Our Dogs, Ourselves

April 1, 2019

Author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling Inside of a Dog, Horowitz, head of the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College, examines how our relationship with canines changed the course of human development and how our rambunctious, lovable pets shape our lives today. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 29, 2019
In this entertaining and accessible volume, Horowitz (Being a Dog), head of Barnard’s Dog Cognition Lab, examines the unique relationship that “scientists, ever unromantic, call... the ‘dog-human bond.’ ” She devotes different chapters to various aspects of this relationship, with one particularly intriguing section sharing the results of Horowitz’s informal Twitter survey on the reasons behind dogs’ names. One respondent, a literature PhD married to a man named Hyde, named her dog Jekyll, thus making for Doctor, Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde—an elaborate joke that also serves as an example of how modern pet owners tend to see themselves and their animals as members of the same family. (On a more somber but similarly meaningful note, other respondents reported giving dogs names once earmarked for the children they never had.) On New York City sidewalks, Horowitz eavesdropped on dog walkers, hearing how owners modeled parenting style with their pets (some were critical, others cheerleaders), used their animals as excuses to introduce themselves to strangers, and encoded passive-aggressive messages meant for their acquaintances in addresses to their dogs. Rounding out her analysis by discussing the philosophical ramifications of dog ownership and the booming economics of the pet goods industry, Horowitz offers a treatise certain to appeal to dog lovers everywhere. With b&w illus. Agent: Kristine Dahl, ICM Partners.

Starred review from August 1, 2019
We humans do love our dogs, and we also love books about dogs. Canine researcher Horowitz (Being a Dog, 2016) here further examines the human-canine bond. In 13 delightful chapters, she reveals the current state of dogdom and the often disparate ways we live with dogs. The opening chapter on choosing a dog's name points out how the process makes the dog one of us, and the inherent contradictions it discloses of owning a dog (pet? family member? money earner? guardian?) are thought-provoking. One hilarious chapter reveals Horowitz's informal study of how people talk to their dogs?"OK guys: share"?and how dogs hear the simple sound of our voices as an expression of love. Two fascinating chapters look at the trouble with purebred dogs and include Horowitz's plea for breeding dogs for health rather than looks. She also provides an absorbing look at the benefits to society and the costs to the dog of spay-neutering surgery, a perspective most dog owners probably haven't considered. Enlivened with the author's sketches of dog faces, which also lead readers to more information, this is a thoughtful and loving look at our species' best friends.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)