Dear Dog It’s Us… and Paws for Thought

The countdown has officially begun! In less than two weeks I will be defending my thesis. If you have reached this blog post after reading my bio then it should come as no surprise to you that my imminent thesis presentation is looming over my head. I have been working toward a Master of Animal Behavior and Conservation degree at Hunter College - an undertaking that I began a little over three years ago. There have been roadblocks and detours along the way, but I can finally see the finish line. 

Before my time at Hunter comes to a close, I received the opportunity to discuss my thesis project with Ali and Betsy. These gals enjoy chatting with all types of dog experts about everything ranging from training to pet nutrition. During our chat, we talked about my research at the Hunter Thinking Dog Center as well as some takeaways that may have real-life applicability. Here’s a TLDL (Too Long Didn’t Listen) summary of my work there:

At the Hunter TDC, I examined a widely studied human motor skill learning paradigm and its applicability to dogs. Research with humans suggests that when learning a few similar skills at once, it’s best to practice these skills in a randomized format (e.g. constantly switching between skills) during training, for better retention of these skills in performance. The alternative is to practice in a blocked format, which would mean focusing on one skill at a time before moving on to the next. We applied this theory to dog trick training. Trainers often differ in their preference of teaching one skill or multiple skills at a time, so effectively some are already using blocked or random format during training. We set up an experiment to test whether blocked or random training produced better retention of three tricks in 17 dogs, during two visits to The Thinking Dog Center. 

I don’t want to give it all away! So for now, I’ll leave you with that short summary. If it piqued your interest and you would like to hear more, tune into the podcast. We had a blast discussing my thesis work and its applicability to the dog training world!

“The Thinking Dog Center at Hunter College empirically investigates human’s best friend, the domestic dog. At our Center, we study various aspects of dog behavior and cognition, as well as their relationship with humans.”

Check out more at: https://sites.google.com/view/huntertdc/home