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amalauna's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic!
This book is a must read for all dog lovers. Horowitz begins by urging humans to not anthropomorphize dogs, but by the end of the book she makes dogs so much more than just dogs.
Her asides about her dog are lovely and poignant.
Beautiful. Smart. Readable. Charming.
This book is a must read for all dog lovers. Horowitz begins by urging humans to not anthropomorphize dogs, but by the end of the book she makes dogs so much more than just dogs.
Her asides about her dog are lovely and poignant.
Beautiful. Smart. Readable. Charming.
aheikkinen's review against another edition
5.0
Alexandra Horowitz has done an amazing job at helping one understand the complexities of how dogs perceive the world. Though an understandably hard topic to uncover, she walks you through experiments, history, and the great umwelt of dogs. Definitely not a guide for training- but a perfect read for anyone looking to understand and enrich their dogs life better.
blissfulbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Most people know how much I love dogs, whether they are my own, my friends', or any random dog on the street. Having also been involved with animal rescue for a brief time, I've had a chance to interact with many different dogs, and to appreciate the remarkable diversity in their looks & personalities. This book focuses on the unifying factor: their doggy-ness, especially in relation to us humans. I really enjoyed learning more about them as a species, and all the amazing ways they have co-evolved with humans, and how we profoundly affect each other. I'll end by dedicating my little review to my own joyful bundles of fur, Webby and Hoochoo!
mjcjka's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating! I will never look at my dog that same again. This book made you think of your dog as a completely different being. It also made you love them even more.
tracey_stewart's review against another edition
4.0
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.
(ETA: OK, that was very long. I hacked out the personal bits about my own beasts; it's all on my blog, though.)
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.
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.
(ETA: OK, that was very long. I hacked out the personal bits about my own beasts; it's all on my blog, though.)
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.
lphel's review against another edition
3.0
If you love dogs, and want to learn more about them, I highly recommend this book! I like to read stories about dogs more than informational books, so I gave this 3 stars.
katepowellshine's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, this book is just great! You don't even have to be a dog person to enjoy it, only sufficiently curious about the world.
sherming's review against another edition
4.0
A mix of heart-felt homage to a long-time pet, introduction to scientific/anthropological concepts, and in-depth study of dog physiology and behavior, this work will probably receive mixed reviews based on ones interest in or fixation with dogs. I'm really a dog person, and I was truly captivated by the new, often esoteric information I gleaned from this work.
Horowitz does a good job of balancing the objective look at dogs the species with the emotional look at the dog, the pet, companion, and family member. This book delves into some pretty technical topics that most people probably wouldn't be exposed to until a college level class, but I could see a highly motivated teen (one who's really into dogs) picking this up and getting a great introduction to a lot of concepts they might not otherwise learn until they're out of high school. I wish I'd come across such a work when I was 13 instead of when I was pushing 50.
New things you might learn: The dog's umwelt (how the dog experiences things - how does it smell or taste? can it fit in my mouth? how different are things when you're 10-20 inches from the ground?), the vomeronasal organ (VNO), the flicker fusion rate (or how many frames a second we see (60) compared to a dog (80)), various places scents come from and travel to, a philosophical look at how a dog's sense of the present is not a snapshot (visual) but a selection of things past, present, and future based on experiencing the world primarly through smells.
Horowitz does a good job of balancing the objective look at dogs the species with the emotional look at the dog, the pet, companion, and family member. This book delves into some pretty technical topics that most people probably wouldn't be exposed to until a college level class, but I could see a highly motivated teen (one who's really into dogs) picking this up and getting a great introduction to a lot of concepts they might not otherwise learn until they're out of high school. I wish I'd come across such a work when I was 13 instead of when I was pushing 50.
New things you might learn: The dog's umwelt (how the dog experiences things - how does it smell or taste? can it fit in my mouth? how different are things when you're 10-20 inches from the ground?), the vomeronasal organ (VNO), the flicker fusion rate (or how many frames a second we see (60) compared to a dog (80)), various places scents come from and travel to, a philosophical look at how a dog's sense of the present is not a snapshot (visual) but a selection of things past, present, and future based on experiencing the world primarly through smells.
krbaebler's review against another edition
1.0
I was really excited about this book. The title was catchy and I’m currently educating myself on dogs behaviors so I can be of more use to the dog rescue I help at. However, I had to give up. I can’t describe it, but something about this book just put me to sleep. I could only read about 2-3 pages at a time and I didn’t obtain anything that I read.