Working Dog Division
From the 2021 Animal Behaviour Twitter Conference came this interesting presentation from the Working Dog World, presented by Maeve McCreary.
As a result, the CAPDT highlights that it is open to build connections with Working Dog Handlers across Canada! Our organization has a member’s portal where information and videos of training are readily accessible, while our newsletter includes short summaries of dog-related research and articles on training topics. Our private members-only Facebook group provides access to a network of professional dog trainers across Canada.
Our Working Dog Division is currently working hard to secure an insurance provider for working dog teams. If you work for, with, or around working dogs of any kind (eg: drug detection, search and rescue, wildlife conservation, service dogs, police dogs…any dog with a job) please take this very brief 3 question poll to help the Working Dog Division find the right fit for insurance.
Here are some summer safety tips to keep you and your working dog safe during the summer months.
From the presentation: Research on canine cognition is growing at a seemingly exponential rate, with most papers appearing post-2000. With notable exceptions (e.g. using cognition tasks to determine good working dogs), there is a disconnect between research and practice.
In a 32-item survey, 443 professional dog handlers/trainers indicated which research topics in canine behaviour/cognition would be relevant to their work, how open their field is to scientific findings, and where they are likely to look for findings.
The group rated having a keen interest in topics related to scent detection, associative learning, and attention to human behavioural cues. Topics related to early development, though not maternal care, also scored high. 86% said it would be very or extremely important to have discussion between trainers and researchers. 70% agreed that training is open to new ideas. Respondents noted limited access to research, though indicated effective venues for communication.
Below are two slides from the presentation highlighting the findings:
Learn more about the CAPDT and the Working Dog Committee by connecting on LinkedIn
