Canine Cognition Lab Personnel

If you've had a dog, or interacted with one for a long period of time, you've had the experience of connecting, of getting to know what another animal is like, inside. We are interested in learning more about your dog's feelings and thoughts, both because dogs are inherently interesting and because dogs can be studied to better understand the human mind. In the Canine Cognition Lab, we run non-invasive behavioral experiments to better understand how your dog solves problems, recognizes patterns of sound, reflects on what is known and unknown, and works out what you, an odd species with only two legs, believes, desires, and intends. By participating in our experiments, you will not only learn more about your own dog, but will also learn about how you and your family can run your own experiments at home. Check out this latest article from TIME magazine with fellow dog investigator Brian Hare.

If you've already signed up your dog, and haven't yet received a response from us, please be patient. We've been flooded with interest since our article in the Boston Globe came out, and need time to process your survey answers. Thank you!!

Want to know more? Read our FAQs.

Is your dog patient? If given a choice between 1 treat immediately, or 5 treats in a few minutes, will your dog wait patiently for the 5 treats?

Can your dog cooperate with a human or another dog to gain access to a highly valued reward, and if this capacity is in place, does your dog recognize that some efforts to cooperate merit greater rewards than others?

Does your dog distinguish between accidental and intentional actions?

Can your dog recognize human words, understanding that some words refer to specific objects?

Does your dog understand that a picture is both an object, and an object that refers to another object?

Can your dog grasp the abstract concept of "same," understanding that sameness refers to two identical objects?

Our approach:

We are only interested in non-invasive behavioral studies of dogs, designed to understand what your dog thinks and feels; we want these experiments to be engaging and fun for your dog, and illuminating for you. When you bring your dog in for testing, we will explain both what we plan on doing during your visit, and why. We will give you some background information on our studies, including what questions we are exploring, why they are important, and how your dog's participation will help our understanding.

Many of our experiments are fast, require only your dog's attention and motivation to find food or play with a toy. We believe that the best experiments are ones that tap into your dog's natural behavior. For example, some breeds love to play with objects, including pulling on ropes and fetching toys; we will take advantage of this ability to explore how these dogs value different items, and how they work with others to obtain different rewards. Phone: (617) 495-9834 Fax: (617) 495-3886

Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary, Professor Adam Miklosi, Director, Family Dog Project

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany, Professor Michael Tomasello, Director, Dog Studies

University of Florida, Professor Clive Wynne, Director, Canine Cognition & Behavior