Current Studies
​All of our studies are a part of a greater interest we have in understanding the umwelt of dogs.

Spring 2025 studies:

1) Do dogs distinguish the odors of conspecifics after engaging in different activities? Does smelling the odors change their behavior?

2) Dogs can use visual cues from humans to find a hidden treat. If a person is in the room but not providing visual cues, do dogs use informational odor cues to find the hidden treat?

Recent Studies

​Social function of shaking behavior

We have all seen dogs “shake-off” in contexts beyond being physically wet. By observing natural rapid oscillatory behaviors of dogs in social contexts (dog parks and doggy daycares), we aim to identify patterns in dog-dog and dog-human social behaviors surrounding “shaking” episodes. Update: results published! Read them here.

Vertical navigation

Dogs, like humans and other land-based mammals, are not highly skilled at vertical navigation. We take advantage of the ubiquity of apartment buildings in New York City to examine whether dogs living in those buildings can learn to distinguish which floor they are though using novel landmarks. Update: results published! Read them here.