Unlike other dog events, the CSF is a lesser known, but AWESOME, conference dedicated to exploring the biology, ecology and behaviour of dogs, wolves and related canids. The conference began in 2008 in Budapest by the Family Dog Project. The Clever Dog Lab in Vienna sponsored the second conference in 2010 and here we are, in 2012, at #3 in Barcelona!
While dogs certainly take up the bulk of the three-day conference, other canids grace the stage. After all, as John Bradshaw astutely reminds us in the book Dog Sense, the dog can be considered in its phylogenetic context (as a member of the canid family), not merely as a descendent of the wolf.
A conference dedicated to the state of all things canid, what we know -- and don't know -- is an important step for the growing field of canine cognition and behavior. (Did I say growing? It certainly is! Check out these canine research groups, and I'm sure after the Conference I'll have an even bigger list for you!)
Get a load of a few topics on the program:
- Recognition of familiar human faces in domestic dogs: use of internal or external facial features? Anaïs Racca (University of Vienna)
- Leaving the Dogs Alone: The Evolution and Purpose of Doggy Daycares. T. Patel (University of Doglando)
- Can Dogs Count? Krista Macpherson (University of Western Ontario)
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| http://dogs.icanhascheezburger.com/2012/01/31/funny-dog-pictures-okay-you-count-and-ill-hide/ |
- Behavioral differences between dogs acquired from pet stores and those obtained from noncommercial breeders. James Serpell (Best Friends Animal Society)
- Can dogs use a mirror to find hidden food? Tiffani Howell (Monash University)
The head of my research group at Barnard College, Alexandra Horowitz, will be presenting our research on inequity aversion (yes, big words) titled, Sensitivity to Unequal Rewards in the Domestic Dog: Fair is Fine, but More is Better.
I'll be presenting on:
1) The "guilty look" research I did with the Family Dog Project in Budapest: Behavioral assessment and owner perceptions of behaviors associated with guilt in dogs
2) A new study we're running at the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab on Physical prompts to anthropomorphism of the domestic dog. The findings are not as straight forward as you might think...
So the main question is, two years from now, during the next Canine Science Forum, where will you be??
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