Pavlov, Skinner and Conrad aside, the dog as an academic research subject has been largely overlooked, and most especially with regards to his behavioral and cognitive aspects and relationship with humans. In the last decade and a half, this has changed.  Consider:

• Dogs can discriminate between human expressions of happiness, disgust, and simply blank indifference;
• A comparison of brain functions between humans and any non primate shows that dogs have dedicated voice areas in their brains, just as people do;
• People interpret their dogs’ sounds by how long or short is the bark and also by how high or low the pitch;
• Dog sociality toward people is related to oxytocin.

These have been astounding findings, and they’ve all been the result of research performed by Hungary’s Family Dog Project. Established in 1994, FDP scientists wanted to learn more about the behavioral and cognitive aspects of the dog-human relationship, and they did. With over 100 published papers in peer-reviewed journals, the center has become one of the largest dog research groups in the world. Most research is “dog generic,” but not all; there is a current call for Labrador Retriever and Czechoslovakian Wolf Dog breeders, however, the research is being conducted in Northern Italy.  If you can read Italian and re in the area, read more about the study here. If you’re interested in participating, contact info@istruzionecinofila.it. 

But wait, there’s more.

The Family Dog Project has posted questionnaires on their website that any of us can answer to help with research. They range from questions about body condition and jealousy, to vocalization and personality

There are also dog research centers s all over the world that you can find here.

Our image is from April, 2016 when Family Dog Project’s Ethology Department visited the Corgi Herding Day at Portelek (Jászberény) Hungary.