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kristakruger's review against another edition
2.0
This book was not what I expected at all. I really wanted to love it, but didn’t.
It might have been the dreadfully boring, 59 page chapter titled “The Trouble with Breeds” that did me in. I’m certain it was interesting to some people, but it just felt like it was never ending to me.
The research presented though the book is dull to say the least. There are some interesting parts in the book, but most often that is when the author is relating her own experiences with her own dogs to the research presented.
This was an extremely dry book that was very hard to read. In fact, part way through I just started skimming the book instead of full on reading.
It might have been the dreadfully boring, 59 page chapter titled “The Trouble with Breeds” that did me in. I’m certain it was interesting to some people, but it just felt like it was never ending to me.
The research presented though the book is dull to say the least. There are some interesting parts in the book, but most often that is when the author is relating her own experiences with her own dogs to the research presented.
This was an extremely dry book that was very hard to read. In fact, part way through I just started skimming the book instead of full on reading.
alexrob's review against another edition
2.0
Extremely well written but a very intense look into human interactions with dogs (mostly negative). Things I knew and are all true but still made it hard to get through and I expected at least a positive “but we can do XYZ going forward” at the end but there really wasn’t much of one.
zhzhang's review against another edition
4.0
A well-written book on the human-dog relationship. The way we should treat our dogs and just let them be dogs. All dog owners should read this book. I remember once I was approached by a stranger asking me "how much responsibilities for a dog owner? How many times you should talk your dog outside and for how long?" Before I tried to give him a good answer from my limited experience, he blurted out, "once? is 5 minutes enough?" I glared at him and walked away.
thewickedbookworm's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a rescue worker and this book ended up pissing me off to no end. The behavior and psychology info was fine, but the author is completely naive if she thinks we're anywhere near a situation that would allow us to reconsider current spay/neuter practices. In a perfect world, maybe sterilization could happen at six or twelve months instead of eight weeks, but we are far from a perfect world. I sympathize with the fact that her cat died while at a spay appointment - not from the procedure, mind you, which only carries a 0.1% mortality rate - but during the administration of pre-surgical pain medication, which could have been from any number of reasons, including unknown health issues or an error on the administering vet/tech's part. That experience cannot be the basis for a blanket opposition to spay/neuter. Animal overpopulation must be handled in one way or another, and currently there are two ways: spay/neuter programs, or mass euthanasia. I know which one I prefer.
lindick's review against another edition
5.0
I love Alexandra Horowitz even more with every book of hers that I read.
At times this book is very hard to read (or listen to on audiobook, like I did) — hearing of all the illnesses that result from inbreeding for purebred pups, for example, or how dogs are treated in most scientific labs. However, those parts, especially the one about breeding, were def the most memorable, and entirely convincing (pushing me beyond my original “adopt don’t shop” to a general idea that maybe breeding dogs should be illegal??). The parts about famous scientific studies to do with dogs were harrowing, but so good to know (Pavlov especially was a monster — I had no idea). I’m also now like 90% convinced that most dogs don’t need to be spayed or neutered, based on her chapter about that.
And she makes sure to sandwich the rough ones between entirely delightful and funny ones, often lists that are just *chef’s kiss*.
Either way, though, Alexandra Horowitz’s writing is *so good*. It doesn’t need to be nearly as good as it is — the material is interesting on its own! But every sentence I think, “damn.” Even if it’s, “damn, that’s cute.”
TW: animal death, animal cruelty
At times this book is very hard to read (or listen to on audiobook, like I did) — hearing of all the illnesses that result from inbreeding for purebred pups, for example, or how dogs are treated in most scientific labs. However, those parts, especially the one about breeding, were def the most memorable, and entirely convincing (pushing me beyond my original “adopt don’t shop” to a general idea that maybe breeding dogs should be illegal??). The parts about famous scientific studies to do with dogs were harrowing, but so good to know (Pavlov especially was a monster — I had no idea). I’m also now like 90% convinced that most dogs don’t need to be spayed or neutered, based on her chapter about that.
And she makes sure to sandwich the rough ones between entirely delightful and funny ones, often lists that are just *chef’s kiss*.
Either way, though, Alexandra Horowitz’s writing is *so good*. It doesn’t need to be nearly as good as it is — the material is interesting on its own! But every sentence I think, “damn.” Even if it’s, “damn, that’s cute.”
TW: animal death, animal cruelty
onewhitetree's review against another edition
3.0
I found chapters in here intriguing, particularly the breed and de-second chapters, but the writing itself, often bordering on philosophy with the point often hidden at the end, felt circular, devoid of tension, so that the arguments the author made became buried. I do think a greater conversation over when, if, and how to de-sex dogs, and how to educate people who want to adopt (as the author points out, many adopters are actually contributing to the puppy milk industry) is necessary.
snarlet319's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent scholarship and writing, Horowitz examines the bond between dogs and humans with both a scientific and a dog-lover's perspective. The book made me think a lot about how I treat my much-loved dogs & what agency they have in our relationship. Sections about breeding dogs and purebreds made me very sad, flipping what I thought I knew and had believed for decades on its head. Not sure I want to go to dog shows now. The book also has very touching and laugh out loud moments. Worth reading if you also have time to reflect on yourself and society.
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