THE YEAR OF THE PUPPY

The bestselling author of Being a Dog and Inside a Dog chronicles the cognitive development of her new puppy.

Horowitz, who runs the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College, presents a keenly observed record of the development of Quid through the first year of his life while also exploring our complex relationship with our animal companions. With her characteristic sharp eye for detail and vast knowledge of canine-related scientific research, the author expertly guides us through Quid’s critical early development, from newborn pup to teenager. “The quick development of the dog…happens while their person is simply trying to both acclimate the dog and be acclimated to them,” she writes. “We get caught up in the housetraining, walk training, bite training, don’t-chew-everything training that is the typical contemporary approach to a dog’s first months of life with a new family. In focusing on training a dog to behave, though, we mostly miss the radical development of puppies into themselves—through the equivalent of infancy, childhood, young adolescence, and teenagerhood—until it’s already happened.” Both pet owners and animal enthusiasts will discover a wide variety of compelling information, whether the author is discussing the hidden meaning conveyed through the movement of a dog's ears, chronicling the process of artificially inseminating a wolf, or describing how dogs are trained to be rescue animals. One of the author’s primary points of emphasis is that dogs, just like humans, possess unique individual characteristics that make them stand out from one other. Unlike dog-training manuals, which often give unrealistic and/or obvious advice about canine behavior, this book provides a science-based, honest look at the ups and downs of raising a puppy. Significantly, the author reminds readers about the importance of treating your dog as an individual and not just a member of a specific breed. “Expect that your puppy will not be who you think,” writes Horowitz, wisely, “nor act as you hope.”

A detailed, highly illuminating portrait of puppies and our relationships with them.