I am a lifelong dog owner, but am not an expert in the field of dog communication. I will therefore source my material for this class from those who are, including: behavioral biologists, (like Karen Pryor, author of Don't Shoot the Dog) scientific studies published in peer reviewed journals, and organizations that specialize in animals and their well-being, such as The Humane Society of the United States. Along with this careful vetting of class content, students and I will discuss our anecdotal records regarding the dogs in our lives, how they seem to be trying to communicate with us, and how we can determine if our understanding of what they're saying may be correct. We'll use scientific thinking in a casual, but careful, way (including: observing, comparing, organizing ideas, predicting, experimenting, evaluating, applying) to think critically about what we observe and work to avoid anthropomorphic thinking, jumping to conclusions without adequate evidence, and other possible types of misunderstandings of our dog's attempts to communicate with us.

30 minutes per week in class, and maybe some time outside of class.