If you think your dog is a good judge of character, your canine might be using “social eavesdropping” as a tool to decide who to be nice to and who to ignore. Social eavesdropping in scientific terms is “social evaluation of third-party interactions”…so you know, what us laypeople call “people watching.” Continue reading
Category Archives: The Science Behind the Story
Dogs Avoid People Who Aren’t Nice to Their Human
Dognition hits prime time with Nat Geo WILD’s “Is Your Dog A Genius?”
Make no barks about it! Dognition, the science-based assessment that enhances the relationship between dogs and their owners, will be returning to prime time television this spring. This time with Is Your Dog A Genius?, a three-part series on Nat Geo WILD. Continue reading
On Why Dogs Want to Lick Us And Wolves Want to Eat Us
It’s clear that the dogs we know and love are very distinct from wolves. Aside from variations in their genetic code, the way dogs interact with and behave around us humans is very different from the behavior of typical wolves, even if the dogs and wolves are raised in similar conditions. In particular, the special relationship dogs have with us is because the success of dogs as a species relies heavily on humans. Continue reading
How Making Inferences Makes Your Dog A Genius
You probably have heard of Chaser the border collie. She was featured on 60 Minutes and referred to as the world’s smartest dog. If you aren’t familiar with Chaser, she’s famous for knowing over a thousand words. Yes, a thousand words! Smart, right?
Rolling Over: What’s Your Dog Saying?
Dognition polled 800 people through our social media channels, and 44% of dog parents say their dog rolls over during play with another dog. Are these dogs communicating that they are subordinate to their play partner?
A 2014 study out of University of Lethbridge and University of South Africa looked to see what a dog rolling over to a supine position during play with another dog really means. Does it communicate submission?