Is dog petting science?

Diary entry, 20.04.2011, Angelica da Silva - Vasconcellos

Pictures of the day (2 images)   

I would say yes! At least, in the Wolf Science Center. Our dogs, which have been hand raised exactly the same way our wolves have been, are the perfect subjects for such experiment – petting sessions! As it was done previously with the wolves, now our dogs are being tested in two different situations: training and petting, with the assessment of their behavioural reactions as well as their physiological responses to the sessions (saliva cortisol measures). It may seem obvious that the dogs would like petting, but what about training?

Our aim in this project is to assess the “point of view” of the dogs about training, by comparing their reactions to this procedure with reactions to activities that are known to please them. Although we bet they enjoy training (I’ve already written about the evidence we found on this), it’s also important to know the way they feel this activity: as an exciting task to be accomplished or as a funny leisure activity. And this is really relevant information, especially regarding animal welfare.

So, if one of you ever come to the Wolf Science Center and see me in a serious mood, filming one of our trainers or directors petting our dogs, believe me, this IS science. Although it may not seem at first sight…