The Secrets Inside Your Dog’s Mind - TIME magazine

Review by Suzy

Carl Zimmer takes a close look at the social intelligence of dogs in The Secrets Inside Your Dog’s Mind and what science has to say about it. He explains a simple experiment at Duke University’s Dog Cognition Lab demonstrating how a dog understands the gesture of a pointing hand, and how this is an indication of a strong cross-species bond between human and canine.

If you live near universities such as Duke or Harvard, your dog may have the opportunity to participate in intelligence tests to explore the abilities of the canine mind. Additionally, scientists are exploring the meaning of canine behavior, like kisses and guilty behaviors.

The Secrets Inside Your Dog’s Mind article explains the close bond dogs have with humans, and why they respond so well to our positive training techniques. It is a fun glimpse into the mind, and the evolution, of our best friend.

Related Links

To learn more about the intelligence of dogs and dog behavior research mentioned in the TIME article:

The Dog Cognition Labs:

• Duke Canine Cognition Center information with video
• Video about Harvard’s Dog Lab with Marc Hauser

The People:

• Brian Hare’s research at Duke University
• Biography and video of Alexandra Horowitz and her book Inside a Dog

The Experiments:

• Dogs: Kids in Fur Coats ScienceNOW Daily Newsarticle by Virginia Morell reporting an experiment comparing infants and dogs
• Dogs Show a Fetching Communication Savvy ScienceNews article by Bruce Bower about researching dog toy fetching skills
• Experimental domestication of foxes in Novosibirsk, Siberia