Tag: research

Anthropomorphism: are we guilty?

Post author By Human Animal Science
Post date December 24, 2013
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anthropomorphism in dogs

Are we guilty of anthropomorphism in dogs? As dog owners it’s very easy to humanise our pets.

Julie Hecht, MSc, is a researcher and science writer fascinated not just by animal behaviour and welfare, but how we think about animals and the consequences of those thoughts.

Take anthropomorphism (attributing human characteristics to animals or objects) as a key example.

In this episode of Human Animal Science we explore what actually happens when we think that dog is guilty; or that cat is grumpy.

We discuss why we anthropomorphise and how it impacts on the animals.

Podcast

What is anthropomorphism in dogs?

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human entities.

In dogs, it can manifest as attributing emotions such as love, loyalty, and happiness to dogs, or expecting dogs to understand and communicate with us in ways that they do not. At least not in the same ways we do.

Do dogs know the difference between humans and dogs?

Dogs are intelligent creatures who are capable of complex social interaction, which means they’re able to pick up on our cues and learn from us.

However, studies show dogs actually see us as a member of their pack, not a separate species.

This means dogs do not necessarily know the difference between humans and dogs, but are capable of forming attachments to both.

Links

Dog Spies: www.dogspies.com | Dog Spies Blog on Scientific American

Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab (Barnard College, Columbia University, New York)

The Bark magazine

Do You Believe in Dog?

Publications

Hecht, Miklosi, & Gacsi (2012) Behavioral assessment and owner perceptions of behaviors associated with guilt in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 139. 134-142.

Do dogs feel guilty? Jason Goldman | Scientific American

Hecht & Horowitz (2012) Physical prompts to anthropomorphism of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) Third Canine Science Forum, Barcelona, Spain. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 8, e30.

Horowitz (2009) Disambiguating the “guilty look”: Salient prompts to a familiar dog behavior. Behavioural Processes, 81, 447-452.

Horowitz (2007) Naturalizing anthropomorphism: Behavioral prompts to our humanizing of animals. Anthrozoös, 20, 23-35.

Image credit: Flickr/Brainware3000

Wildlife

Is a dingo a dog or wolf?

Post author By Human Animal Science
Post date November 25, 2013
No Comments on Is a dingo a dog or wolf?

Is a dingo a dog or wolf?

Dr Bradley Smith is a Research Fellow in Human and Animal Psychology at CQ University in Adelaide, Australia.

He has a fascinating research focus on the behaviour and cognition of dingoes.

Learn more about this amazing wild canid and how it fits into the dog-wolf-other landscape in this episode of Human Animal Science.

Is a dingo a dog or wolf? How does a dingo relate to a kelpie?

Let’s find out!

Podcast

Links

Dr Bradley Smith’s website: https://www.howlingdingo.com.au/
Dingo Discovery & Research Centre

Sterling the dingo demonstrating tool use:

Publications

Smith, B., & Litchfield, C. (2013). Looking back at ‘looking back’: Operationalizing referential gaze for dingoes in an unsolvable task. Animal Cognition, 16, 961-971.

Smith, B., Appleby, R. & Litchfield, C. (2012). Spontaneous tool-use: an observation of a dingo (Canis dingo) using a table to access an out-of-reach food reward. Behavioural Processes, 89, 219-224.

Smith, B., & Litchfield, C. (2010). How well do dingoes (Canis dingo) perform on the detour task. Animal Behaviour, 80, 155-162.

Smith, B., & Litchfield, C. (2010). Dingoes (Canis dingo) can use human social cues to locate hidden food. Animal Cognition, 13, 367-3

Dingo – Is a dingo a dog or wolf? Or somewhere in-between?

Photos courtesy of Dr Bradley Smith

Tags anthrozoology, Behavior, behaviour, Bradley Smith, Canine, Cognition, dingo, dog or wolf, human-animal interaction, research, Science, social cues, tool use, wildlife

Behaviour Pets

A duty of care: shelter dog rehoming assessments + science

Post author By Human Animal Science
Post date November 12, 2013
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shelter dog rehoming assessments

In this episode, Kate Mornement, PhD candidate from the Anthrozoology Research Group and Monash University, talks to Mia and Tim about her research exploring the science of shelter dog assessments for rehoming suitability.

Shelter dog rehoming is a topic with significant outcomes for everyone: our communities, shelter staff, and of course – the dogs.

Podcast

How many dogs are in shelters in Australia?

In Australia we do not have a national system for tracking the number of dogs in animal shelters or municipal council pounds.

An estimated 200,000 or more dogs enter a pound or shelter annually in Australia, and many of these dogs (approximately one in three) are euthanised.

Sit, Stay, Scan: How do dogs think?

Post author By Human Animal Science
Post date October 28, 2013
No Comments on Sit, Stay, Scan: How do dogs think?

How do dogs think?

Greg Berns, MD, PhD from Emory University in Atlanta USA, specialises in the use of brain imaging technologies to understand human – and now, canine – motivation and decision-making.

Greg works as a neuroscientist working in the field of canine science. This allows him to use neuroscience techniques to assess how the brain of a dog makes decisions or reacts to stimulus.

In this episode, he speaks to Tim and Mia about his team’s research, named “The Dog Project”, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activity in dogs.

Or to you and me, how dogs think.

Podcast

Book: How Dogs Love Us

How Dogs Love Us: A neuroscientist and his adopted dog decode the canine brain

How Dogs Love Us by Gregory Berns - an insight into how dogs think — How Dogs Love Us, Gregory Berns (Hardcover)

For the last 2 years, Greg has pursued his dream of using MRI to decode what dogs really think.

Partnering with a dog trainer, Berns’ group has trained a team of volunteer dogs to hold still in an MRI machine.

Greg explains the sound of an MRI machine to be like a jackhammer, and how the dogs had to be trained to wear ear muffs to protect them from the noise.

How dogs love us - how dogs think — How Dogs Love Us, Gregory Burns (Paperback)

The data the team are collecting is revealing startling insights about how a dogs brains work and how they think. They are finding proof dogs really do love us!

In the process, they have broken new ground in elevating the rights of dogs to human-equivalents.

Available on Amazon (Australia) as Hardcover or Paperback.

Available on Amazon (US) as Hardcover or Paperback.

IAHAIO, ISAZ and all that jazz

Post author By Human Animal Science
Post date October 21, 2013
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International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organisations and the International Society of Anthrozoology

Maggie O’Haire, from the University of Queensland’s School of Psychology, speaks with Tim and Mia about the recent Chicago conferences hosted by the International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organisations and the International Society of Anthrozoology.