This is why they can seem to linger as long on a rose bush as they do a pile of excrement. This is an obvious fundamental difference in how dogs approach smell as information, neither good nor bad - just a smell truth. Horowitz also tells us that we socially define smell as good or bad, and that children feel neutral about smell until we teach them how to feel about different smells. In this section, the author also covers what I think might be a hidden gem of a point: Over the years, we have worked to deodorize our cities and now our dogs live in a smell-devoid world and are often pulled away from smells, thus depriving them even further of the mental enrichment their lives should entail. I, for one, am very interested in signing up for this the next time I find myself in a world city. We are told McLean does this in many cities around the world. The walk is hosted by Kate McLean, a multi-sensory artist. In this chapter, she describes her participation in a “smell walk” through New York. In an effort to find out what it's like to be a dog, she goes on a personal journey of her own to learn how to develop her sense of smell.
The highlight of the book may be chapter three, where the author goes into a deep description of how the nose works - both ours and the dog's.īy chapter four Horowitz begins to learn about the world of scent that she (and we) may be missing out on. Horowitz dispels the myth that dogs mark territory (page 16) - they are, in fact, what’s called "runway markers." They don't routinely mark every corner of their home or property, but they do mark light posts and other markers along their routes and walks. There is the expected section about how our understanding of a dog's sense of smell is limited by the devices we use to test it. This book is about a specific part of their umwelt: the dog’s ability to smell. This is the dog's umwelt readers may be familiar with this term, a favorite for Horowitz. I am always interested in how my dog may be experiencing his world. Some of you may remember Horowitz from her first book, "Inside of a Dog." Horowitz begins this book by saying, “to know a dog is to be interested in what it’s like to be a dog.” I would agree with her there.
Alexandra Horowitz’s new book is entitled, "Being a Dog: Following the Dog into a World of Smell." I picked up the book at our local Village Books after listening to the author at a reading.
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