"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." - Groucho MarxThis is a great look at what dogs perceive through their senses and how they use that information to live with us. It's funny, well written, and really interesting for any dog owner. Smell first, hearing second and seeing last. Lots of commonly stated myths about dogs are debunked. The author uses little anecdotes about her own experiences as a dog owner throughout which gives insight into how most of us think about our dogs and their experiences of the day. She then focuses on one or more of our misperceptions to explain what science can understand about what's actually likely going on inside the dog. Really fun. I recommend it highly to any dog lover. I did not like this book. I know that the author is a dog expert and studies these things extensively but I did not agree with her on most things. I know I sound like that person who thinks she knows everything because she has a dog. However, when my dog does something interesting I would research on it. I have a trainer who has been in the business for 10 years who taught me different techniques that actually work and are not physical. She advises against those techniques.She says that wolves do not live in packs. However, comparing wolves with dogs is not the greatest because dogs are a different species and have interaction with humans in their genes (which is crazy but true). This book may be interesting to some people. I hope I am not naive enough to say that this book is plainly wrong. It may be right. I guess, just read this book with a grain of salt.
While not poorly written, the only comparison I can make is that its like reading a text book.
—Marcia
Read the book with my dog in mind the entire time. Wish we could know more, I wanted more.
—jeroen
Very interesting, but I would have enjoyed a more succinct version of the same.
—anna99
Had a hard time staying interested, but there were some interesting facts.
—bobby
Wanted to love it but truly learned nothing new.
—raul_kash
