Puppy Love

Dog pod.

By

It’s been a while since the Remnant featured a dog expert, but today, Dr. Alexandra Horowitz—a professor at Barnard College of Columbia University—joins the program to fill that void. Some seriously rank cynology ensues, as Jonah and Alexandra explore everything you could ever want to know about canine cognition. Do dogs have a unique friendship with humans, or are they just social parasites? Why do dogs react in different ways to different people? And are dog shows a stain on mankind?

Show Notes:

– Alexandra’s webpage

– Alexandra’s new book, The Year of the Puppy

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  1. Avatar photo
    Isidore.Minerd

    Very interesting podcast. I normally _hate_ dog talk on the podcast. But this was excellent. (I wish, of course, all the best to your furry companions, even if I have a general dislike of pets.)

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    David Burke

    Outstanding

    I adore Horowitz. I have read all her books. We live in the same neighborhood. She as well as you, have commented on the astounding beauty of my pittie boi, having seen his image on SM.

    Interesting about the DNA thing - I did a test on him when I got him from Animal Care And Control and it came back 75% American Staffordshire, 12% Rotwieller, 12% Dalmatian. A year later, a friend gave me another test kit so I did it again.

    Came back exactly the same.

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    Pjguidera20

    I am very concerned that the plot line of one of my Fictional characters - Buck from the Call of the Wild - may not have had a valid plot line. Say it ain't so Johan....

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    George.Skinner

    Great podcast - my kids have gotten accustomed to hearing your voice when I'm shuttling them around in the car, and they've doubtless picked up some interesting stuff. However, this episode had my dog-crazy 11 year old completely engrossed.

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  5. Flavours

    Loved this episode! I have Inside of a Dog on my shelf and will check out the new book!

    One peeve - real horsepeople do not "break" horses. You are busy so I will spare the rant.
    One recommendation - Vicki Hearne's book Adam's Task (if you haven't read it)
    One more thing - Have a lovely vacation abroad and happiest of holidays!

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  6. Avatar photo
    Bill Dyer (aka Beldar)

    Best. Remnant. EVER.

    Please have Dr. Horowitz back, and let us know when she's coming, so we can give you some suggested questions, Mr. Goldberg.

    Mine: Even though you're not focused on genetics, what are your thoughts on the so-called "spitz-breed" dogs (German Shepherds, Dobermans, Huskies, Malamutes, Akitas, etc.), who are closer on the genetic tree to wolves than a lot of more custom-bred dogs? In your December 2022 appearance, you expressed some skepticism about overbreeding of pure-breds. Can dog owners avoid some of those overbreeding problems by sticking to a spitz?

    My biases & hunches: My current and immediately previous dogs were Siberian Huskies, who have a LOT of wolfish behaviors and phenotypically are virtually identical to wolves, but for longer jaws with some extra teeth (that better process the kinds of foods they've gotten from humans). A fair amount of the aesthetic joy I get from watching my Huskies has come from imagining that they're basically wolves with the "Who's a good boy?" software upgrade, and they seem to me to be somehow closer to capital-N Nature. Is that me just being silly and projecting, or is there anything to that?

    Finally, and I hate to bad-mouth any company so perceptive as to sponsor Dispatch Media podcasts, but: One of your sponsors is a company called Barkbox. Great marketing! But when I joined up, my first delivery contained some cardboard frou-frou (which neither the dog or I had any use for whatsoever), some tiny sample bags of off-brand treats, plus a handful of toys that looked like the worst possible stuffed-animal prizes you could win from the loser's bracket at a very down-at-the-heels carnival — definitely stuff mass-produced in China at a unit cost of below $0.25, but for which I was paying an astounding multiple of that. Your mileage may vary, but I felt ripped off and canceled my membership after the first shipment. If I have a toys and puzzles recommendation for dog lovers, it's a company called "Outward Hound," which is just amazing — especially the puzzles!

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  7. Gass

    A vote in favor of Team Olfactory. My Chesapeake Bay Retreiver Murphy hate one person on this planet. Stephanie the Vet tech was present when he woke up from two different surgeries and he holds her personally responsible. Five years after he left the clinic he saw her from across the street and made it clear that she had better not get any closer. She waved and laughed and we went on our way. Two weeks after that encounter we were sitting on thecruise ship dock in Ketchikan Alaska, almost exactly where I met David French and his family last summer when a woman I had never seen came near and asked what kind of dog Murphy was. When she was about 6 feet away, I felt a low growl building in Murphy's throat that is totally out of character. He is generally ambivalent towards everyone, but he did not like this person. She took a step closer, and his growl turned to a bark that stopped her in her tracks. I was very confused when a small light went off in my head. She was wearing a Sourdough Bar sweatshirt which is where Stepanie went to work after she left the vet. I asked if she knew Stephanie and she replied that she was wearing Stephanie's shirt. So Murphy recognized Stephanie visually and this woman was clearly not Stephanie, but his nose said she was. Nose trumps sight in dog world every time.

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    Ben Connelly

    I harbor a suspicion that dogs whose owners don’t run don’t like runners. I used to like dogs (grew up with one). But over the years I got pretty tired of having dogs jump on me, lunge at me, etc. etc. when running which fueled my growing dislike of them. I’ve been sure for some time that dogs can tell that I don’t like them/get annoyed by them, which fueled the reaction I get. But I don’t think I started it if you know what I mean. Intellectually I still like them and I still like some dogs who seem to like me. But it ticks me off when a dog runs at me if I’m in the middle of a run. So I’m sure I give off signs of wariness or annoyance but originally I doubt I was doing anything to cause dogs to react negatively to me.

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      George.Skinner

      German Shepherds (especially ones from working lines) often have a strong prey drive that gets triggered when they see someone (or something) running. You've got to do a lot of work on "Stay!" "Come!" and "Heel!" to avoid problems.

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        Ben Connelly

        Yeah I don’t think it’s Shepherds actually mostly. Sometimes it’s small dogs. I got in a bit of a fight with a bulldog one time (so to speak). He rushed me and went for my leg and I jumped over him but my back foot caught him hard in the face. I tripped and hit the ground and rolled up ready for him to come at me again but he ran away.

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  9. Slvirgilio57

    Loved this, please have Dr. Horowitz back again, Jonah. The discussion was a lovely respite from politics, economics, and such.

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  10. Tobin.Sparfeld

    I don’t understand how you can talk about dogs so much without ever using the word “bitches.”

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