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

The #1 New York Times bestselling book from the author of The Year of the Puppy that asks what dogs know and how 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.

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. 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.

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.

ISBN: 9781416583431
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Publisher: Scribner
Published: September 28, 2010

"Causes one's dog-loving heart to flutter with astonishment and gratitude." —The New York Times

"Engaging . . . entertainin . . . an empathetic quest to experience the world from a dog's perspective. . . . Although this book certainly isn't a training manual, Horowitz offers all kinds of useful advice for dog owners." —The Guardian

"Clears up common misconceptions about our four-legged friends " —NPR

“A thoughtful take on the interior life of the dog . . . long on insight and short on jargon.” —The Washington Post

“An intelligent, fully dimensional portrait of the way dogs experience the world.” —The Star-Ledger

“An essential read for pet owners and students of animal behavior.” —Library Journal

“Nearly flawless.” —The Bark“Discover why your dog is so sensitive to your emotions, gaze, and body language. Dogs live in a world of ever changing intricate detail of smell. Read this captivating book and enter the sensory world of your dog.” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make us Human

"Inside of a Dog is a most welcomed authoritative, personal, and witty book about what it is like to be a dog. Alexandra Horowitz has spent a lot of time studying our best friends and shares her knowledge in a readable volume that also serves as a corrective to the many myths that circulate about just who our canine companions are." —Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals

“This fascinating and elegant book will open your eyes, ears, and nose to what your dog thinks and understands. Part science, part personal observation, part love letter to a rescued dog named Pumpernickel—and all pure fun.” —Karen Pryor, author of Reaching the Animal Mind and Don't Shoot the Dog!: The Art of Teaching and Training