Seeing things from this perspective allows us ... also able to learn via observation
and utilize such knowledge for .... Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and.
FRIDAY SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS Mark Derr: From Trail Head to Tailgate, from Wolf to Papillon —The Long Strange Trip of Dogs and Humans Mark Derr is an independent scholar and journalist broadly concerned with the relationship of humans to the natural and built worlds. His books include: How the Wolf Became the Dog: An Epic Tale (2011); A Dog's History of America: How Our Best Friend Explored Conquered and Settled a Continent (2004); Dog's Best Friend: Annals of the Dog-Human Relationship (1997); The Frontiersman: The Real Life and the Many Legends of Davy Crockett (1993); and Some Kind of Paradise: A Chronicle of Man and the Land in Florida (1989). His March 1990 cover story in The Atlantic Monthly, “The Politics of Dogs,” chronicled the overbreeding of dogs for show and for commerce and set off a national debate. In addition to The Atlantic Monthly, his articles have appeared in Audubon, The Bark, Natural History, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Sierra, and The New York Times. He was curator for The New York Times of its now defunct “Times Topics Blog: Dogs.”
Bob Wayne: Evolutionary History of the Dog The research projects of the Wayne lab in the Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California, Los Angeles, cover a wide range of species and utilize a multitude of molecular approaches. From exploring contemporary population dynamics to evolutionary relationships, current projects utilize both traditional and next-generation technologies to address ecological and evolutionary questions at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Many of the projects explore genomes for signatures of selection (natural or artificial), local adaptation, and patterns of genetic variation across species and populations and interspecific hybridization. We are also exploring protocols to preserve RNA to conduct expression studies and explore the transcriptome of wild canids. For more information, please see the Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary at UCLA and Dr. Robert K. Wayne's websites.
Karen Allen: Are Pets a Healthy Pleasure? Research Evidence vs. Media Hype Karen Allen is currently Research Professor in the School of Medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Music. Her research focuses on social and environmental factors related to the etiology, progression, and reduction of hypertension and stress reactivity. She has collaborated with researchers in psychology, psychiatry, internal medicine, rehabilitation medicine, veterinary medicine, and cognitive neuroscience on studies about the health effects of having a pet dog or cat. In such studies pets have been conceptualized as sources of a unique type of social support that can buffer responses to stress. In addition, she has explored the social and economic effects of service dogs on people with severe disabilities. Her work has appeared in many psychology and medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Eduardo Kohn: Dogs, their dreams, and the lives of an Amazonian forest I am a socio-cultural anthropologist teaching at McGill University. I study ethnographically how the Amazonian Runa relate to other kinds of living beings, such as the dogs and pets that reside in their village, and the plants and animals of the surrounding forests. Analytical frameworks that focus either on what is unique to humans (language, culture, society, history), or on what is commonly supposed that we share with animals, are separately inadequate to understanding these relations. Accordingly, I am trying to move Anthropology beyond this dichotomy by recourse to another way of thinking about life, one that pays attention to how life –human and otherwise– is constitutively semiotic (i.e., based on processes that involve signs and representation). Seeing things from this perspective allows us to recognize unexpected properties characteristic of all living dynamics and to situate our uniquely human propensities relative to these. It also helps us to understand how we might more fruitfully relate to the other kinds of beings with whom we share our lives. The approach I am trying to
develop changes how we go about doing Anthropology. It also changes how we think about what it means to be human. Additional Biographical Information: My PhD is from UW Madison, I have held a predoctoral fellowship at SAR (School of Advanced Research) in Santa Fe, NM, postdoctoral fellowships at UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan, and was a faculty member at Cornell University before moving to McGill University where I currently teach. My research has been funded by a number of programs and institutions including NSF, Wenner-Gren, and Fulbright. I have published my work in several peer-reviewed journals including the American Ethnologist. I am currently completing a book on my research on the ethnography of multispecies relations in the Amazon entitled, Anthropology Beyond the Human: Form, Finitude and Future in a Living Amazon Forest.
Ádám Miklósi: Co-Evolving or Evolving in Parallel? Issues in Dog-Human Communication Ádám Miklósi is an associate professor and the leader of the Department of Ethology at the Eötvös University in Budapest (Hungary). In 1994 they started the Family Dog Project (http://familydogproject.elte.hu) with the aim of studying humandog interactions in a wide perspective. It is assumed that during the process of domestication dogs have gained skills that allow for behavioral adjustments in the human social environment. They have shown that dogs develop specific attachment relationships with their owners, dogs are able to communicate with humans using a range of fine-tuned visual and acoustic signals, and dogs are also able to learn via observation and utilize such knowledge for their own benefit. Over more than fifteen years, The Family Dog Project published more than 100 scientific papers, and organized several conferences. In 2008 researchers and experts gathered for the first time in Budapest (http://csf2008.elte.hu) to share their results and insights on dogs and their relationship with humans. In 2007 Miklósi published an academic volume entitled Dog behavior, evolution and cognition by Oxford University Press that summarizes the most recent status on dog-oriented research.
Joan Silk, Moderator Joan Silk is a Professor in the Center for Society and Genetics and the Department of Anthropology, UCLA. Research Interests: I am interested in how natural selection shapes the evolution of social behavior in primates. Most of my empirical work has focused on the behavioral and reproductive strategies of female baboons (Papio cynocephalus, P. ursinus). Recent work documents the adaptive benefits females derive from close social bonds. I am particularly interested in questions that explicitly link studies of nonhuman primates to humans. Experimental work conducted with chimpanzees and children focuses on the phylogenetic origins and ontogenetic development of prosocial preferences.
SATURDAY SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS & PRESENTERS Robert Cabral: Human Emotions vs. Canine Instinct Robert Cabral is a canine behaviorist and founder of the animal rights organization Bound Angels and the Black Belt Dog Training system. Robert works with municipal shelters, rescue organizations and is an expert witness in cases involving dangerous & vicious dogs. Robert's behavioral approach is very unique, as evidenced by the cases that he is called upon to handle: Dangerous dogs, aggressive dogs, and those with serious behavioral issues. He is the author of Selling Used Dogs, a free online book that teaches life saving skills in marketing shelter dogs for adoption through shelters and rescue organizations. He has developed a behavioral assessment guide (included in his book), a revolutionary way to test the temperament of dogs and give them a fair chance at adoption. With a background of more than 25 years in the martial arts, those skills are implemented in his work. Compassion and
understanding are the basics to his successful method in rehabilitating even the toughest dogs. He teaches that the leadership, love and respect you give to a dog is equal to that which you will receive in return.
Richard L. Cupp: More than a Mere Thing Under Law? Dogs and Legal Evolution Richard L. Cupp, Jr. serves as John W. Wade Professor of Law at Pepperdine Law School.
Professor Cupp writes and speaks
extensively about the legal and moral status of animals.
He has
advised many organizations on these subjects, including the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science, Technology and Law, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Neuroscience, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Animal Health Institute, and the American Animal Hospital Association.
Lisa Knowles: The Science, Art and Sport of Dog Training Lisa Knowles M.S. is the Animal Behavior and Training Manager PETCO. In this position, Lisa promotes the evolution of the training and behavior services offered to PETCO clients by raising the standards of excellent for class curriculum, education of trainers and the range of opportunities available to customers. Lisa has a Master’s degree in Animal Behavior and has dedicated her career as an Animal Behaviorist and Trainer to positive reinforcement training, environmental enrichment, environmental management and socializing for dogs, cats and many species of primates. Lisa owned a successful Animal Behavior and Training business (APLAWS). Lisa volunteers her time doing Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) through the Delta Society where she chaired and participated in several National committees and helped write 3 National Manuals. She is a Delta Society Licensed Evaluator and
a Licensed Instructor and has managed and visited in hospital programs, schools and assisted living facilities with her dogs and cat. Lisa studied with and trained for Trisha McConnell, a nationally respected animal behaviorist and positive family Dog Trainer. She worked in a leading feline specialty vet clinic providing behavioral and medical support to clients and their feline patients. She also worked with primates to substantially improve their psychological well-being. Lisa has dedicated her career and volunteer work to improving the quality of life for the animals and families with which she works, as well as the ethical treatment of all animals in the human community. Lisa has two dogs- Olivia and Willoughby and her cat Marmot.
Jennifer Smith: Dispelling myth about hyenas and their relationships with humans--a comparison to wild canids Jennifer E. Smith is broadly trained as an evolutionary and behavioral ecologist. She has studied mammals in remote field locations including Australia, Africa, Hawaii and the British West Indies. Smith completed a B.A. in Biology at Colby College in Maine before pursuing her Master’s in Integrative Biology with Dr. George O. Batzli at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. Most recently, Smith completed dual Ph.D.s in Zoology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, & Behavior in the lab of Dr. Kay E. Holekamp at Michigan State University. Smith’s dissertation investigated investigated the selection pressures and ecological variation shaping patterns of cooperation in the female-dominated societies of spotted hyenas in Kenya. While conducting this research, she interacted with the local Masai people and lived in a tent in the Masai Mara Reserve surrounded by elephants, baboons, and lions. As a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Society & Genetics and the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of California-Los Angeles, Smith currently studies maternal effects on the social networks of yellow-bellied marmots in collaboration with Dr. Dan
Blumstein. For more information about her research and commitment to community education, please visit her website at:http://smith780.bol.ucla.edu/index.html.
Heidi G. Parker: Dog Morphology and Breed Structure: Current Results from an Ancient Experiment
Dr. Heidi Parker is a Senior Staff Scientist in the Cancer Genetics Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute of NIH. Dr. Parker received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center where she studied the population structure of the domestic dog and began collecting samples and designing studies to map disease susceptibility. Since moving to the National Institutes of Health in 2004, she has continued her work on canine genetics by applying information gained from population studies to the mapping and identification of genes involved in complex traits and diseases. Dr. Parker is currently leading projects aimed at identifying genetic variants associated with cancer susceptibility, behavioral disorders and skeletal morphology, while continuing to study breed history and development through genetic analyses. Find Dr. Parker’s publications at http://research.nhgri.nih.gov/dog_genome/.
Adam Boyko: Genetic diversity in village dog populations Adam Boyko is a research associate in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University. His research focuses on statistical genomics and evolutionary biology of humans and domesticated species, including dogs. Dr. Boyko is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and received an MS in Computer Science and a PhD in Biology from Purdue University before his postdoctoral research in the Department of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology at Cornell University. He is currently conducting research using high-density SNP genotyping and whole-genome sequencing of purebred dogs, village dogs and wild canids to understanding the origins and evolution of domestic dogs and the genomic architecture of phenotypic variation in these populations.
Bridgett M. vonHoldt: The Return of the Rocky Mountain Wolf: A Genetic Perspective Bridgett vonHoldt is a Post-doctoral Scholar at University of California, Irvine in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Her research focus is on comparative genomics of domestic plant species. She received her Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles, with her work focusing on the population genetics Yellowstone’s wolves, investigating wolf pack formation, mate choice and gene flow. Additional, her work has examined the complex history of dog domestication and admixture in wild canid populations. Her reserach goals are to understand the evolutionary process of species domestication and the genes targeted by artificial selection.
Moderators for Saturday Talks Debra Greenfield, Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA Jessica Lynch Alfaro, Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA Jenn Smith, Center for Society and Genetics; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA
Sniffing Booth: Parallel Sensory Universes– DogHuman Co-Existence Siddharth Ramakrishnan Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York; Art|Sci center at the CNSI, UCLA Victoria Vesna UCLA Dept. of Design|Media Arts, UCLA Center for Society and Genetics Art|Sci center at the CNSI, UCLA Parsons Art, Media + Technology, the New School for Design in NY Hilal Koyuncu and Mary Wylie Parsons Art, Media + Technology, the New School for Design in NY Eric Parren UCLA Dept. of Design|Media Arts Art|Sci center at the CNSI, UCLA As humans we interact with the world around us relying primarily on visual information. This gives us a perspective of our environment from an anthropocentric viewpoint. Many of us are not aware of the different sensory potentials that other animals possess, which paint a very different picture of the world around us. We wish to raise awareness of this aspect of sensory
perception by using the dog, an animal that has been ubiquitous in the human home environment for centuries, as a model. When compared to humans, dogs have olfactory epitheliums with a larger surface area and contain 40 times more olfactory receptors. They also have a specialized Jacobsen’s organ that helps them detect pheromones. All this gives them an ability to smell around 1000 times better than humans. Jacob von Uexhull proposed that even though different species share the same environment, they each have different ‘umwelten’ or ‘surrounding worlds’. This project aims to gives us a view of the umwelt of the dog – or the environment/surroundings from the canine perspective [Horowitz, 2009]. Dogs have an estimated 220 million olfactory receptor neurons in comparison to 2-5 million in humans, and show a corresponding improvement in behavioral tests involving odor sensation [Schoon 1997; Szetei et al., 2003]. This heightened sensitivity and the ability to train dogs, has resulted in using them to detect various odors that we as humans cannot perceive. Dogs are now used to detect landmines in war zones, truffles, track game and criminals. They are also able to find humans trapped under snow/landslides and cadavers buried far below the surface [Amato, 2009]. Recently dogs have also been shown to detect early onset of different cancers [Hovarth et al., 2008]. This project is a collaboration between Dr. Ramakrishnan, a neuroscientist who has worked on olfaction and chemosensation in animal models such as snails, fish and rats, and Prof. Vesna, a media artist whose work is focused on creating immersive environments for public engagement of issues raised by scientific innovation. AMATO, I., 2009. You Smell, Chemical Engineering News, 87(41):50 – 54 HOROWITZ, A., 2009. Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, Scribner HORVATH, G., ET. AL., 2008. Human Ovarian Carcinomas Detected by Specific Odor, Integr Cancer Ther, 7: 76 SCHOON, A., 1997. The Performance of Dogs in Identifying Humans by Scent. Ph.D. Dis., Rijksuniveristeit, Leiden. SZETEI V., ET AL., 2003, When dogs seem to lose their nose: an investigation on the use of visual and olfactory cues in communicative context between dog and owner; Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 83:141–152
Siamak Tundra Naficy: Dogs Get the Point! A Demonstration of Human-Dog Communication I currently teach anthropology at the Department of Defense Analysis in the Graduate School of Operational and Information Sciences in Monterey, California. Before that I instructed classes in biological anthropology at Santa Monica College for many years. My doctorate at UCLA examined the evolution of analogous cognitive skills in dogs and humans, including some comparative work with wolves, and explored what this work may say about the co-evolutionary processes that humans and dogs have shared. More recently, I’ve looked at whether dogs take into account who has seen something and who hasn’t seen something, when following pointing.
Cue The Dog!: The Modern Work of the Urban Dog Most of our dog breeds were created for various purposes, hunting, retrieving, herding, companionship, to name only a few. City dwelling dogs rarely perform the jobs they were intended for. A group of local trainers will assemble to demonstrate some of the alternatives available to most "Urban Dogs" and their handlers. Obedience and Agility training are highlighted in this entertaining presentation.
LA Search Dogs and Handlers Shirley Smith, Agneta Cohen, Leslie Huskey, Natalie Castle Los Angeles Search Dogs (LASD) was founded in 1985 and is an all volunteer search team for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The Team uses trained dogs to search for lost persons in wilderness and urban areas. Our dogs are also trained to search for cadavers, in avalanches, collapsed and burned buildings, and for drowning victims. We receive 60-100 calls a year from the Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies. Recent requests have been the September Metrolink Train accident in Chatsworth, as well as the Wildfires and the destruction of the Mobile Home park in Sylmar
in November. We work only for law enforcement agencies, fire departments and the State Office of Emergency Services. There is never a charge for our services. The team is an all volunteer and on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. http://www.lasearchdogs.org/
UCLA People-Animal Connection (Therapy Dogs) Betty Walsh & “Dreamer” Laura Botfeld & “Apollo” Lisa Wojciechowski & “Penelope” Erin Rice & “Finn” Constance Howell & “Cigfa”
The People–Animal Connection (PAC) is an Animal-Assisted Activity/Therapy (AAA/AAT) Program where UCLA Volunteers and their dogs make pre-assigned visits to hospital patients who have requested them. The purpose of these team (Volunteer owner/dog) visits are to provide a more humane environment for the patient, family and staff, and integrate the team in professionally directed goal-oriented interventions to meet specific patient outcomes. To date, over 75,000 visits have taken place. When patients are asked how the visits affect them they describe the visit as being a distraction from their illness, and a welcomed change of scenery. We see a bridge of communication develop between staff and family when the dogs visit. Patients perform new levels of activity such as throwing a ball, grooming the dog, expression of speech, or getting out of bed to visit with the dog and owner. Many of the patients who are critically ill more frequently enjoy having the dogs in bed with them as comfort and a form of holistic unconditional love. A picture is taken for the patient to keep and reminisce. Currently, we have 40 teams on the Westwood campus and 8 teams at UCLA Santa Monica visiting more then 50 diverse units of the medical centers, with an average of 500
patients receiving visits each month. Patient satisfaction survey results show these visits make patients happier, calmer, more loved, less sad, less anxious, less isolated, less lonely, and less scared. Further psychological and physiological patient outcome measures are in progress. UCLA staff directing this program believe a cautious methodological approach is important and necessary in developing and maintaining a quality program. The wishes of patients who do not want this type of exposure are respected and maintained.
Dog & Human Skull Evolution & Diversity Sharlene Santana, Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA Graham Slater, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA Blaire van Valkenburgh, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA Gail Kennedy, Anthropology Department, UCLA
What Dog Genes Can Tell Us about Dogs and the Humans Who Test Them Janet Sinsheimer, Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA Dr. Sinsheimer is Professor of Human Genetics and Biomathematics at the David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA. Her research program involves the development and application of statistical methodology for mapping complex trait and disease genes and for understanding evolution. Chris Kelty, Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA Bob Wayne, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA (See Friday Bio)
Kids’ Corner: Dogs, Art, Imagination and Science! Lindsay Smith, Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA
Marta Macedo, Center for Society and Genetics; History, UCLA Jenn Smith, Center for Society and Genetics; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA Sharlene Santana, Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA Jessica Lynch Alfaro, Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA Rachelle Alfaro, Elementary School Teacher, Bullhead, AZ Rachel Stafford-Lewis, UCLA Frederico Lynch Ribeiro, Lincoln Middle School Inez Lynch Alfaro, Roosevelt Elementary School Zsuzsi Lynch, Woodland Park Middle School
