*Review* Making Sense of Dog Senses by Stephanie Gibeault

 Genre: Children's 8-12 years

Published: April 15, 2024

Pages: 48

A playful yet scientifically precise exploration of a dog’s five senses that will help middle grade readers better appreciate the canine point of view (for ages 8-12)

Did you know that dogs have millions more olfactory receptors than humans and that their noses are built to reserve some air that they breathe in just for smelling? So why the butt sniffing? Actually, dogs discern a lot of information about another dog from a whiff of that region, including the dog’s health and eating habits.

In five chapters that explore each of a dog’s senses, and an additional chapter that questions whether dogs might have senses that people don’t, this middle-grade nonfiction book explains canine senses from both evolutionary and scientific perspectives. Sidebars offer additional information throughout the text, including hands-on activities that let readers experience a dog’s sensory abilities for themselves.

Written with an approachable tone and loaded with fascinating facts, Making Sense of Dog Senses presents readers with both curious and practical insights into their canine pals’ behavior.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This book was very informative and I learned a lot of things about dog senses myself, that I may have already sort of known, but it's not something that's relevant to my daily life so it was not readily available information. 

Apparently dogs don't see as well as humans with good vision, because I made a note that I was pretty sure my dog's visual acuity was better than mine before I had corrective eye surgery (and my eyesight sucked pre-surgery). Why I felt that was relevant information about the book, I don't know, but I did, so you get to read it. 

The illustrations did a great job of demonstrating the differences between dog and human vision as well. 

Overall I give Making Sense of Dog Senses 4.2967 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

STEPHANIE GIBEAULT holds a Master of Science in Animal Behavior and a Bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolution. She is both a professional dog trainer and a freelance writer based in Pickering, Ontario.

RAZ LATIF has contributed to numerous publications including Chickadee, The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, and Scientific American, and is the illustrator of Odd Couples. Raz lives in Toronto, Ontario.