In the early days of television, dog whisperer Cesar Millan rose to fame with the show Dog Whisperer. His sage advice and swoon-worthy looks captivated viewers, but Millan doesn’t consider himself a psychologist and lacks formal academic credentials. Even so, he has influenced many dog trainers to adopt his approach to training. The term Dog Psychology was coined to describe this training method, which goes beyond standard obedience or trick training protocols and focuses on understanding what dogs are thinking.
Whether it’s a canine crime squad, an animal hospital or an ethology lab, there are many different types of laboratories and researchers who study dogs, but a growing trend in scientific research is looking at the cognitive and behavioral side of man’s best friend. As a result, the number of scientific journals focused on dogs has increased over the past decade, according to our analysis. We also found that a few specific themes accompanied this growth in production.
For example, a journal focused on dog ethology (the scientific study of animals) has seen its production grow faster than other dog-related journals over the past decade. In addition, the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science saw its rank increase. This journal specializes in studies that apply to the real-world care of dogs and is one of the most popular dog-related publications.
A new trend has also emerged with whole-genome resequencing studies of dogs and their wild wolf ancestors. These studies have identified 36 regions that may have been selected for during the domestication of dogs. Ten of these likely assisted starch digestion and fat metabolism, which allowed dogs to adapt to a more human-provided diet than their largely carnivorous wolf ancestors. This new knowledge is influencing the study of canine morphology and disease susceptibility. Head over to Bulldogology to learn more.
The top three most popular dog-related journals also shifted in the past decade, with Applied Animal Behavior Science replacing The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in the top spot. The Journal of Comparative Psychology, which ranked first in the “earlier analysis” showed a decline in popularity for the “recent analysis”.
In terms of academic affiliations, the Eotvos Lorand University of Hungary was the most productive affiliate in the field of dog cognition and behavior, but that ranking changed significantly for the “recent analysis”. Other institutions showing a significant increase include the University of Toronto and the Utrecht University of the Netherlands.