Pets and Their People

How biological science can illuminate human-animal relationships

by John Bradshaw, Ph.D.

The Bond Between Pet And Owner

We may refer to cats, dogs and other companion animals as “pets”, but each species has a very different concept of what constitutes an “owner”. Read More

Hierarchy—What’s in a Name?

Ethologists routinely measure dominance relationships and social hierarchies in groups of animals, but does this tell us anything about what motivates the animals themselves? Read More

Scent-matching – how the nose knows

Dogs are notorious for their fixation with each other’s rear ends, but this is probably an evolved trait that has stood them well in the past. Read More

Wolves, Dingoes and (Other) Feral Dogs Cooperate, But Do They Coordinate?

Wolf packs are both breeding units and hunting co-ops. Has domestication removed the tendency that young wolves have to defer breeding until they form their own packs, or would feral dogs form breeding units if they had the opportunity or need to hunt in groups? Research on the oldest feral dog of them all, the dingo, supports the former. Read More

Did dogs inspire domestication?

The domestication of animals was self-evidently a crucial part of the human race's transition from hunter-gatherer through pastoralist, but despite its importance, many unanswered questions remain. Why, for example, have so few species of animals been domesticated? Animal scientists are divided as to whether the primary cause of this is biological or cultural. Read More

Greetings!

Cats the world over perform the “tail-up” signal, in which they raise their tails to the vertical when approaching other animals, and especially humans. For years this has been called a “greeting” signal – because it usually happens at the beginning of an interaction. But is this label any more than a convenient anthropomorphism? Read More

John Bradshaw, Ph.D., is the foundation director of the Anthrozoology Institute and honorary research fellow at the University of Bristol (UK). more...