Imagining my dog’s “umwelt” helps us be a better team

I’ve long wondered what it’s like to be a dog.

When I was a kid, I gave my stuffed animals a rich inner life, imagining them like little furry people. Of course, though, our dogs aren’t humans—so as I got older, I swung the pendulum perhaps too far in the other direction, insisting on treating our pets strictly “like canines“.

The problem? I still didn’t really understand what being a dog truly meant.

Then I read a book by ethologist Frans de Waal called Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are. It renewed my inspiration to get into the heads of animals, giving me the language, questions, and curiosity to move forward.

Here’s how trying to understand my dog’s Umwelt has made life richer and more fulfilling for us both!