Book Review: Inside Of a Dog

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

What is it like to be a dog?

"[To a dog] the world is smelly; well peopled with people. On further consideration, we can add: it is close to the ground; it is lickable."

—Alexandra Horowitz

I read so many great reviews of this book that I couldn't resist reading it. With upcoming holidays it was the first book I bought and packed.

I was not disappointed.

In order to understand anybody, we need to understand how they experience the world and what motivates them.

I believe that this book will get you as close to understanding your dog's perspective of the world as you're gonna get.

In the attempt to connect with our dogs, we assign human emotions, reasoning and motives to them. Does that really help us or does this biased approach prevent us from truly understanding them?

Do dogs experience the world the same way we do? 

Or is their reality quite different from ours?

Whats with their fascination with fire hydrants and crotches? Why is our bed more appealing to them than their own?

Learning how dog's senses work, what is important to them and what is not, can give us some understanding of how they might think and what they might feel.

Do you think dogs are smarter or dumber than you figured? What's up with their annoying habbits of shredding shoes and jumping on people? Do they really feel guilt?

If you want to better understand your dog, go and get this book. You will enjoy reading and and you will enjoy your dog much more too.

Jana

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Alexandra Horowitz teaches psychology at Barnard College, Columbia University. She earned her PhD in Cognitive Science at the University of California at San Diego, and has studied the cognition of humans, rhinoceros, bonobos, and dogs. For seventeen years she shared her home with an unwitting research subject, Pumpernickel, a wonderful mixed breed. Before her scientific career, Horowitz worked as a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster and served on the staff of The New Yorker. She lives in New York City with her husband, infant son, and Finnegan, a dog of indeterminate parentage and determinate character.

"...a thoughtful take on the interior life of the dog...long on insight and short on jargon..."
—Washington Post