Our Projects
Bioacoustics of Human-Dog Play - Ongoing
Please email ECHOSLab@boisestate.edu if you are interested in being notified when we resume recruitment bonded human-dog pairs. Estimated to begin January 2023.
The human-dog bond has been studied from multiple perspectives including domestication, attachment and bonding, and cooperation. However, less attention has been given to the ways in which the coevolutionary history has or has not shaped our shared communication system. This project seeks to unpack the subtle, and often subconscious, role of social contagion in the human-dog bond, beginning with play.
Bonded human-dog play partners and shelter dogs with unfamiliar play partners are recorded during three interactions - training, play, and rest. With audio and video recording, we ask questions about both intentionally and reflexive nonverbal communications and behavior.
An Investigation into Pet Parenting - Ongoing
This project investigates the application of human parenting strategies to companion animals in the home. Initially developed as a United States survey, we are now expanding to consider cross-cultural comparisons including India, Finland, Japan, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Hungary, and Spain.
If you are interested in collaborating on a survey in your cultural area, please contact the lab (ECHOSLab@boisestate.edu).
Human-Wildlife Interactions and Conflict - Ongoing
This project seeks to understand the cultural forces that shape a person's perception of wildlife, in particular, predators such as the gray wolf. This includes probing perceptions of non-lethal management of wolf populations, economic and life ways changes for ranchers, and attempting to find ways to find common ground that conserves keystone species while fulfilling real and perceived human needs.
Recognizing and Honoring Individuals in Animal Research
This project seeks to critique and refine the ways in which historical research in animal behavior is discussed and cited. Beginning with a series of talks at the 2021 International Society for Anthrozoology Conference, the goal is to develop a schema for citing historical research that would now be deemed unethical, then move forward to suggest changes to transparency in the communication of future research, in a way that honors the individual animals who were/are sacrificed for human knowledge.
Currently in press with Biological Reviews.
The project is funded by Culture & Animals Foundation.
Humane Education Curriculum Development - Complete
We worked with the Idaho Humane Society to develop and deliver humane education curriculum. ECHOS Lab members who participated in this project will also have the option of obtaining a Service Learning designation on their transcript.
We delivered a total of eight, 3-hour workshops to middle school students in Summer of 2022. These included Junior Animal Trainer and Junior Vet Tech. Students learned about body language of dogs and cats, safe and fear free animal handling, and techniques specific to the themed career.