Welcome to the Canine Cognition Center at Yale!

The Canine Cognition Center at Yale is a research facility in the Psychology Department at Yale University. Our team of Yale scientists studies how dogs think about the world. Our center is devoted to learning more about canine psychology—how dogs perceive their environment, solve problems, and make decisions. Our findings teach us how the dog mind works, which can help us to better develop programs to improve how we train and work with our canine friends.

As of December 9, 2023, the Canine Cognition Center at Yale is no longer actively running studies. Keep an eye on our publications page for the exciting results of the studies we’ve recently wrapped up!

Press

September 21, 2023
A new study, featuring Dr. Santos as a co-author, has revealed the positive impact that pet dogs have on their guardians' recovery from a stress-inducing task. Read more...
January 14, 2021
A writer from the Smithsonian Magazine came to the CCC @ Yale to learn more about our work and what it teaches us. Check out the story on our bond with dogs featuring work...
March 24, 2020
We hope everyone is safe and well during this difficult time in our community! Our center director Dr. Laurie Santos recently chatted with a number of media outlets about how...