Reviews

Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz

klsreads's review against another edition

3.0

While I found this book somewhat lacking in cohesive structure and repetitive almost to a fault, I am glad that I read it. At the beginning, I found it easy to get bored, but it really picked up at the end. It's worth the read for the pure fact that I now understand better how my dogs see the world and how my actions or inaction may be interpreted.

My habits and interactions with my dogs have changed because of this book for the better and made them happier animals, so I do strongly suggest this to people with pets. Though it can get dry and almost unrelated at points, it's well written (minus some structure and bits of content). If you can't stand getting through the whole book, I'd suggest skipping to the chapter, "The Importance of Mornings." That has some of the greatest and most concise advice about interacting with a dog.

Happy reading!

magpiewithpebbles's review against another edition

funny informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.25

leannaaker's review against another edition

4.0

This was a great layperson's introduction to dog behavior and psychology. The author does a great job of parsing very interesting scientific research into metaphors and analogies that anyone could understand. The best part of the book, I think, is that it could equally appeal to the casual dog owner and the nerdy dog behaviorist and trainer. There is enough "meat" in the book to satisfy the latter. My only complaint is that since the structure of the chapters were all very similar, the reading bogged in places. Or perhaps, if there had been a roadmap to the chapters presented to weave almost a story through all of it, it might have seemed less disjointed.

A great read for dog folks.

jhaydel's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.5

malachi_oneill's review against another edition

3.0

Umwelt is a German word used to denote an organism’s unique sensory world.1 It is the biological foundations that lie at the very center of understanding communication and signification in both human and non-human animals.0
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Very interesting to learn more about dogs umvelt.

chamlet5127's review against another edition

3.0

I stopped halfway through. Normally I really like animal behavior and I like dogs. But this book just wandered around the point and rarely made the point well in the end. Might come back to it later, but done with it for now.

drrawsonreads's review against another edition

5.0

Awesome book for scientifically-inclined dog lovers. This is a book that can be read one chapter at a time - each one is like a stand-alone essay. Lots of fascinating tidbits about man's best friend!

jwells's review

informative inspiring reflective

I really enjoyed this. So often our thinking about nonhuman animals falls into oversimplification. Maybe they're just little automatons, who are conditioned to try to get food from us. Maybe they're furry little human children, who need to wear clothes and shoes, and eat ice cream. Or maybe (in the case of dogs) they're wolves, who need to learn that humans are the "alpha." 

Horowitz cuts through all this nonsense and gives us actual science about what it's like to be a dog. She allows for complexity: dogs are canines with instincts, and they have different sense apparatus than humans. But they've also lived closely alongside us for thousands of years, and been selectively bred to get along with humans well. A lot of the time they read us better than we read them. Ha!

I also enjoy the fact that these days, it's acceptable for a scientist to express love for the subject she's studying. Possibly we have Jane Goodall to thank for starting that turnaround, away from fake, cold "objectivity." 

sdreading's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

I enjoyed this book, though I thought it would be more informative. I felt like I knew everything in the first half of the book but the second half, where it goes more into behaviors, was interesting. I think that the last chapter was the most helpful and wish the book had more practical ways to use what we've learned about dogs in everyday life. 

baileyalto's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

3.0