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dogs

·November 13, 2024·7 min read

How Viewing Dogs as Family Changes Owner Behaviors

New research shows that how owners perceive their dogs—as friends, family, or security guards—shapes the way they care for them. Surveying over 800 dog owners, researchers found that people who view dogs as family often form closer bonds and dedicate more time to them, while others keep dogs mainly for companionship or practical roles. This generational shift in perception highlights a growing trend of treating dogs as family members.

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·March 15, 2023·3 min read

Characterizing Abnormal Neural Networks in Dogs With Anxiety

Dogs with anxiety have stronger neural connections between the amygdala and other areas of the anxiety network in the brain compared to less anxious dogs.

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·January 16, 2023·4 min read

Study Questions Whether Toddlers Choose to Help Dogs Impulsively

Toddlers are twice as likely to help a dog reach a toy, even when the animal showed no interest in the object. The findings suggest toddlers' prosocial and goal-reading abilities extend beyond other humans and to animals.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 8, 2022·4 min read

Canine Brain Wiring Influenced by Human-Driven Breeding Practices

Areas of the genome associated with brain development harbor variants that seem to account for behavioral differences between dog breeds. The genomic differences between dog breeds are related to the development of their nervous systems. Researchers say genes associated with different dog lineages may relate to genes involved in the development of human behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·October 8, 2022·6 min read

Dogs Can Smell People’s Stress

The ability of dogs to "sniff out" certain diseases including COVID-19 infection and cancer has been well documented over recent years. Now, a new study reveals dogs can detect a person's stress level by odor alone.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 5, 2022·2 min read

Petting Dogs Engages the Social Brain, According to Neuroimaging

Interacting with dogs leads to greater activation in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with emotional and social processing.

This shows a dog with a lot of snuggly toys

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·June 13, 2022·5 min read

A Glimpse Into the Dog’s Mind: A New Study Reveals How Dogs Think of Their Toys

Dogs have multi-modal mental imagery of items and objects that are familiar to them. When a dog thinks about an object, they imagine the object's different sensory features.

This shows an adorable puppy with big eyes

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·July 15, 2021·4 min read

Dogs May Not Return Their Owners’ Good Deeds

A new study demonstrated dogs do not reciprocate food-giving, nor do they act more favorably toward a friendly human.

This shows a gorgeous wolf laying in the grass

Featured Psychology

·July 12, 2021·6 min read

You Can Snuggle Wolf Pups All You Want, They Still Won’t ‘Get’ You Quite Like Your Dog

After 14,000 years of domestication, dogs have an edge in both cognition and people-reading skills over wolves.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 11, 2021·5 min read

Scent Detection Dogs Can Identify Individuals Infected With COVID-19

Trained scent detection dogs are able to detect organic compounds associated with COVID-19 in patients. Researchers report the dogs are better at detecting coronavirus infection than standard tests.