Of the billion or so dogs on the planet earth, dogs kept as companions in western civilizations represent only a small fraction of them. If we really want to understand our canine companions better, argue Ray and Lorna Coppinger, then the place to start is studying the rest of the dogs who live their lives as “village dogs”. That’s the starting place for these two biologists as they give their views – some research based and some personal experience and opinions – about how dogs came to be, what their place is in society, and how we can best provide for them. In this webinar, you’ll be treated to a thorough review of the book. In the process, we’ll review some important concepts from the sciences of animal behavior, evolution and ecology that are often confused and misunderstood including: — Socialization, Sensitive Periods, Species Recognition and Social Bonds — Domestication, Feralization and Taming — Ecological Niche, Mutualism and Commensalism — Adaptive significance, Evolution, Species, Artificial and Natural Selection and how these concepts and MORE – CAN (if applied correctly) help us have a less anthropomorphic and more objective, biology based understanding of our pet dogs. And we’ll look at the last and most controversial section of the book which asks whether pet keeping practices in the U.S. and other western countries are providing a good quality life for companion dogs. And whether bringing village or street dogs from islands and other locales to the U.S. is improving or detracting from their well-being. This webinar will illustrate for you what we’ve taught in other webinars about how to carefully review and evaluate information that purports to be scientific and science based. As a bonus, we give you a Tip Sheet for how to read science books. If you haven’t had time to read the book, this webinar will provide you the “Cliff Notes”. If you HAVE read it, we hope you will join the discussion and offer your reactions as well.

Sponsor:Animal Behavior Associates
Speaker(s):Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., CAAB and Dan Estep, Ph.D., CAAB

Contact: Tracey Metzler
 Email: info@animalbehaviorassociates.com
 Phone: 303-932-9095
 Web: http://www.behavioreducationnetwork.com/