Inside of a Dogwill allow dog owners to look at their pets' behaviour in a different, and revealing light, enabling them to understand their dogs and enjoy their relationship even more.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster UK
    Release dateFeb 18, 2010
    ISBN9781847379573
    Author

    Alexandra Horowitz

    Alexandra Horowitz is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know; Being a Dog: Following the Dog into a World of Smell; Our Dogs, Ourselves: The Story of a Singular Bond; and The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves. She teaches at Barnard College, where she runs the Dog Cognition Lab. She lives with her family of Homo sapiens, Canis familiaris, and Felis catus in New York City.

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    Reviews for Inside of a Dog

    3.5/5

    325 ratings31 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Excellent book on how a dog views the world and us. If you want to understand and adapt to your dog's behaviour than this is the book for you
    • 4/5
      Really, really interesting book. Fascinating reading.Made me look at Tara differently, virtually from the very first page.Like the suggestions at the end for things to try with your dog. I've already tried some of the tips for playing with Tara and I really want to try a 'smell walk' or letting her pick our route on a walk, it'd be fun to see where we end up.I knew it was going to be sad when it started talking about dogs in old age, but I wasn't prepared for how sad. Cried my eyes out when she described the passing of her dog, Pump.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating reading on how dogs (to the best of our understanding) view the world through their senses.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      And absolutely excellent book every single dog owner should read. It reveals a lot about how dogs perceive the world around them, especially in regards to their relationships with other dogs and with people. It dispels a lot of myths and gives insight into dog behaviors based on current scientific research, yet is written by a person who really loves dogs. A must read!
    • 4/5
      Now I want a dog.
    • 2/5
      Anyone could have written this, by being very observant and a close partner of the dog which a dog lover IS. And by brushing up on dog neurology. Love to all dogs..
    • 4/5
      Animal psychologist Horowitz, who specializes in dog cognition, explains dog behavior for lay readers. After reading this book, I have a better understanding of my dog, the bond we share, and how my dog’s experience of the world differs from mine. I wish I had known about this book when I adopted my dog nearly 8 years ago. I think it would have made the adjustment period easier for both of us.
    • 4/5
      File under "things to keep in mind when addressing someone else's dog. How they might think, or feel, or (re)act. If you're smart enough, this might serve to understand and approach maybe another human
    • 3/5
      I had big expectations, and they were mostly unfulfilled. The first few chapters contained some new and useful information, but after that the book went downhill. Each following section simply contained remarks about observations of particular aspects of dogs, and the end was just plain preachy.
    • 3/5
      I like the author's writing. Science plus personal essay. Having read "On Looking" I can see how that project follows this book and is in line with her career of observing animal behavior. Word of the book is umwelt, with a unlaut. Look it up.
    • 4/5
      Notes for the reader: Two things keep this book from being a "5".
      1. Unrecognizable, Unpronounceable words on nigh every page. Sometimes, two or three pages have clear, or ignorable, words.
      2. Faint font. Very difficult to see. I am not sure if this author had any control of the font in her book. Even with a 100 watt bulb inches away, it looked like spider writing.

      What ages would I recommend it too? – Twelve and up.

      Length? – A couple of day’s read.

      Characters? – Memorable, several characters.

      Setting? – Real world, mostly dog parks.

      Written approximately? – 2009.

      Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Ready to read more.

      Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? Readable font. Tone down the abnormal, unrecognizable words. - immutable, quotidian, umwelt (at least they give a definition for this one!), alacrity, and many more!

      Short storyline: A complex look at a dog's life.

    • 4/5
      My relationship with my dog, Lucy, is important to me so I find this book interesting on learning more about dogs, their nature, and how they see the world.
    • 5/5
      Excellent narrator, great book for dog lovers (and animal lovers). Provides useful up-to-date info on the latest dog behavior theories in an easy to listen to, funny, insightful manner. Highly recommend.
    • 3/5
      Much of the book presented information well known to me. The last chapters were the most interesting. The book, overall, was ruined for me by the author expressing a particular personal opinion as scientific fact.
    • 4/5
      Most dog owners should enjoy this book
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      I am currently majoring in Psychology and am employed at a Doggie Daycare. Psychology and Animals completely make up my life. I was surprised to see this on the top sellers at the bookstore because I felt it would only reach a limited audience. Either way, I find it extremely interesting and captivating. While very informative, it is also entertaining.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      Excellent work that gave me a better understanding of my dogs. While the book is not a how to type of book it does give you tips and ideas for how to better communicate with the old pooches!
    • 4/5
      This is a bestselling biology textbook that reads like a lengthy New Yorker column (as if there are any other kind). It is not a guide to dog training; it is a guide to understanding dog behavior from a biologist's perspective. For example, dogs are very far-sighted, which is why they can spot a frisbee from 20 yards away but can't see a treat on the rug. Also, tracking dogs have an ability to smell that is so precise, they can tell not only where the target has been, but how recently. Pace back and forth in the same place, and these dogs will be able to follow your footsteps exactly. This book is full of these fascinating little factoids. WARNING: It takes a lot longer to walk a dog after reading this book - you won't have the heart to pull him away from all those interesting smells.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 3/5
      The most important message that can be gained from this behaviorist book is that every dog is an individual and must be treated as such. A decent read for the dog behaviorist novice, even if the ideas were a bit jumbled. However, I disagreed with a lot of Horowitz's observations. The biggest disagreement was with Horowitz's perception of the alpha dog/pack leader handling of dogs. Horowitz is against the idea, and I think it comes down to semantics. I interpret Horowitz to believe the pack leader relationship between human and dog to be mean and aggressive with negative reinforcements. Horowitz even states human families are not alpha female/male driven. In my house, my mom/dad were the alpha, and who doesn't want to grow up to be the mom/dad. I define the alpha/pack leader relationship as the humans making the decisions and delivering guidance while taking cues from the dogs' needs with the dogs following the humans' decisions. But that's my personal opinion...
    • 4/5
      Horowitz's book on dogs isn't like other dog books I've read. Rather than simply telling cutesy stories, or conversely, rather than simply treating the dog like an emotionless, instinct-driven animal, Horowitz presents a balanced view of domestic canines from her scientific perspective and her experiences as a pet owner.The majority of her chapters are given to explaining, in plain language, the scientific processes behind how a dog's mind and senses work, giving evidence, historical detail, and anatomical insight. In parallel with that, she presents examples from her own experience as a dog owner, even if those experiences contradict what 'science' currently claims as true.I liked how she was hesitant to anthropomorphize dogs when presenting the scientific side of things, but acknowledged the near-impossibility of avoiding doing so as a pet owner. She recognized the flaws in some of the studies done on dog behavior, noting that if you asked any dog owner the same questions, they could answer without hesitation.While I don't actually own a dog -- and truth be told, dogs aren't my favorite animals by a long shot -- I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have shared it with several dog owners since reading it. I feel I came away with a better understanding of domestic canines (and wild, actually), and it was a fascinating read to boot!
    • 1/5
      ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Boring! The cover misrepresents the contents. I'm a dog owner but do not wish to be an animal psychologist. I wouldn't even let my dog chew on this book.
    • 4/5
      This is not a pop dog-lover's book. It is an animal behavior book (think Lorenz, peer-reviewed studies, psychobiology). In a way, I was hoping for the former. I expected a simple read that would tell me what my dog is up to. Four stars for excellent, insightful writing; 3 stars as a result of my own personal preferences and interests.
    • 4/5
      Although I have not owned a dog of my own for several years now, I have always been a dog lover and I still very much enjoy getting to know the dogs that belong to my friends and family. And, like most dog lovers, I have often wondered what was really going on between the ears of those critters while they look me so directly in the eyes. With Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know, Alexandra Horowitz provides answers to most of my questions. Some of her answers are amazing and some are a bit disappointing, but all of them are interesting - and make great conversation starters. Let's begin with one that will probably disappoint and crack up an equal number of dog owners: the doggy kiss through which they and their animal supposedly express their affection. According to Horowitz, "our mouths taste great to dogs." They are, in fact, falling back on a method they used as puppies to get their mothers to regurgitate some partially digested food for them. Just think how often you have disappointed your kissing-dog by not following through with the hoped for snack. I was surprised, as I suspect many people will be, that our modern-day wolf is not the ancestor of the dog, but that they instead share a common ancestor. While today's wolves and dogs do share many characteristics, they have many differences. One of the most noticeable differences is the dog's willingness to look humans directly in the eye as it seeks their guidance. Wolves, on the other hand, want nothing to do with eye contact. Inside of a Dog is filled with chapters that explore a dog's tendency to "see" the world through his sense of smell, the supposed psychic powers of dogs, the meaning of growls and barks, how to read a dog's body language, what a dog sees through his eyes (including dealing with the myth that dogs do not see color), a dog's sense of time, and what a dog does all day at home alone. One of the more fascinating topics visited is the highly structured play techniques of dogs, even when meeting a strange dog for the first time. We have all witnessed a tiny dog taking on a huge canine opponent in mock battle - and living to play another day. Horowitz through hours and hours of watching slowed-down videos was able to identify the signals that dogs send to each other during this kind of play. She noted the willingness of the larger dog to handicap himself when taking on a dog much smaller than himself, either by falling onto his back or crouching low enough for the other dog to look him in the eye. What she describes is quite remarkable and I would love to see some of the video she describes. Dog lovers, this one is for you. It works particularly well because, for the most part, Horowitz avoids getting too sentimental or cute in expressing her personal love for the dog. I am definitely not a fan of "dog novels" (or "cat novels," for that matter) so I thoroughly enjoyed all the dog-stereotype debunking included in Inside of a Dog. Rated at: 4.0
    • 5/5
      The author is a) really knowledgeable about the science of dogs, b) obviously a dog-lover, and c) a surprisingly good writer. Highly recommended to people who love dogs!
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      What do dogs know? How do they think? The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human.

      Inside of a Dog is a fresh look at the world of dogs -- from the dog's point of view. As a dog owner, Horowitz is naturally curious to learn what her dog thinks about and knows. And as a scientist, she is intent on understanding the minds of animals who cannot speak for themselves.

      In clear, crisp prose, Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs' perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a picture of what it might be like to be a dog. What's it like to be able to smell not just every bit of open food in the house but also to smell sadness in humans or even the passage of time? How does a tiny dog manage to play successfully with a Great Dane? What is it like to hear the bodily vibrations of insects or the hum of a fluorescent light? Why must a person on a bicycle be chased? What's it like to use your mouth as a hand? In short, what is it like for a dog to experience life from two feet off the ground, amidst the smells of the sidewalk, gazing at our ankles or knees?

      Inside of a Dog explains these things and much more. The answers can be surprising -- once we set aside our natural inclination to anthropomorphize dogs. Inside of a Dog also contains up-to-the-minute research -- on dogs' detection of disease, the secrets of their tails, and their skill at reading our attention -- that Horowitz puts into useful context. Although not a formal training guide, Inside of a Dog has practical application for dog lovers interested in understanding why their dogs do what they do.

      The relationship between dogs and humans is arguably the most fascinating animal-human bond because dogs evolved from wild creatures to become our companions, an adaptation that changed their bodies, brains, and behavior. Yet dogs always remain animals, familiar but mysterious. With a light touch and the weight of science behind her, Alexandra Horowitz examines the animal we think we know best but may actually understand the least. This book is as close as you can get to knowing about dogs without being a dog yourself.