If you have spent some part of your life with dogs, certain questions may spontaneously arise in your mind. Does my dog live a happy life? Is he a good dog? Does he love me? However, these merely scratch the surface of a canine philosophy.

Mark Rowlands explores how dogs experience the world, aiming to bring us closer to understanding ourselves. He draws on his life with dogs (two German Shepherds, the lovable Hugo and his "bad" twin, Shadow; Brenin, a cross between a wolf and a dog, and his daughter, Tess; and finally Nina, a cross between a German Shepherd and a Malamute), on the ideas of philosophers from Socrates to Hume and Sartre, and on the latest developments in the psychology of canine cognition.

While dogs feel unmatched joy and devotion in the moment, humans suffer from anxiety, doubts, and even anguish. Happiness for dogs can be achieved through the daily chase of a squirrel, but for humans, it is much more elusive. By delving deeply into the morality of dogs, their freedom, their consciousness, their intelligence, and their love for life, Rowlands discovers that they have a unique way of being, which would lead to a completely different philosophy, and that they may have better answers than our own regarding the meaning of life.