Arizona Canine Cognition Center

03/28/2022

We're so excited to begin our collaboration with Sit Stay Play! 🐾 Thank you to our great first group of touchscreen pups who started today, their people for letting them participate in our games, and of course everyone at Sit Stay Play!

07/27/2021

Attention Tucson Parents: we're recruiting participants for our Dog-Child Interaction Study! Learn more about our study at https://dogs.arizona.edu/enroll-study.

You can reach us at [email protected] or at (520) 621-2646. We are looking forward to meeting you!

06/09/2021

Did you know very young puppies can understand human pointing gestures almost as well as adult dogs can? Learn more about Dr. Emily Bray's recently published study of 375 adorable eight to ten-week-old puppies in this Smithsonian Magazine article! 🦮

A new study finds very young dogs with little human contact can understand pointing gestures—and that the ability has a strong genetic basis

05/25/2021

Attention Tucson parents!
The Arizona Canine Cognition Center is looking for families with a child between the ages of 8-10, and a pet dog. If you are interested in helping us learn more about the biological, behavioral, and psychological effects of social interaction between dogs and kids click the link below to learn more about the project and your eligibility.
You can reach us at [email protected] or at (520)621-2646. We are looking forward to meeting you!
https://dogs.arizona.edu/enroll-study

05/25/2021

Check out this paper Dr. Emily Bray and Dr Evan MacLean are authors on! It discusses methods on how to best identify and optimize dogs in the working dog pool.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.644431/full

Dogs perform a variety of integral roles in our society, engaging in work ranging from assistance (e.g., service dogs, guide dogs) and therapy to detection (e.g., search-and-rescue dogs, explosive detection dogs) and protection (e.g., military and law enforcement dogs). However, success in these rol...

05/19/2021

Our PhD candidate, Gita Gnanadesikan , had the opportunity to comment on an article published by The Atlantic!
A canine cognition researcher who gets to dabble in the feline world? What could be better? 😼🐶🥰
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/05/cats-climbing-into-boxes/618858/

Seriously, stop it.

04/27/2021

One of our collaborators, The Dog Aging Project, is doing great work in looking at the health and longevity of our pets and how we can increase it!
We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with them in this endeavor.

04/20/2021

Check out our beloved Dr. Emily Bray and Dr. Evan MacLean at the Annenberg PetSpace Leadership Institute Convening!
They had the chance to collaborate with other researchers in the field of human-animal interactions to discuss the strength and importance of the human-animal bond.

Learn more about the Annenberg PetSpace Leadership Institute here: https://annenbergpetspace.org/about/leadership

03/18/2021

We were featured in Science Magazine! Check out this article into the findings on whether a dog's ability to read human social cues is learned or hardwired into their genetics.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/these-adorable-puppies-may-help-explain-why-dogs-understand-our-body-language

Study suggests social intelligence is genetically hardwired in our canine companions

03/08/2021

Happy Monday!
We could argue that with enough repetition, time, and patience our furry friends could learn a nice repertoire of fun tricks. But could your dog be gifted in learning vocabulary and identifying objects with little repetition? Well, these dogs were! The gifted dogs in this study were able to associate words with objects after hearing the associated words ONLY four times!
Talk about some smart pups!
https://phys.org/news/2021-01-dogs-rapidly-words.html
Pictured is one of the gifted dogs in the study, Vicky Nina, a Yorkshire terrier from Brazil. Vicky Nina has passed but we thank her for her letting us observe and learn from her.

03/03/2021

Hello canine fans!
After a little hiatus, we are back to share the canine news you crave and more about the research we are getting to do here at ACCC (and some opportunities for you to be involved too)!
Follow and learn with us🐶

11/27/2020

Hi all! We hope everyone is enjoying a happy and safe Thanksgiving. If you enjoy canine cognition research you might be interested in a new study that you can do right from your own home! This project looks at "How Dogs Talk"! The researchers will be studying what dogs' unique facial features might be able to tell us about their communication abilities. Please see the attached photo for more information.

10/30/2020

Our very own, Dr. Emily Bray's new paper on dog cognitive development with service dogs at Canine Companions for Independence is out now. Take a look! https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10071-020-01443-7?sharing_token=je-L3e31LwDVabCHgInAp_e4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY5pAjXYg6IBTAsYkTPEPGFg6FItW-m1QazpsHLJU_5kn7u9qOZ654RYaSOHGL0_wPyntzqW9oOw0rpJ3OWBknL59ic2gDhrORo4PFHV5snyj9oSAzvidaqI222b417wi2o%3D

08/21/2020

Check out this article highlighting one of our Ph.D. student's work on genetics and cognitive traits in dogs!
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-minds/202008/dog-breeds-and-cognitive-traits-how-much-do-genes-explain

Researchers show aspects of dog cognition are heritable.

08/03/2020

Interested in what part of your dogs behavior is learned vs. inherited? Check out this Smithsonian article discussing Dognition.com- a citizen science canine cognition project that Dr. Evan MacLean oversaw.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-much-dogs-intelligence-hereditary-180975448/

A new study looks at the genes that underlie traits from self control to communication

05/07/2020

Dr. Emily Bray will be going live tomorrow to talk about her research at Canine Companions for Independence! Dr. Bray is a Postdoctoral Scholar here at the Arizona Canine Cognition Center and is interested in how early developmental, behavioral, and cognitive factors impact later life outcome. Tune in tomorrow at 1pm MST to hear her talk more about her research!

04/24/2020

Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and Penn Vet developed this survey to learn more about the factors that contribute to successful human/animal relationships! If you have a dog, please complete this survey to help us learn more about the underpinnings of our relationships with dogs!

https://www.netigate.se/ra/s.aspx?s=875965X222566120X76844

Unlock your full insight potential

03/25/2020

I think we could all use a little bit of puppy love right about now!

Check out the Canine Companions for Independence puppy cam whenever you need a pick me up to see some adorable future service dogs LIVE!

https://youtu.be/y1B6ROEA54g

03/11/2020

Check out our newest Instagram with one happy puppy! Thanks for stopping by, Porter!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9mdbOoFaIj/

03/04/2020

Check out this cute video of a dog thinking through a problem!

We are very interested in understanding how dogs think about and perceive their world. If you live in the Tucson area and want to see how your dog solves different problems, follow this link to sign them up to participate in a study! https://dogs.arizona.edu/enroll-study

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_CrIu01SnM

This is what happens when you've got a giant stick, a narrow bridge, and no thumbs! SUBSCRIBE TO AFV ANIMALS!: http://bit.ly/16JmSEQ Watch More Animal Videos...

02/28/2020

New research suggests that a dogs' nose might be able to detect heat!

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/new-sense-discovered-dog-noses-ability-detect-heat

02/25/2020

New Study Alert!

We have a new study at the Center exploring the effects of a probiotic supplement for dogs that may increase concentrations of a hormone associated with positive interactions between people and dogs.

The bacterium in this supplement is found naturally in dog saliva, in common over-the-counter probiotic supplements, and is prevalent in milk. It is approved by the FDA for addition to foods and is not expected to have any negative effects.

Participants would feed their dog(s) a daily supplement for 12 weeks and visit us for four short (15 minutes) appointments on campus where we would collect biosamples (blood, urine, and saliva) for analyses.

Compensation: $100 per dog

To learn more about the study, or express your interest, please use this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdu2FcNui4vgxrrjLqM_ffMM-5x4v8CUqCoSneA9qPvijsUqA/viewform

02/21/2020

Remember that cute viral video a couple of weeks ago of a coyote and a badger hanging out together? Well, check out this article to learn more about their interesting relationship and behavior.

https://www.hcn.org/articles/wildlife-a-viral-coyote-badger-video-demonstrates-the-incredible-complexity-of-nature?fbclid=IwAR0e0B_l0cwvXikmxuUoW9OsJtS5yRUlMQ5ZxEQWZAoVgSro5LS-FVlv5JY

A behavioral ecologist breaks down the importance of an adorable wildlife clip.

01/31/2020

Founder of the Arizona Canine Cognition Center, Dr. Evan MacLean, was interviewed by NPR for an article about wolf puppies in comparison to dogs. Check it out! https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796715763/fetching-with-wolves-what-it-means-that-a-wolf-puppy-will-retrieve-a-ball

01/24/2020

We love learning about cognition not only in dogs but also in other species. Check out what some researchers discovered while watching their camera traps on Puffins!

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/world/puffins-use-tools-study-scn-trnd/index.html

Perhaps puffins aren't as bird-brained as previously believed.

01/17/2020

here! This article discusses the human-dog relationship. Our lab is currently studying the effects of dog-kid interactions as well! If you like this article and are interested in helping us our with our research, please go to https://dogs.arizona.edu/enroll-study to find out more!

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/study-suggests-early-life-exposure-to-dogs-may-lessen-risk-of-developing-schizophrenia

Findings do not link similar contact with cats to either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

01/14/2020

Evidence suggests that when adults spend time with their canine companion, major health benefits can follow. But, is this the same with children? Help us find out by checking out our Human-Animal Interaction Study at https://dogs.arizona.edu/enroll-study.

You, your child, and your dog can help answer big scientific questions!

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in this study, please feel free to share this post or contact us at [email protected] or (520) 621-2646.

12/27/2019

here again! This article in Science looks at aging and dogs, something our lab has a great interest in.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/here-s-better-way-convert-dog-years-human-years-scientists-say

New dog age calculator uses DNA changes to estimate how old your dog is in human years

12/20/2019

It's our first everyone! Here is an article highlighting research done by another Arizona canine lab at Arizona State University, the Canine Science Collaboratory. Check it out below!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/science/dogs-love-evolution.html

One researcher argues that a dog’s ability to bond has more to do with forming emotional attachments than being smart about what humans want.

12/11/2019

Have you heard the Arizona Canine Cognition Center has a study looking at the interaction between dogs and kids? Participants receive $150 and 3 children's toys. If you live in Tucson and have an 8 to 10-year-old child with a pet dog at home, please follow this link to fill out a brief survey to see if you, your child, and your dog are eligible to participate!
Link: https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bswhUPBsVOowFrn

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