CRU Publications

 CRU research articles, talks and conference poster presentations are listed below. Many of these citations have weblinks, which will bring you to a post-print article, pdf file, or external website where you can access these materials. If you are having trouble finding a document you need, please feel free to contact us.

Selected Articles

Pellowe, S., Walsh, C. (2025). Dog guardian interpretation of familiar dog aggression questions in the C-BARQ: Do we need to redefine "familiar"? Animals, 15(19), 2876; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15192876

Pellowe, S., Zhang, A., Bignell, D., Pena-Castillo, L., Walsh, C. (2025). Gut microbiome composition is related to anxiety and aggression score in companion dogs. Scientific Reports, 15, 24336; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-06178-4

Earle, A., Lamarre, J., Attwood, M., Walsh, C. (2024, preprint). Investigating cognitive and motor bias in dogs: Test outcomes are affected by method and breed. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/aynqk

ManyDogs Project, Espinosa, J., Stevens, J., Alberghina, D., Alway, H... Pellowe, S....Walsh, C., et al. (2023). A multi-lab replication study of dogs’ pointing comprehension. Animal Behavior & Cognition, 10(3), 232-286. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/4kncr

Ryan, M., Storey, A., Anderson, R., Walsh, C. (2020). Personality traits and owner-dog attachment in a Canadian sample. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, 8, 71-91. https/doi.org/10.1079/hai.2020.0018

Ryan, M.G., Storey, A.E., Anderson, R.E. & Walsh, C.J. (2019). Physiological indicators of attachment in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and their owners in the Strange Situation Test. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 13,162. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00162

Walsh, C.J. (2018). Lessons from behaviour for brain imaging. Animal Sentience, 22(7).

Howse, M.S., Anderson, R.E., & Walsh, C. J. (2018). Social behaviour of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in a public off-leash dog park. Behavioural Processes, 157, 691-701. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2018.03.016. PDF (pre-print)

Posluns, J.A., Anderson, R.E., & Walsh, C.J. (2017). Comparing two canine personality assessments: Convergence of the MCPQ-R and DPQ and consensus between dog owners and walkers. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 188, 68-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2016.12.013

Ottenheimer-Carrier, L., Ricketts, C.J., Perry, E.A., Anderson, R.E., & Walsh, C.J. (2017). Owner-reported personality assessments are associated with breed groups but not with oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 18, 62-68. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01520

Ottenheimer Carrier, L., Cyr, A., Anderson, R. E., & Walsh, C. J. (2013). Exploring the dog park: Relationships between social behaviours, personality and cortisol in companion dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 146 (1-4), 96-106. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2013.04.002  PDF

Schneider, J. N. & Anderson, R. E. (2011). Tonal vocalizations in the red wolf (Canis rufus): Potential functions of nonlinear sound production. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 130(4), 2275-2284. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3628331

Anderson, R.E., Russell, J., White, J., & Weir, J. (2001). Hyperwolf 2.0

Graduate Student Theses & Talks

Pellowe, S. (2024) Gut microbiota composition and relationship to anxiety and aggressive behaviour in domenstic dogs (Canis familiaris). MSc thesis, Cognitive & Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland. 

Link to Thesis

Castro, M. (2017). Assesing the social organization of multi-dog households: Dog behaviour, hormones, personality, and demographics. MSc thesis, Cognitive & Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

               Link to Thesis; Link to Talk

McDowell, K.E. (2017). Human preferences of canine coat colour and length.  MSc thesis, Cognitive & Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Thesis            

Posluns, J.A. (2017). Behaviour differences in companion dogs in response to unfamiliar conspecific contact and personality measusrements.  MSc thesis, Cognitive & Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

               Link to Thesis  Talk

Howse, M. (2016). Exploring the social behaviour of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in a public off-leash dog park. MSc thesis, Cognitive & Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland.       

               Link to Thesis

Ryan, M.G. (2015). Interspecific attachment: Social bonds between humans and their 'best friends'.  MSc thesis, Cognitive & Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland.  

               Link to Thesis

Posluns, J. (2014). Greetings among unfamiliar dogs: Investigating personality, social behaviour and cortisol.

Conference Proceedings

Pellowe, S., Bignell, D., Pena-Castillo, L., Walsh, C. (2022). Gut microbiome composition is related to anxiety and aggression scores in companion dogs. Animal Behaviour Society Conference, Hybrid, Costa Rica. July 2022.

O’Reilly, A., Lamarre, J., Atwood, M., & Walsh, C. (2020). Cognitive bias and laterality in dogs: Improving methodology?. Animal Behaviour Society Conference, Virtual. July 2020

Walsh, C.J., Castro, M., Kinnunen, M. & Anderson, R.E. (2019). Resolving dominance in dogs: Behavioral measure fail to predict relationships in mulit-dog homes. Poster presentation at the Animal Behaviour Society Conference, Chicago, IL, USA, July 2019. Poster.

Walsh, C.J., Castro, M., Kinnunen, M., & Anderson, R. E. (2018). The "Dual Hormone Hypothesis" in domestic dogs: Cortisol X Testosterone interactions predict wins in a competitive task. Poster presentation at the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cogntive Science, St. John's, NL., Canada, July 2018. Poster.

Walsh, C.J., Castro, M., Kinnunen, M., & Anderson, R. E. (2017). The "dual hormone hypothesis" in domestic dogs: Interactions of testosterone and cortisol predict competitive outcomes. Oral presentation at the 1st Canine Science Conference, Tempeh, AZ, USA, October 2017. Talk Slides

Ottenheimer Carrier, L., Ricketts, C. J., Perry, E. A., Anderson, R. E. & Walsh, C. J. (2016). Owner evaluations of dog personality and behaviour are associated with breed group, but not with two oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms. Poster presentation at the 5th Canine Science Forum, Padova, Italy, July 2016. Abstact: Dog Behavior 3, suppl.: s102. Poster.

Ryan, M. G., Storey, A. E., Anderson, R.E. & Walsh, C.J. (2016). Evidence for synchronization of stress hormones in owners and dogs during the strange situation test. Poster presentation at the 5th Canine Science Forum, Padova, Italy, July 2016. Abstact: Dog Behavior 3, suppl.: s79. Poster.

Walsh, C.J., Anderson, R.E., Ottenheimer Carrier, L., Penney, J., & Croucher, K. (2014). Canine salivary cortisol in frequent dog park visitors is predicted by individual differences in Neuroticism (MCPQ-R). Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 9, e14. doi:10.1016/j.veb.2014.09.048. Oral presentation at the 4th Canine Science Forum, Lincoln, United Kingdom, July 2014.  Talk Slides (pdf).

Posluns, J., Anderson, R.E., & Walsh, C.J. (2014). Extroverts make new friends: Multiple indicators reflect successful interactions among unfamiliar dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 9: e10. Poster presentation at the 4th Canine Science Forum, Lincoln, United Kingdom, July 2014.  Poster

Ottenheimer Carrier, L., Anderson R.E., & Walsh, C.J. (2013). Personality, social behaviour, and cortisol in dogs: Relationships in a dog park. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 8(4): e43. Oral presentation by C.W. to 3rd Canine Science Forum, Barcelona, Spain, July 25-27, 2012. Talk Slides (pdf)

Castro, M. & Walsh, C.J. (2013). Do cortisol and testosterone levels covary with social role in domestic dogs? Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 8(4): e29-30. Poster presentation to 3rd Canine Science Forum, Barcelona, Spain, July 25-27, 2012. Poster Teaser.

Dutton, E. E., Anderson, R. E., Walsh, C. J. (2011). “Do I know you?” Does partner familiarity influence social  interactions among dogs in a park setting? Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research,6, 65. Poster

Walsh, C. (2011). Dog Parks: What do we know about what dogs do? Presentation to IFAAB 2011, New Orleans, USA, Febuary 2011. Abstract   Talk Handout

Walsh, C. J., Howse, M., Green, C., Butler, L., & Anderson, R. E. (2011). “Stop that!”: People interrupting dog behaviors in a dog park setting. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 6, 77. Poster

Howse, M., Walsh, C. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2008). Normal social behaviour of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Poster presentation at Animal Behaviour Society Conference, Snowbird, Utah, USA, August 2008. Poster

Completed Honours Theses

Note that Memorial University's Center for Newfoundland Studies archives all dissertations and

theses. Below are links to posters (or talks) which summarize the main findings of the research projects. Many of these presentations were also given by the students at a Science Atlantic undergraduate conference.

Critch, E. (2025). Understanding cat adoptability: The impact of described clicker-trained behaviours on adoption decisions. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis

Han, Y. (2025) Breed-specific differences in attention: Exploring their role in overimitation behaviour in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Biology, Memorial University. Thesis

Reid, A. (2025). Who's the role model? Overimitation in dogs in response to familiar and unfamiliar humans. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis

Wadman, C. (2025). Curiosity and the cat: Assessing puzzle feeders and object play as potential tools of environmental enrichment and sociability in the domestic cat (Felis catus). BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Biology, Memorial University. Thesis

Burt, K. (2024). Clicking with cats: Assessing socialization methods on domestic cats (Felis catus) welfare in the animal shelter environment. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Biology, Memorial University. Thesis

Hayward, A. (2024). Perception of cats: Assessing animal shelter socialization methods and perceived adoptability. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis

George, R. (2024). Dog companionship for older adults: Social workers perspectives. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis

Alway, H. (2023). "Fido, look!" Do ostension, frustration and fear influence dogs (Canis familiaris) use of human pointing gestures? BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis 

Lundrigan, N. (2022). The rise of pet parenting: Differing relationships between dog "owners" and their dogs. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis 

Summers, A. (2021). An investigation of owner-reported factors related to anxiety and aggression in a local companion dog population. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis 

Thornhill, J. (2021). Exploring similarities and differences in pet-owner relationships of Canadian cat and dog owners. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis 

Murphy, D. (2021). Parental perceptions of animal-assisted activities in families of children with autism spectrum disorder in Newfoundland and Labrador. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis 

De Boer Vanderkloet, A. (2020). Animal-assisted intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders: Survey developmental and a bibliometric analysis. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis 

Lawrence, R. (2020). Pet ownership, satisfaction with life, and loneliness: Exploring trends in a sample of respondents from the Canadian Community Health Survey - Healthy Aging. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University. Thesis 

White, C. (2019). Assessing the relationship between personality and behavioural responses of domestic dogs during novel object tests. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Biology, Memorial University. Thesis

Lamarre, J. (2018). Lifestyles of the modern dog (Canis familiaris): Relationships among activity, feeding, personality, and separation anxiety in beagles and huskies. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Biology, Memorial University. Thesis

O'Reilly, A. (2018).  The modern dog: Canine metabolic, behavioural, and cognitive indicators of wellness (I). BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis

Collins, R.  (2017). Dog-owner attachment and proximity behaviours in an off-leash dog park. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis

Lambert, G. (2017). How social network metrics among transient groups of dogs relate to physiology and personality. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis Presentation

Luther, M. (2017). How initial greetings with conspecifics influence the behavioural and physiological responses of domestic dogs in off-leash dog parks. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis Poster

Morey, K. (2017). "My dog has separation anxiety": Does owner behaviour influence dog behaviour and hormones during the Strange Situation Test? BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis Presentation

Ricketts, C.J. (2015). Investigating the relationship between oxytocin receptor gene variation and pesonality in dogs. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Thesis Poster

O’Leary, J. (2013). Making an entrance: Factors influencing chemosensory investigation patterns in a dog park. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis Poster

Clarke, C. (2013). The relationship between coat colour and behavioural problems in Beagle dogs. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis Poster

Ottenheimer Carrier, L. (2011). Personality, cortisol levels, and conspecific behaviour in domestic dogs. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis

Cyr, A. (2011). The relationship between social activities of dogs (Canis familiaris) in a dog park and cortisol. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thesis Poster

Fraser, K. (2010). Dominance in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris): No evidence for social hierarchies in a transient social group. BSc Honours Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of

Newfoundland.   Poster