From the #1 bestselling author of Inside of a Dog and The Year of the Puppyââan incredible journey into the olfactory world of manâs best friendâ (O, The Oprah Magazine), Alexandra Horowitzâs follow-up to her New York Times bestseller explains how dogs experience the world through their most spectacular organâthe nose.
In her âfascinating bookâŚHorowitz combines the expertise of a scientist with an easy, lively writing styleâ (The New York Times Book Review) as she imagines what it is like to be a dog. Guided by her own dogs, Finnegan and Upton, Horowitz sets off on a quest through the cutting-edge science behind the olfactory abilities of the dog. In addition to speaking to cognitive researchers and smell experts, Horowitz visits detection-dog trainers and training centers; she meets researchers working with dogs to detect cancerous cells and anticipate epileptic seizure or diabetic shock; and she even attempts to smell-train her own nose.
As we come to understand how rich, complex, and exciting the world around us is to the canine nose, Horowitz changes our perspective on dogs forever. Readers will finish this book feeling that they have broken free of their human constraints and understanding smell as never before; that they have, for however fleetingly, been a dog. And, as The Boston Globe says about Being a Dog, âbecoming more doglike, not surprisingly, can make anyoneâs life a little more vivid.â