Dogs and Their People

Identity

Beware of the Big Bad, er, What, Exactly?

Clive D. L. Wynne Ph.D. on June 4, 2019

People need to know how to be safe around dogs, but a recent article is barking up the wrong tree.

People need to know how to be safe around dogs, but a recent article is barking up the wrong tree.

Anger

Should Shelters Bother Assessing Their Dogs?

Clive D. L. Wynne Ph.D. on August 19, 2016

A recent paper argues that testing shelter dogs for aggression is a waste of time. In a world where people are bitten by dogs every day, can less assessment really be the solution?

A recent paper argues that testing shelter dogs for aggression is a waste of time. In a world where people are bitten by dogs every day, can less assessment really be the solution?

Friends

William Shakespeare Hated Dogs

Clive D. L. Wynne Ph.D. on April 30, 2015

Shakespeare put thousands of words into the mouths of hundreds of people—but not one of them ever finds a good thing to say about dogs.

Shakespeare put thousands of words into the mouths of hundreds of people—but not one of them ever finds a good thing to say about dogs.

Oxytocin

Did Dogs Hack the Oxytocin Love Circuit?

Clive D. L. Wynne Ph.D. on April 16, 2015

A paper published today in the journal Science challenges us to consider whether every study that compares wolves and dogs can shed light on domestication.

A paper published today in the journal Science challenges us to consider whether every study that compares wolves and dogs can shed light on domestication.

Politics

RIP Beloved Benji

Clive D. L. Wynne Ph.D. on March 23, 2015

How people in the past cared for their dogs is often lost to history, but one strong sign of a loving relationship is the care people took in burying their dogs. I have seen dog burials from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in London, but also from 12,000 years ago in what is today Israel. These show how people of the past loved their dogs.

How people in the past cared for their dogs is often lost to history, but one strong sign of a loving relationship is the care people took in burying their dogs. I have seen dog burials from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in London, but also from 12,000 years ago in what is today Israel. These show how people of the past loved their dogs.

Family Dynamics

Lassie: Stay Where You Are, You’ll be Fine.

Clive D. L. Wynne Ph.D. on December 21, 2014

Lassie Come-Home is one of the most pervasive children’s stories about dogs. However, it tells us more about what we want for dogs than what they really desire. Fortunately for those striving to re-home adult dogs, dogs do not pine indefinitely for lost human families.

Lassie Come-Home is one of the most pervasive children’s stories about dogs. However, it tells us more about what we want for dogs than what they really desire. Fortunately for those striving to re-home adult dogs, dogs do not pine indefinitely for lost human families.