What does the science say about our treatment of our pet dogs?

In 2020, a group of scientists at a renowned dog lab at the Medical University in Vienna tried to answer these questions. After reviewing numerous studies, pop culture references and videos by Cesar Milan, the scientists concluded that:

• The human-dog relationship is a human-dominated power relation in which dogs often have little choice and humans are on a spectrum between guardians and leader of the pack.
• Due to this power dynamic, and a lack of awareness of the latest research on dog social cognition, humans tend to interpret communicational misunderstandings as problems caused by the dog (ex. he is just being disobedient or aggressive!).
• Humans are more affectionate towards dogs when they are in a 'calm-submissive' state which scientists know is actually a dog that is shut down and afraid

In a nutshell, while our dogs try really hard to co-operate with and understand us, even the most well intentioned dog parent usually fails to reciprocate.

The good news is that we can ALL learn about dog social cognition and do better by our best friends.

If you want to commit to understanding your dog, and being the best possible caregiver for them, then you should join us for our next program. Its called, What Your Dog Wants You To Know and its designed to help you understand how your dog thinks and sees the world. The program is designed by our Resident Dog Scientist who has a Masters in Animal Behavior and Cognition and has previously worked at a Dog Cognition Lab.  

During the 6 week program we will learn about dog cognition, play cognition games to learn about our dogs and hear from top scientists who are currently doing research in this field.

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