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A review by debbiewakefield10
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz
4.0
I read this book for book club. I learned quite a bit about dogs, animal behavior and psychology. I think it’d be a great read for someone interested in learning about the science of dog psychology and what research has been done about dogs.
It’s important to note this book is written by a psychology professor, not a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist. I wish she had co authored the book with a veterinarian. She gets a lot of her information and sources from psychology studies, not so much from veterinary research or JAVMA articles. I appreciated her references to Temple Grandin.
I gave the book four stars because I wish she had co authored it with a vet and because I felt it was written at a high reading level. It’s definitely not an easy beach read. She uses a lot of long complex sentences and psychology terms. Maybe I’m just dense but I found it to be a dense read. I agree with other reviews that the author can be long winded and tangential. (I also wasn’t crazy about all the anecdotes about her dog. Everyone thinks their dog is the greatest)
What I’ll take away from this book is that dogs really see the world through smells. Their sense of smell is so much more powerful than ours. I’ve found myself being more patient with my dog on walks when she frequently stops to smell things. I’m also more patient when she rolls in mud at the dog park. She’s not doing it because she’s mad at me or hats me, she’s just a dog and the mud felt nice.
I would highly recommend reading “Decoding Your Dog” which is expertly written by board certified veterinary behaviorists. The information is written in plain English with each chapter following the same format. That book also talks about why dogs behave the way they do, but provides more tangible advice, which I think a lot of people are looking for.
It’s important to note this book is written by a psychology professor, not a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist. I wish she had co authored the book with a veterinarian. She gets a lot of her information and sources from psychology studies, not so much from veterinary research or JAVMA articles. I appreciated her references to Temple Grandin.
I gave the book four stars because I wish she had co authored it with a vet and because I felt it was written at a high reading level. It’s definitely not an easy beach read. She uses a lot of long complex sentences and psychology terms. Maybe I’m just dense but I found it to be a dense read. I agree with other reviews that the author can be long winded and tangential. (I also wasn’t crazy about all the anecdotes about her dog. Everyone thinks their dog is the greatest)
What I’ll take away from this book is that dogs really see the world through smells. Their sense of smell is so much more powerful than ours. I’ve found myself being more patient with my dog on walks when she frequently stops to smell things. I’m also more patient when she rolls in mud at the dog park. She’s not doing it because she’s mad at me or hats me, she’s just a dog and the mud felt nice.
I would highly recommend reading “Decoding Your Dog” which is expertly written by board certified veterinary behaviorists. The information is written in plain English with each chapter following the same format. That book also talks about why dogs behave the way they do, but provides more tangible advice, which I think a lot of people are looking for.