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Dog Perspective
Canine Wellbeing Science and Innovation
Founded by Dr. Alisa Tananaeva, an animal behavior scientist who studies dogs’ happiness - from their point of view. Learn more...
Research
Rephrasing Oscar Wilde, the best way to make dogs good is to make them happy. But what does happiness actually means rom the dog’s point of view? How can we measure it? And what can we do with this knowledge?
Knowledge
Good science shouldn’t stay locked away in papers – it has to be accessible and useful for the dogs it’s about, and for the humans who care for them. We turn research into clear, practical resources for professionals and dedicated caregivers, so knowledge can become impact.
Impact
Enrichment, sensors, sniffing gardens and dog-friendly spaces are growing fast — but dogs need more than good intentions. We help people and organizations understand what dogs really need, decide what is worth building or changing, and test whether it actually works for dogs.
Research
Our research starts from a simple fact: companion dogs often live in urban environments and depend entirely on humans to meet their physiological, safety, social, and cognitive needs. When these needs are met in adequate and appropriate ways, dogs can thrive. When they are not, chronic stress can develop over time, contributing to behavior problems and reduced wellbeing. Despite the growing interest in this area and it's importance for researchers, professionals, and caregivers, it still remains understudied. We work to help close this gap and answer the questions:
How to measure wellbeing?
We study which observable and measurable signs can reflect dogs’ mental health, and how they can become a wellbeing “thermometer” that helps guide better decisions.
How to reduce chronic stress?
We investigate practical ways to reduce chronic stress and support recovery in companion dogs.
How to support resilience?
We examine which routines, experiences, and environments help dogs cope better with daily challenges.
How to help dogs thrive?
We explore what supports positive everyday experiences, emotional wellbeing, and richer lives for dogs.
Applied Welfare
We are open to applied research, consulting, and industry collaborations making sense of how dogs feel and what to do about it. Here’s what this can look like in practice:
From good intentions to evidence
Evaluating whether everyday routines, dog‑friendly products, and spaces actually support dogs’ wellbeing.
From signals to insight
Turning behavioral and physiological data -activity, sleep, vocalization, etc. - into meaningful, science‑based interpretations.
From insight to action
Designing and adapting enrichment strategies based on the dog’s current state - selecting, testing, and refining interventions to reduce stress and support resilience.
From science to real-world impact
Bringing research into products and environments that are not just pet‑friendly, but actually work for dogs and the people who care for them.
Wellbeing & Stress FAQ
Wellbeing
What does “Dog Perspective” mean?
It means starting with the dog’s own experience, not only with what is convenient for humans. We look at behavior as information about needs, emotional state, stress, and everyday life.
What does a good life look like from a dog’s point of view?
We may never know this perfectly - dogs cannot give us direct self-reports. But welfare science gives us broad clues through the lens of their needs: safety, positive emotions, tasty food, restful sleep, good social relationships, and much more. The real work is understanding how all these pieces come together for each individual dog.
What do you mean by dogs’ needs?
We use “needs” in a welfare-science sense: the conditions and opportunities that allow an animal to maintain good welfare, not just survive. Following the Five Domains Model, this means looking beyond “has food” or “has shelter” and asking whether nutrition, environment, health, behavioral opportunities, and mental state actually fit this dog: appropriate and rewarding food, comfortable rest, manageable sensory load, safety, choice, social contact, exploration, and species-specific behavior. For dogs, the key question is not only whether a resource exists, but whether the dog can access and use it in a way that supports wellbeing.
How do we know whether a dog is doing well?
No single sign tells the whole story. We look at patterns across behavior, daily routines, health-related signs, activity rest balance and other things to understand how life may feel for that dog.
Why does enrichment need evidence?
Because “more activities and things to do” does not automatically mean better welfare. Good enrichment should match the dog’s species-specific and individual needs, emotional state, sensory world, and ability to choose or opt out.
Stress
What is stress?
Stress is how the body responds when something important may be at stake — safety, comfort, social connection, rest, or other needs. It helps animals react, adapt, and cope.
Is stress always bad?
No. Short-term, manageable stress can be part of learning, adaptation, and normal life. The problem begins when stress becomes too intense, too frequent, too unpredictable, or too difficult to recover from.
What is chronic stress?
Chronic stress happens when stress lasts too long, happens too often, or when an animal does not have enough time to recover. Over time, it can affect behavior, learning, sleep, health, and ability to cope with everyday life.
Why do pet dogs might become chronically stressed?
Urban life can be stressful even for humans: noise, crowds, unpredictable routines, limited space, and constant stimulation are not exactly a nervous system spa. Dogs live in the same environment, but they also depend on humans: our lifestyles, routines, expectations, and beliefs shape what they can and cannot do. Sometimes this limits dogs’ ability to meet their physical, social, emotional, or cognitive needs — and when it goes on for too long, it can contribute to chronic stress.
For dog professionals and caregivers
How do I know that the dog is chronically stressed?
There is no single behavior that proves a dog is chronically stressed. You can estimate your dog’s chronic stress-related behavior patterns using the Dog Stress Level Questionnaire, which can help you see whether further support may be useful.
How can I help the dog reduce their stress load?
First, make sure the dog has regular opportunities to meet their physiological, safety, social, cognitive, species-specific, and individual needs. Then build resilience through predictability, choice, positive learning, recovery time, and realistic coping strategies. We can help identify where the stress load may be coming from and turn this into a practical plan for caregivers or professionals.
How can I help the dog build resilience?
Resilience grows when dogs have safety, predictability, choice, successful problem-solving, and supportive social relationships. We can help caregivers and professionals design individualized plans that match the dog, the household, the available resources, and the real-life constraints.
What if I cannot meet all of my dog’s needs perfectly?
No one meets every need perfectly all the time, and this is not a reason to panic or jump to relinquishment. The goal is to identify the biggest gaps and find realistic alternatives: safer routines, legal outlets for natural behavior, small enrichment changes, better recovery time, and professional support when needed.
How can the Center help me and the dogs I live or work with?
We have spent years studying chronic stress and stress-related welfare issues in companion dogs through scientific literature reviews, behavioral assessment, questionnaire development, and applied research. We can help dog professionals and caregivers interpret stress-related patterns and build science-based plans for reducing stress and supporting recovery.
For industries and organizations
Can technology help dogs, and when can it mislead us?
Technology can be useful when it helps us notice meaningful patterns. But data alone is not understanding: activity, sleep, vocalization, or other signals need careful interpretation in context.
We build smart collars. How can the Center help us?
Smart collars collect many separate signals, such as activity, rest, movement, heart-related metrics, and daily routines. We can help turn scattered data into validated welfare-relevant indices, a kind of “wellbeing thermometer” that can be compared across dogs, tracked within one dog over time, and used to evaluate stress-reduction or resilience-building interventions.
We make dog treats or toys. How can the Center help us?
In our research, we found that caregivers do not always know what their dogs actually like. Yes, the parent buys the toy, but the child decides whether it becomes a beloved favorite or quietly abandoned in the basket. We can tailor preference-testing protocols to your specific product and question, because “what does the dog prefer?” can be tested in many different ways depending on the task.
We are developing a pet-focused product. How can the Center help?
We combine academic research logic with a more flexible applied workflow, so early-stage questions can often be tested faster and with less overhead than a full university-scale study. We also have connections with leading research labs in canine science and animal welfare, which can be useful when a project needs formal academic collaboration or additional scientific expertise.
We want to create a dog-friendly space. How can you help us?
We can help evaluate whether the space is not only dog-allowed, but genuinely dog-friendly. What matters most depends on the dogs, the people, the setting, and the purpose of the space, so the best solutions are usually built around the specific project rather than copied from a generic checklist.
Can you help us validate a pet product or service?
Yes, especially if you want to understand whether a product actually supports wellbeing rather than just sounds good in marketing. We can help with study design, behavioral measures, caregiver-report tools, preference testing, data interpretation, and careful claims that do not overpromise.