Animal Behavior

Essential Reads

Reconciling Difference

By Gay Bradshaw on November 7, 2009 in Bear in Mind

Her joys, her woes, Her highs, her lows, Are second nature to me now; Like breathing out and breathing in. . . .I've grown accustomed to the trace, Of something in the air; Accustomed to her face. -My Fair Lady Read More

The Latest

Of Mice and Mutts III: The Negative Effects of Positive Reinforcement

By Lee Charles Kelley on November 16, 2009 in My Puppy, My Self

Somewhere in the back of every dog trainer's mind is the image of Pavlov's dogs, salivating at the sound of a bell ringing. That's the apex of conditioning. Yet no one seems to consider how unhappy those dogs must have been. At its core, positive reinforcement can actually be a very unpleasant experience for the animal being conditioned. Read More
Animal love: Hot-blooded elephants, guppy love, and love dogs

By Marc Bekoff on November 14, 2009 in Animal Emotions

Love is a troubling, confusing, and mysterious emotion in humans but maybe less so in animals. People don't hesitate to say they love another individual - human or nonhuman - and then intentionally harm them. I'm glad they don't love me. Read More
Reconciling Difference

By Gay Bradshaw on November 7, 2009 in Bear in Mind

Her joys, her woes, Her highs, her lows, Are second nature to me now; Like breathing out and breathing in. . . .I've grown accustomed to the trace, Of something in the air; Accustomed to her face. -My Fair Lady Read More
The Biological Distinction Between Play and Contest, and Their Merging in Modern Games

By Peter Gray on November 4, 2009 in Freedom to Learn

In nonhuman animals, play and contests are sharply distinguished. Play is cooperative and egalitarian, and contestests are antagonisitic and aimed at establishing dominance. Hunter-gatherer humans accentuated play and avoided contests in order to maintain the high degree of cooperation and sharing that was essential to their way of life. In our society, with our competitive games, we often confound play and contest. What might be the consequeces of this for children's development? Read More
Grief in animals: It's arrogant to think we're the only animals who mourn

By Marc Bekoff on October 29, 2009 in Animal Emotions

There is no doubt that many animals experience rich and deep emotions. It's not a matter of if emotions have evolved in animals but why they have evolved as they have. We must never forget that our emotions are the gifts of our ancestors, our animal kin. We have feelings and so do other animals. Among the different emotions that animals display clearly and unambiguously is grief Read More
Of Mice and Mutts: Is Behavioral Science Failing Our Dogs?

By Lee Charles Kelley on October 29, 2009 in My Puppy, My Self

By seeing dogs as either sophisticated lab rats or as 4-legged mini-me's (or both), the behavioral science approach to dog training seems to be failing our furry friends. Is there a better way? One that's more dogthropomorphic? And what if instead of being "the one who controls the goodies," you could actually become the goodies for your dog? Read More
“A Man’s Best Friend is his Dog”: The Senator, the Dog, and the Trial

By Stanley Coren, Ph.D. on October 21, 2009 in Canine Corner

When a dog named "Old Drum" is shot, it results in a high profile trial, with a dream team of lawyers on both sides that ultimately produces one of the most spiritually moving pieces of prose about the bond between people and dogs. Read More
Morality in Tooth and Claw

By Marc Bekoff on October 20, 2009 in Animal Emotions

Animals are "in." This might well be called the decade of the animal. Research on animal behavior has never been more vibrant and more revealing of the amazing cognitive, emotional, and moral capacities of a broad range of animals. It's becoming clear that animals have both emotional and moral intelligences. Read More
In the Eye of the Believer

By Gay Bradshaw on October 17, 2009 in Bear in Mind

There was no movement, just pulsing heat and the high-pitched sing of insects. Wading up to his thighs, he reached down, scooped up cool water and poured some into his mouth. The rest cascaded over his head. Tiny trickles made serpentine paths through red dust covering his skin. A green-leafed branch drifted nearby. Read More
We Don't Know What We're Missing

By Peter H. Kahn, Jr., Ph.D. on October 17, 2009 in Human-Nature

There are experiences with nature - so beautiful, so deep - that we're losing. We don't have to lose them. We can chose otherwise. Read More
Just who do we think we are, and what do the animals think about us?

By Marc Bekoff on October 16, 2009 in Animal Emotions

We surely can do better in our interactions with other individuals of species who care about what happens to them. Read More
Of Mice and Mutts: Why Behavioral Science Is Losing the Training Wars

By Lee Charles Kelley on October 9, 2009 in My Puppy, My Self

There's a quiet battle raging right now in the dog training world. Positive trainers, who use operant conditioning, say the "pack leader" approach is unscientific and harmful. But if operant conditioning is really based on scientific principles, why aren't positive trainers more successful? Read More
Dogs Teach the Darndest Lessons

By Seth Meyers, Ph.D.

We all know that kids do the darndest things, but any dog owner can tell you the same truth applies to dogs. Not only are they little furballs of personality, but living with them and tending to their every need can also have helpful real-life applications that prepare you for a different kind of nurturing. Read More
The Former French President’s Depressed Dog: Jacques Chirac and Sumo

By Stanley Coren, Ph.D. on October 5, 2009 in Canine Corner

Former French president Jacques Chirac believes that hismove from the Elysee Palace to a Paris apartment has caused his little Maltese dog to be depressed and has triggered several aggressive biting incidents. Read More
The World of Trans-species Psychology

By Gay Bradshaw on October 2, 2009 in Bear in Mind

Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though....That's the problem - The Tao of Pooh
Read More
Please Don't Visit Zoos!

By Peter H. Kahn, Jr., Ph.D. on October 1, 2009 in Human-Nature

I know many of you don't want to hear this. I know many of you love zoos. You might take your children to zoos on a Sunday afternoon. The human-animal relationship is a beautiful and powerful one in human life. But would you take your children to gape at interesting-looking people in a jail? Read More
Deepening Our Wild Relationship with Nature -- The Old Way

By Peter H. Kahn, Jr., Ph.D. on September 24, 2009 in Human-Nature

I want to talk about what wildness is. I want to suggest that we need it deeply and intimately in our lives. It's part of our essential nature. It gives life meaning. Yet our interactions with the wild are becoming increasingly domesticated, and even perverted. Read More
Animal Emotions, Animal Sentience, Animal Welfare, and Animal Rights

By Marc Bekoff on September 24, 2009 in Animal Emotions

Labeling an individual an animal "welfarist" or "rightist" connotes important messages about their views on animal exploitation and animal protection. Animals truly care if they're confronting a welfarist or a rightist for their very lives are in the hands of the people who can do anything they want to them. Read More
Animals and Inmates: Science Behind Bars

By Marc Bekoff on September 23, 2009 in Animal Emotions

For ten years I've been teaching animal behavior and conservation biology at the Boulder (Colorado) County Jail as part if Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program. Everyone is pleasantly surprised at how science and humane education connect the inmates to various aspects of nature and that many find it easier to connect with animals than with people. Science and humane education have helped the inmates connect with values that they otherwise wouldn't have done. Science opens the door to understanding, trust, cooperation, community, and hope. The picture of Fifi (one of Jane Goodalll's favorite chimpanzees) accompanying this essay was drawn by Jeff, one of my students. Read More
Why Do Dogs Like to "Kiss" Us?

By Lee Charles Kelley on September 21, 2009 in My Puppy, My Self

My dog Freddie was punished for biting when he was a puppy. This created some behavioral problems later on (severe panic attacks) that took me a while to unravel. However, once I did, I observed a funny, and very sweet side-effect to the new emotional freedom he felt once his fears were gone. Read More

Animal Behavior Blogs

Animal Emotions
Do animals think and feel?
By Marc Bekoff
Canine Corner
The human-animal bond
By Stanley Coren, Ph.D.
Made For Each Other
Exploring how people and animals bond--and why it makes you healthier and happier.
By Meg Daley Olmert
Minds of Animals
The cognitive abilities of non-human animals
By Alexandra Horowitz
My Puppy, My Self
How dogs make us human.
By Lee Charles Kelley

Animal Behavior Basics

Pets are among life's greatest joys; they can also be our greatest teachers. The study of animal behavior is a cornerstone of experimental psychology, shedding light on complex human emotions. And pets have a unique therapaeutic hold over humans, especially people who are socially isolated or who are coping with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum.

Go to the Animal Behavior Basics page for more on Animal Behavior including:

Current Issue

Everyday Creativity

How to start living creatively and reap the benefits.