New Haven >> Maybe now we’ll find out what Handsome Dan has been thinking about for all these years.
With doggie treats wrapped in cellophane and tails wagging every which way, the Canine Cognition Center at Yale opened Monday on Saint Ronan Street.
“These are dogs in the community, interested in being part of science,” said a smiling Laurie Santos, associate professor of psychology, who heads up the center. “We’re not looking at the intelligence of any one dog. We’re looking at dogs in general, and we need all kinds of dogs.”
For the past year and a half, Santos and her student researchers have traveled to local doggie daycare centers to conduct their studies. Those studies, in the form of games, examine the way dogs process information.
Now the center has its own, modest building near campus, set back from the street.
“We have more than 100 dogs in our database already,” said Rebecca Spaulding, a Yale sophomore. Behind her, graduate student Angie Johnston was showing visitors an experiment in which dogs see two toy ducks go into a box, then open the box to reveal one duck and a stick.
“We want to see if dogs are able to categorize items,” Johnston said. “Do they look longer? Do they search for the other duck?”
Researchers also want to understand more about how service dogs think and react, and learn whether there are shared cognitive elements between canines and humans.
Santos said the center has at least five or six studies ready to get underway, but researchers are waiting to see how many breeds of dog are available to participate. Dogs can take part in the center’s studies only after their owner completes a registration form, signs a consent document and produces verification of certain vaccination and veterinary requirements.
There is no payment for participation, although Santos said there will be plenty of perks.
“After a few visits, they’ll get a doggie Ph.D.,” Santos said.
Several canines and their owners showed up at the grand opening. Anthony Esposito of Bethany brought his 4-year-old border collie, Annie; and Danny Klein of New Haven brought his therapy dog, a golden retriever named Remy. Yale mascot Handsome Dan even made an appearance.
Chris Gervais of Clinton said he hoped that better research will lead to better treatment of dogs by their owners. He attended the event with his 3-year-old English shepherd, Sadie.
“She’s a very empathetic dog,” Gervais said. “She amazes me sometimes.”
“You can’t fool these guys,” added Yale Police Officer Charles Hebron, who arrived with Eli, a 9-year-old black Labrador retriever. “These dogs are really smart. We need to know more about what they can do.”
For more information about the Canine Cognition Center at Yale, email canine.cognition@yale.edu.
Call Jim Shelton at 203-789-5664. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with New Haven Register editors at AskTheRegister.com.
www.nhregister.com/general-news/20131209/yales-canine-cognition-center-puts-on-the-dog-for-grand-opening
With doggie treats wrapped in cellophane and tails wagging every which way, the Canine Cognition Center at Yale opened Monday on Saint Ronan Street.
“These are dogs in the community, interested in being part of science,” said a smiling Laurie Santos, associate professor of psychology, who heads up the center. “We’re not looking at the intelligence of any one dog. We’re looking at dogs in general, and we need all kinds of dogs.”
For the past year and a half, Santos and her student researchers have traveled to local doggie daycare centers to conduct their studies. Those studies, in the form of games, examine the way dogs process information.
Now the center has its own, modest building near campus, set back from the street.
“We have more than 100 dogs in our database already,” said Rebecca Spaulding, a Yale sophomore. Behind her, graduate student Angie Johnston was showing visitors an experiment in which dogs see two toy ducks go into a box, then open the box to reveal one duck and a stick.
“We want to see if dogs are able to categorize items,” Johnston said. “Do they look longer? Do they search for the other duck?”
Researchers also want to understand more about how service dogs think and react, and learn whether there are shared cognitive elements between canines and humans.
Santos said the center has at least five or six studies ready to get underway, but researchers are waiting to see how many breeds of dog are available to participate. Dogs can take part in the center’s studies only after their owner completes a registration form, signs a consent document and produces verification of certain vaccination and veterinary requirements.
There is no payment for participation, although Santos said there will be plenty of perks.
“After a few visits, they’ll get a doggie Ph.D.,” Santos said.
Several canines and their owners showed up at the grand opening. Anthony Esposito of Bethany brought his 4-year-old border collie, Annie; and Danny Klein of New Haven brought his therapy dog, a golden retriever named Remy. Yale mascot Handsome Dan even made an appearance.
Chris Gervais of Clinton said he hoped that better research will lead to better treatment of dogs by their owners. He attended the event with his 3-year-old English shepherd, Sadie.
“She’s a very empathetic dog,” Gervais said. “She amazes me sometimes.”
“You can’t fool these guys,” added Yale Police Officer Charles Hebron, who arrived with Eli, a 9-year-old black Labrador retriever. “These dogs are really smart. We need to know more about what they can do.”
For more information about the Canine Cognition Center at Yale, email canine.cognition@yale.edu.
Call Jim Shelton at 203-789-5664. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with New Haven Register editors at AskTheRegister.com.
www.nhregister.com/general-news/20131209/yales-canine-cognition-center-puts-on-the-dog-for-grand-opening
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