One Owners Experience At The Canine Cognition Lab

cognition, psychology, Science - By Staff Writer on Friday, August 27, 2010 - 16:47

Robin Abrahams writes for Salon.com about her experience with the Harvard Canine Cognition Lab.  The Lab, which recently came under great scrutiny after its superstar, Mark Hause, was investigated for misconduct, studies the cognition of animals.  After a open volunteer call for the lab Robin brought her dog Milo in for testing.

Milo and I were eventually called for two separate sessions at the lab. The basic protocol of all the experiments was the same. The owner (henceforth referred to as "I," since I am no longer an academic and therefore not obligated to write as though I don't exist) holds the dog ("Milo") between her ("my") knees. Milo is facing two buckets, sometimes with a barrier in front of them so that he cannot see them. A treat is placed surreptitiously in one bucket, and some kind of clue -- a motion on the part of the experimenter, a video clip, a picture on the bucket -- is given to the dog. Then the experimenter makes a gesture (in the two sessions we were in, either bowing the head or kneeling and bowing the head) at which point I release Milo.

The full article is an exceptionally well written look at the Canine Cognition Lab and dog cognition in general.  Well worth the read.

Full Article [Salon.com]