I rarely read non-fiction but this was a gift from someone who knows I love dogs. Alexandra Horowitz is a psychologist who spent a year researching dog behavior while observing and loving her own dog. She wisely knew not to research dogs in a laboratory - instead she went to dog parks and videotaped dogs doing whatever dogs do. The book is at its best when she just relates the dog behavior she sees and then connects it to scientific knowledge of dog's ancestry and anatomy to help us identify what they are saying when they act in certain ways. She occasionally goes into too much scientific detail but that is more than balanced by stories of her own dog that reinforce her findings with real life examples. I've had a lot of dogs, and I spend a lot of time with them. I didn't find a lot of surprises in this book but I did realize that I'm pretty good at 'reading' my own dogs behavior. This is a fun book for dog lovers. What makes this book stand above others that strive to explain dog behavior is the author's love of her dog, and her love and respect for all dogs.