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2014: A Great Year for Canine Science

Hi Julie,

Hope your festive season was fun and full of laughter.

Happy new year to you!

I've decided that 2014 is THE year for canine science!

It's been a fairly long time since we compared notes on what we're doing at the moment, so I thought I'd start 2014 with a bit of an update for you.

Project finish-the-PhD is GO

It's well and truly time to get this baby fledged! PhD's are not easy at the best of times, and doing mine part time (hello, year seven of working towards this!) has felt a bit like a marathon at times. Luckily, I'm still incredibly excited by my research questions, feeling enthusiastic and looking forward to writing up the results of my research and sharing it with the world.

source (PhD comics)

My top priorities towards achieving a completed PhD right now are:

interpreting the canine salivary cortisol meta-analysis results
writing up papers about the perceived welfare of dogs and people's attitudes regarding the importance of various kennel management practices and their relation to canine welfare. Once these are fully drafted (and redrafted x 83), they'll be submitted for publication in a scientific journal

Do You Believe in Dog?

It kind of blew my mind when I realised we've been pen-pal-ing here about dogs and science for a year and a half already!

I'm looking forward to sharing and discussing more of the latest findings in our field with you as 2014 unfolds around us .

I'm also excited to learn more from exciting guest posts by other canine researchers, like Dr Bradley Smith and Clare Browne.

Canine Science Forum

15-17th of July 2014 has already been highlighted in my calendar and hopefully in yours too, Julie! It marks the 4th Canine Science Forum to be held in Lincoln, UK and teamed for the first time with a Feline Science Forum as well. I'm excited about all the new research that will be shared at this conference and also thinking ahead about which aspects of my research I'll be submitting abstracts for in March. I'm intrigued by their call for 'controversies in canine science' presentations - should make for some fun viewing!

I'm also very much looking to a reunion with YOU - funny to think this blog started on a whim after our very brief encounter at the last CSF.

Human Animal Science

Human Animal Science

I've been involved in a new science communication project, Human Animal Science. Set up by the Anthrozoology Research Foundation and Anthrozoology Research Group, this podcast series interviews different experts about their research across a wide range of human-animal science topics.

It's been fun getting the first six episodes recorded - especially the one with you about anthropomorphism - and we've got more interesting people lined up to chat with in 2014.

Working Dog Alliance

Luckily, the Working Dog Alliance is having a quiet few months right now, allowing me to focus on all of the above. The website is a rich resource hub for the Australian working dog industry. Most of the sensational content from the first conference, including the full-of-awesome keynote addresses by Dr Nicola Rooney and Steve White, can be seen/listened to here: http://www.workingdogalliance.com.au/conference2013/

Hope you're keeping warm - we've heard it's a very cold Winter in the USA right now. Hard to fathom when our forecast for next week is floating around the 38-40 oC (100-105 oF) mark!

I'd love to hear what you have on the cards for 2014,

Mia

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