Wish I'd Thought of That....

Well, to be perfectly honest, I did...think of that, that is. The idea that we can assess the personalities of dogs, and use those assessments to guide their training, care, and psychological well-being is something I thought about as a graduate student at U.C. Davis. Much as we would assess the personalities of people to help guide their education, decision-making processes, etc., I thought we could use similar parameters to assess dogs. I got as far as a proposal on this subject...and received an "A" when I presented it in the animal cognition seminar I was attending. Seeing what the folks at Dognition have done with this idea makes me really wish I had taken that proposal to fruition!

Have any of you looked at their website? It's www.dognition.com.  Anything that helps dog owners make a more meaningful connection is a plus in my mind. Here's a better question...have any of you pursued a profile on your dog? Apparently, you can even gift a profile to the hard-to-buy-for dog lover on your gift list.

Understanding the mind of a dog is fascinating. I think just doing the tasks that the folks at Dognition have you do as part of the assessment process are valuable in an of themselves, regardless of the outcome. You are spending time working with your dog, observing how they approach novel tasks, and recording your results. I think I am going to incorporate this exercise into an upcoming seminar in an effort to help people better understand the dog mind. Who wants to join me?