Alexandra Horowitz

Alexandra Horowitz is a Senior Research Fellow and Adjunct Associate Professor within the English and Psychology Departments at Barnard College. Horowitz is the director of the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, which introduced the idea of understanding the umwelt, or self-world, of dogs.

Early life and education Horowitz was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received her B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a member of the Philomathean Society. Horowitz had a sensitivity toward animals from an early age, but her academic curiosity flourished during her time at Columbia. While studying animal cognition, she decided to study play behavior in dogs after observing her dog, Pumpernickel. She worked with Marc Bekoff from the University of Colorado Boulder and took inspiration from his work with philosopher Colin Allen in her decision to study communication and theory of mind through dog play.

Research and career Prior to her graduate education, Horowitz worked as a lexicographer for Merriam-Webster. Her research has provided insight into dogs’ sense of self, their sense of space, and the way they use their olfactory system to make sense of the world around them. Horowitz's work guides dog owners on how to improve their relationships with their dogs, advising owners to tailor certain kinds of play to the dog and allow dogs to explore their olfactory worlds. She aims to create books that are accessible to a younger audience to foster a sense of curiosity and empathy toward non-human animals in the younger generation.

Selected works

Publications The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves (2022). Viking, New York, NY. . Our Dogs, Ourselves: The Story of a Singular Bond (2019). Scribner, New York, NY. . Being a Dog: Following the Dog Into a World of Smell (2016). Scribner, New York, NY. . Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know—Young readers edition (2016). Simon & Schuster, New York, NY. . Domestic Dog Cognition and Behavior: The Scientific Study of Canis familiaris (2014). Editor. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany. . On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes (2013). Scribner's: New York, NY. . Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know (2009). Scribner, New York, NY. .

Research papers Volsche, S., Root-Gutteridge, H., Korzeniowska, A.T., Horowitz, A. (2022). Centering individual animals to improve research and citation practices. Biological Reviews. DOI: 10.1111/brv.12912 Horowitz, A. (2021). Naming and looking. In M. DeMello (Ed.), Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies, 2nd ed. Columbia University Press. DOI: 10.7312/deme19484 Duranton, C., Horowitz, A. (2019). Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive judgment bias in pet dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 211, 61-66. DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2018.12.009 Hecht, J., Horowitz, A. (2015). Seeing animals: Human preferences for dog physical attributes. Anthrozoos, 28, 153-163. DOI: 10.2752/089279315X14129350722217 Horowitz, A., Hecht, J., & Dedrick, A. (2013). Smelling more or less: Investigating the olfactory experience of the domestic dog. Learning and Motivation, 44, 207-217. DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2013.02.002 Horowitz, A. (2009). Disambiguating the "guilty look": Salient prompts to a familiar dog behaviour. Behavioural Processes, 81, 447-452. DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.03.014 Horowitz, A. C., and Bekoff, M. (2007). Naturalizing anthropomorphism: Behavioral prompts to our humanizing of animals. Anthrozoös, 20, 23-35. DOI: 10.2752/089279307780216650 Horowitz, A. C. (2003). Do humans ape? Or do apes human? Imitation and intention in humans and other animals. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 117, 325–336. DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.117.3.325

Honors and awards Horowitz’ debut book, Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, was a #1 New York Times Bestseller in 2009, and it remained on the list for 64 weeks. In 2014, she received a William James Book Award of recognition for On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes. Horowitz’ titles geared toward children have won various awards, including the 2017 NSTA award for Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12 and the 2020 Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Gold Award.