Being a Dog

By: Alexandra Horowitz

Narrated by: Alexandra Horowitz

Alexandra Horowitz, the author of the lively, highly informative New York Times best-selling blockbuster Inside of a Dog, explains how dogs perceive the world through their most spectacular organ - the nose - and how we humans can put our underused sense of smell to work in surprising ways.

What the dog sees and knows comes mostly through his nose, and the information that every dog takes in about the world just based on smell is unthinkably rich. To a dog there is no such thing as "fresh air". Every gulp of air is full of information.

In Being a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz, an eminent research scientist in the field of dog cognition, explores what the nose knows by taking an imaginative leap into what it is like to be a dog. Inspired by her own family dogs, Finnegan and Upton, Horowitz sets off on a quest to make sense of scents. In addition to speaking to experts across the country, Horowitz visits the California Narcotic Canine Association Training Institute and the Stapleton Group's Vapor Wake explosives dog training team; she meets vets and researchers working with dogs to detect cancerous cells and anticipate epileptic seizures or diabetic shock; and she travels with Finnegan to the West Coast, where he learns how to find truffles. Horowitz even attempts to smell-train her own nose.

Being a Dog is a scientifically rigorous book that presents cutting-edge research with literary flair. Revealing such surprising facts as panting dogs cannot smell to explaining how dogs tell time by detecting lingering smells, Horowitz covers the topic of noses - both canine and human - from curious and always fascinating angles. As we come to understand how rich, complex, and exciting the world around us appears to a dog's sense of smell, we can begin to better appreciate it through our own.

©2016 Alexandra Horowitz. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

A new world perceived

I enjoyed Ms Horowitz's first book enough to buy copies for my dog owning friends. This time I'm extending my recommendations to friends who are doctor's, people with exploring curiosity and those who enjoy examining the world around them. The joy Ms Horowitz takes in exploring the worlds of noses, both of dogs and humans, is too exciting to be missed.

Great!

The narration was great and engaging. The information was easy to understand and fascinating. If you wonder how your dog experiences the world this is a great book.

Smell more!

I learned that I should pay more attention to smell. The book is a little wordy but an interesting listen. If you're a Dog person or you're crazy about dogs, I'd recommend it.

Somewhat Misleading Title

I was going to write a more detailed review, but then I saw N. Rogers "Lacks Specificity on Dogs" review and they said most of what I wanted to say and more. So please read theirs for more detail. I will add that I did enjoy the book but was really looking for more emphasis on the dogs rather than smelling, specifically human smelling. My only other, somewhat negative comment, was with the narration. I think that Alexandra Horowitz did a fairly good job (I did give 4 stars), however, for being the author, I would have expected a more animated narration. I came out with the feeling that she simply, sometimes robotically, read the text as opposed to "narrating" it, there were several places where she awkwardly paused were I was sure there was no comma. All in all, however, it is a minor complaint.

I will never take scent lightly

Loved this book. I do scentwork with my dog as a sport and this book made me even more aware of how good this is for my dog ! And I now sniff things mow intently to truly appreciate the gift of being able to do so. Thank you for this great study

Interesting!

The author was a little monotone at times but the content is engaging and informative. I could have done without some stories (e.g. the wine smelling) but I agree that the world seems different now that I learned how intricate smell is. And I definitely appreciate my dogs even more than before.

A Fun Listen to What the Nose Knows

The passion for the author's work comes through in this self-narrated work. A fascinating, behind the scenes look at a dog's amazing sense of smell, and our own obtuse response to it.

Fascinating, yet narrowly focused on the nose

Based on the title, I was expecting a more well-rounded account of what it might be like to be a dog. To my surprise - and some annoyance - the entire book is focused singly on dogs’ sense of smell.

While the book is fascinating and I definitely enjoyed learning about the various aspects of olfactory - in humans as well as dogs, it felt like it went on for far too long about this singular subject. I would have liked to learn more about other aspects of “Being a Dog”.

Lacks Specificity on Dogs

I loved the sections of the book where the author focused on the dogs and their abilities to sense and interpret the world through odor. We are fostering our 11th (Military Working Dog) MWD puppy from the Breeding Program at Lackland. These dogs are all Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherds from European working dog stock, and they are bred to have excesses of courage, persistence, strength, and drive for bite work and detection. We have 4 adopted adult Malinois who live with us, and they all do Nose Work, very much as Alexandra Horowitz described in the last section. We also have some familiarity with the training the military does with the young dogs before they leave us and after they are returned for military training at 7 months.

Therefore my interest is on the dogs, and I care much less about the experience and ability of humans to perceive the world through odor. For comparison, some of the information was valuable, but I found many sections in this book with too much detail of her own personal development of ability to discern the meanings of odor. I would have preferred that more of the book be devoted to what we have learned about the dogs' abilities. Often I was merely tantalized on a subject such as dogs' ability to sense disease in humans and wanted more research detail than was offered. Instead of giving me more about the dogs, the author returned to tedious descriptions of her own personal sense of smell.

I much preferred Inside a Dog, a previous book by Horowitz. It provided more information on dogs and was narrated by a professional while this book was read by the author herself. Many times I found myself slightly irritated by the narrator's tone and rhythm. It wasn't awful, but I noticed it and was distracted.

Overall I was disappointed in this book. I felt very enthused during the "dog chapters" and strongly considered getting copies for our nose work trainer and the head of the MWD breeding program. However, during the long "human chapters" I knew they would never persist with this much introspection by a mere human; dogs are their passion (and mine). Because the information on the dogs never gained the depth I had expected, I was sure none of what was presented here would be new to them.

And so I rated the book 3 stars, which is a low score for me since I am very selective in my choice of reading material. It was probably 4 stars for the "dog parts" and 2 stars for the "people parts."

For those lacking background with detection in working dogs, this book would probably be a good introduction, and perhaps the extensive discussion of human sniffing would provide valuable context for them. The author writes well and descriptively. She loves dogs, and I admire her tremendously for that as well as her appreciation of their talents. The book is worth reading, but I hope this excellent author will write a more detailed, research-based work on this subject.

interesting read

Overall liked but didn't hold my attention for a continuous read. Lot's of interesting facts about dogs and the olfactory sense if that is your cup of tea.