the Evolution of Social Behavior in Dogs

From the Livestock Guard Dog Project to years of research about why dogs bark, Hampshire has a long and rich history with dogs. The evolution of behavioral development has fascinated Dr. Kathryn Lord 96F since the first time she encountered it at Hampshire in Dr. Raymond Coppinger's Animal Behavior Course. She has been studying how changes in the development of behavior evolved in dogs ever since. On March 5, 2021, Kathryn gave an overview of her work on the development of social behavior in dogs from her Div III on kennel enrichment in guide dogs, through her Ph.D. work investigating differences in the primary critical period of socialization in dogs and wolves, to her current work investigating the genetic underpinnings of these developmental differences using wolf-dog hybrids. Associate Professor of Physiology Cindy Gill moderated.