Its a dog-eat-dog world

When dog owners talk to their dogs, do they know how much their dog really understands? Some might say that their dog thinks it is human. More likely, their dog may think their owner is a dog.

Knox College's Kourtney Cone '07, a biology major [and dog lover], spent last summer involved in a research project that has literally gone to the dogs.

Kourtney, with the help of professors Jennifer Templeton and Judith Thorn, conducted a research study on the socialization of dogs.  The casting call for man's best friend had a pack of dog owners practically sitting up and begging to volunteer their dogs for the study.

"There aren't many classic studies on dog behavior since it is a relatively recent topic of research," Kourtney says.

Ruffly 20 dog owners volunteered their dogs for the study. After documenting each dog's ability to obey simple commands like sit, rollover, and stay, and general temperament information, the study was off and running.

Kourtney studied each dog's ability to learn a task. In this study, the task was tipping a cup over to find a treat. With no distractions or other dogs, each dog was presented with three different scenarios. The dogs watched as a stranger performed the task and then the dog's owner performed the task. The third scenario pitted the subject dog with a dog demonstrator that knew the task and performed it.

Responses varied from a distracted dog chasing his tail, to the teacher's pet [literally] performing the desired task immediately.

Living a dog's life
The pack of dogs was as diverse as the owners. Labradors, border collies, Italian greyhounds, and mixed breeds made up the class roster. According to Templeton, the purpose of the study was to determine how the domestication of dogs has influenced their cognitive abilities. "Dogs have evolved right along with humans to the point where they understand human behavior," Templeton says.

Research previously conducted indicated that dogs can pick up on behavioral cues from humans to find hidden food.  "However nobody ever studied if dogs learn faster from humans or from other dogs," Prof. Templeton said.

The results indicated that animal behaviorists may have been barking up the wrong tree. "We found that the average number of trials it took for the dogs to learn the task was smallest with unfamiliar humans acting as demonstrators," Kourtney says. "However, there was no significant difference between any of the groups," she adds.

"Profesor Templeton was available almost everyday and spent hours working on appropriate tasks with me," Kourtney says. "Professor Thorn offered extra expertise on dog behavior."

Not letting the fir fly
The results may seem small, but it does shed important information on the evolution of dogs and how humans have influence the domestication of dogs. Before they became man's best friend, there were no food bowls set on the floor filled with a balanced diet, or individuals protecting them from injury. Dogs in the wild had to rely on their instincts to guide them through their day-to-day lives, helping them to make the right choices to protect and feed them and their pups.

Kourtney spent the summer studying the behavior of dogs, watching them tip a cup or perhaps fetching a ball. But, she also has hone her skills at chasing tennis balls. Kourtney is currently the captain of the tennis team and is fourth seeded in the conference tournament.

"This research project was a great learning experience and has helped me shape my interests for graduate school," Kourtney says.

Kourtney is currently the captain of the tennis team and is fourth seeded in the conference tennis tournament.