When working with a dog in any field or simply living with dogs it is critical to understand and interpret their behavior. Acknowledging they have rich emotional lives and experience stimuli in ways that differ from humans. We must clear the cultural fog and consider the science of learning and behavior to enhance our life and work with dogs. We consider several laws of behavior as explanations for why a dog behaves in a certain way. When a dog may engage in a behavior that considered “unwanted” we will explore the Functional Assessment as tool to change behavior.

When dogs are employed for detection tasks part of their effectiveness is the handler’s ability to perceive and interpret their behaviors through the science lens.