Inside of a Dog

My daughter has a dog.  My daughter is a teenager -- so really -- I have a dog. I grew up with dogs and have had dogs most of my adult life.  (Please note that I like cats too.)  And in spite of how busy I am I have often taken the time to be amazed at how Chihuahuas and Great Danes can both be dogs, descendants of the same animal.  I have wondered about their noses and what it would be like to have that sort of smelling power and I have certainly wondered why they must pee on every little thing when outside.  And why do dogs sometimes take food to a special location to eat -- and then eat the rest of the food from the bowl?  If you too have dogs, like dogs or are just curious about dogs, then I have a book for you.

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz is a very interesting non-fiction book that is about just what the title suggests.  The author, Alexandra Horowitz, became curious about these things when she was working on her doctorate in cognitive science.  The book is one of the results of the research that Horowitz has done since then. The book explains the point of view of the dog based on research the author and others have done.  Horowitz believes that to understand an animal a person has to know how the world looks to that animal.  How does the world look based on, in this case, the dog's point of view.  I must say that the book is leading me to think about my daughter's dog differently.  It may do the same for you.  Now if I could just get the dog to quit chasing one of the cats and quit digging up a houseplant in order to bury her bone...