Canine Personality Archives - National Canine Research Council

Are we Smart Enough to Know How Smart Our Dogs Are?

Regina Lizik February 8, 2023April 21, 2023Uncategorized

A viral study about canine cognition doesn’t reveal as much as you might think about how much your dog thinks.

Action Patterns Aren’t Personality. Here’s What a Recent Canine Genetics Study Really Means About Your Dog’s Behavior

Regina Lizik December 21, 2022April 4, 2023News

A new genetics study reveals more about the canine division of labor in ancient times, but not about your dog’s individual personality.

Ground-Breaking Research Shows Breed As a Poor Predictor of Behavior

Regina Lizik August 11, 2022April 4, 2023News

The Darwin’s Ark study on dog behavior and genetics might reset how we all think about and talk about dog behavior.

Behavioral incompatibilities, not behavior problems

Janis Bradley February 8, 2022April 4, 2023Uncategorized

“It’s not a problem for the dog; it’s a problem for the human,” is among the first mottos regarding so-called dog “behavior problems” I learned as a novice dog trainer. The famed behaviorist, Dr. Ian Dunbar, would often begin a lecture on behavior modification with some version of this pronouncement. But even though he acknowledged the negative implication of the term, he would continue to use it because it’s such a common language phrase. Experts do this all of the time, … Continue reading “Behavioral incompatibilities, not behavior problems”

Building Social Competence: The real deal in dog safety training

Janis Bradley November 22, 2021April 4, 2023News, Research & Publications

In 2013 the most comprehensive study to date asked whether the dogs (fewer than 1 dog in 2 million) involved in dog bite-related fatalities (DBRF) had anything in common with one another. The collaboration of a veterinary epidemiologist, a public health expert, an animal behaviorist and dog behavior researchers examined the available evidence regarding every DBRF in the US over a 10 year period, a total of 256. They found 7 situations that were often missing in the lives of … Continue reading “Building Social Competence: The real deal in dog safety training”

A Dog and Her Family Show Us the Importance of Social Competency

Janis Bradley September 4, 2021April 4, 2023News

“Oh behave,” we often say to our children and dogs alike, when they do stuff that irritates us. But no one, not kids and not puppies either are born knowing how to “behave.” Understanding what’s expected of them, and how to read the signals others give off, and generally how to behave appropriately in social situations, even to recognize the feelings of others all have to be learned. In the language of developmental psychology, all this learning is collected under … Continue reading “A Dog and Her Family Show Us the Importance of Social Competency”

Words Matter 101: Let’s get rid of the A word

Janis Bradley August 19, 2021April 4, 2023News

I have a personal litmus test for dog knowledge among humans. If someone asks, “is that dog aggressive?” I understand immediately that we are starting from zero. Karen Overall, the noted behaviorist, once said that as far as she could tell, the word “aggression” simply meant anything a person didn’t like. She was speaking to an audience of dog professionals. More than 60 years ago, John Paul Scott, one of the earliest and most revered of canine behavior researchers, declared … Continue reading “Words Matter 101: Let’s get rid of the A word”

Canine public policies shouldn’t be created from media reports

Janis Bradley July 7, 2021April 4, 2023News, Research & Publications

Dr. Gary Patronek and his colleagues, the authors of a ten-year study of dog bite-related fatalities (DBRF) did something not attempted before or since—they gathered their data from massive accumulations of reports and interviews done by officials, from investigating officers to coroners and pathologists. Previous work on the subject had always been based on collections of reports in the popular media. One of Patronek et al’s discoveries was that the dog (or dogs) involved usually simply lived on the owner’s … Continue reading “Canine public policies shouldn’t be created from media reports”

Red herrings and just plain lies: Insurance companies vs. dog loving families

Janis Bradley April 29, 2021April 4, 2023News

There has been much discussion lately explaining how denial of insurance coverage based on the breed of one’s family dog is a practice that discriminates against and unduly penalizes both less affluent customers and people of color.