The Dog

Who's a good dog? The history of the species (a member of which might be napping on your bed right now) is intertwined with human history since the late Pleistocene. In this lecture course we turn our gaze to the animal who is famous for their gaze toward and interest in us: the domestic dog, Canis familiaris.

Dogs are not just good bed-warmers and companions: they are also an excellent introduction into how behavioral science is conducted; an example of the rapid effect of genetic changes; and a case study in how science influences animals' social and legal roles in society. We will look at the history of the development of the species and the recent further development into hundreds of types of purebred dogs. As a domesticated species, dogs are an example of the effect of artificial selection on appearance and behavior. We will discuss the genetic markers underpinning those effects. Dogs also have had a long role in psychological science, and their history, from Pavlov's experiments to present day, traces the history of behaviorism and the cognitive revolution in the field. We will consider the perceptual world of dogs and the importance of understanding sensory capacity in study design. We will spend several weeks on highlights from recent cognitive studies of dogs demonstrating dogs' surprising capacities in areas previously thought to be solely humans' province. Working from video examples, we will learn to describe behaviors objectively, and will discuss how to develop testable hypotheses of the function of seen behavior. We will conclude the semester with a consideration of the future of dogs in science and in our lives.