Another study concluded that puppies with “helicopter moms” are more likely to fail as guide dogs, while young dogs that quickly solve a multistep problem are more likely to succeed. Hare and a colleague found that successful service dogs more often make eye contact with a person when facing an unsolvable task and use inferential reasoning to find a hidden reward. “We’re trying to understand the dog side of the leash and how we get more dogs helping more people,” said Brian Hare, an evolutionary anthropologist who is co-director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, which is studying puppies bred by the California-based Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). Researchers are studying whether dogs' performance on aptitude tests is linked to success as a service animal. Morgan Ferrans, left, and Kara Moore prepare to put Wisdom through an aptitude test at the Duke University Canine Cognition Center in February. And in service dog organizations, with their controlled breeding and noble missions, canine researchers see ideal study populations. Over two decades, the study of dog minds, genetics and behavior has given rise to laboratories at universities around the world. That is where another booming field - canine science - is coming in. By that time, nearly two years and as much as $50,000 have been spent on one dog. Although large organizations have honed the use of breeding and training to produce calm and obedient dogs, only about 50 percent make the cut. Our expanding understanding of canines’ unique skills has fueled interest in service dogs among people with disabilities and the military, but it has also spawned scammers and years-long wait-lists. Early this year, they were the newest subjects of a $1.6 million study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to help untangle a question long asked by breeders and trainers and now increasingly scrutinized by scientists: What makes a successful service dog - and can it be predicted in a puppy as young as Yonder?Īt stake is a lot of money and a lot of dogs. That was the hope, at least, for Yonder and her six furry cohorts.
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