Canine Cognition Collaborative – GWU's premier dog lab

About Us

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Exciting Updates: We now have a testing space and are open & accepting people! – 10/21/2025

The GW Canine Cognition Center is a small, interdisciplinary cognition team located in the George Washington University’s Anthropology Department.

Become a Dog Cognition Scientist

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A group of young people wearing blue GW rowing and sailing shirts and medical facemasks are walking across the national mall. We can assume they are smiling, but we can't tell due. They still seem happy.

Participate

Join the team! Are you a dog parent whose dog wants to start a Paw-hD? Are you a student who wants to get hands-on experience in experiment design, data collection, and more? Click above to get started!

Why Dogs?

A small, black, shaggy schauzer gazes to the left of the frame. Another small dog, spotted, mostly white with black patches and tan ears and tail, is looking at her, but to the camera, and is trying to engage her in play.

Our Research

Dogs and humans may not share many genes, but we do share an environment. A lot of dog owners can attest to their dogs’ abilities to communicate with them. At the GW Dog Lab, we think that the environment dogs share with humans has resulted in dogs having social abilities similar to ours – abilities that researchers thought were unique to humans! This unique bond helps us understand how environments impact evolution.

Thank you to our funders!

A special thank you to the Animal Behavior Society, Lewis N. Cotlow Research Fund, the GW Selective Excellence Fund, and the Siegelman Undergraduate Research Enhancement Grant! We are so grateful for your support and would not be successful without you.

You can also support GW Anthropology! Donate here.