Welcome to the ManyDogs project!

ManyDogs is an international consortium of researchers interested in Canine Science. Our primary goal is to foster global collaboration and open science practices (i.e., transparency and reproducibility) through multi-site projects. Read our Mission Statement for a detailed explanation of our purpose.

By forming the ManyDogs consortium, we are establishing a collegial platform for addressing new questions and replicating historical findings on a greater scale than has been possible for any single research unit to date. Collectively, we will have the power to address questions such as breed or individual differences, or the impact of culture on behaviour, both of which have important implications for dog-human interaction and general dog welfare.

We have collaborators from all over the world:

Hover over dots to see lab names, and zoom and drag map to explore lab locations more closely.

ManyDogs 1

We have just wrapped up our first study, ManyDogs 1, on dog-human social communication. The aim of ManyDogs 1 was to take a closer look at the long-debated question of whether dogs understand pointing as an informative gesture or as a command. We investigated this by running a single study with standardized methodology in a large number of labs in North America, South America, and Europe. For more information on this study, please see the ManyDogs 1 section of this website.

Next for ManyDogs

We are currently developing methods for ManyDogs 2. Stay tuned for more information!

ManyDogs banner with the words Many Dogs and three overlaid dog silouettes (yellow dachshund, orange Laborador retriever, and blue German shepard) jumping in the air.