{"id":128,"date":"2026-10-01T13:28:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T17:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/dog-lab\/?page_id=128"},"modified":"2026-10-01T13:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T17:32:07","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/dog-lab\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A
Bella loves science.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What goes on inside a dog’s mind? Why do dogs behave the way they do? And can understanding those things help dogs and people live better together?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those questions take us from basic science to problems dog owners encounter every day. Much of our current research focuses on impulse control: what it is, how we should measure it, whether training can change it, and whether something a dog learns in one situation carries over to another. These aren’t just academic questions. Dog owners are routinely told that practicing behaviors such as \u201cstay,\u201d \u201cwait,\u201d or \u201cleave it\u201d will build a dog’s general self-control. We can actually test whether those claims are true\u2014and use what we learn to better understand both how dogs think and how we should train them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re also branching into other questions about canine cognition. Through a collaboration with Dr. Molly Byrne at Pace University, for example, we’re studying dogs using a version of the Blicket Task, a paradigm originating in developmental psychology that asks questions about how learners reason about cause and effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Two
Scout helping us fix a broken treat dispenser in the dog lab for the Blicket task. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Blue
Barry waiting for his turn at Canine Club. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

And we don’t study dogs in only one place. Many pet dogs come to visit our lab on Transy’s campus (if you\u2019re interested in bringing your dog, click here for more information<\/a>), but some of our projects take us out into the Lexington community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, we currently have ongoing research at Canine Club<\/strong><\/a> doggie daycare and boarding facility, and the Lexington Humane Society<\/strong><\/a> as well! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Duck participating in our study at Canine Club <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You may be surprised to hear that the Dog Lab isn’t always about dogs. We’re starting to study cats, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new work is currently based at the Lexington Humane Society, where students spent hundreds of hours over the summer observing cat behavior\u2014and dozens more working directly with cats through training. We’re just getting started, so stay tuned!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seven
Members of the Comparative Cognition Collaborative presented at the Animal Behavior Society meeting in July of 2026 (Top left to bottom right: Casey Woods from Lexington Humane society; Julia Whorton \u201826, Katherine Judy, \u201827, Molly Robinson, \u201827, Dr. Ellen Furlong, Braden Antle \u201829, all from Transylvania University, Dr. Rebecca Singer from Berea College and Dr. Melissa Burns-Custato (not pictured) from Centre College) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our research is also highly collaborative. Through the Comparative Cognition Collaborative<\/a>, we work with faculty and students at other colleges and universities, sharing ideas, developing projects together, and helping one another do research that would be difficult for any one small lab to tackle alone. Some collaborations involve collecting data for colleagues who don’t have access to a large population of dog participants; others grow into multi-site projects, conference presentations, publications, or entirely new research questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What goes on inside a dog’s mind? Why do dogs behave the way they do? And can understanding those things help dogs and people live better together? Those questions take us from basic science to problems dog owners encounter every day. Much of our current research focuses on impulse control: what it is, how we should measure it, whether training can change it, and whether<\/p>\n

Continue to “Research”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-128","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nResearch - Transylvania University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/dog-lab\/research\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What goes on inside a dog’s mind? 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