Highlights
Most recent publication
Our latest publication is a book chapter on The Behavioural Ecology of Canids in Canine Science: An Interdisciplinary Look at Our Best Friend published by Springer Nature. The book is currently in press and is expected to come out in September 2026.
International Dog Survey
In collaboration with the Canine Science Collaboratory, Arizona State University in USA, we are conducting a large international research study on how early life experiences impact adult dog behaviour. Enroll your dog by clicking below!
Active research projects
At the moment we are actively engaged in research projects on behavioural differences in dog breeds, the effect of early life experiences on behaviour, dog-owner attachment, heritability of behaviours, social behaviour, and many other interesting things.
The Swedish Dog BioBank
Together with the Swedish Working Dog Association we have started up a long-term project to establish a biobank for Swedish breed dogs. This will allow us to address questions on behavioural genetics and dog health. Read more here and sign up your dog!
What we do
The Canid Research Group is a research group at Linköping University, Sweden. Our main research focus is on canid behaviour, which entails everything from behavioural evolution, behavioural ecology, dog domestication, social behaviour, behavioural development, animal welfare, and many other things.
The domestic dog is a natural study species for our group, as is its closest living relative, the grey wolf, but we seldom say no to interesting research opportunities or ideas within in our overall field of interest on other canid species. Or non-canid species. That is why you sometimes see the occasional group member working on species that may not resemble your regular canid.
The Canid Research Group collaborates widely with other researchers and research groups, as well as organizations such as dog associations and animal parks. But we also continuously encourage dog owners to actively participate in our studies. Right now you can enroll your dog in two ongoing studies: The Swedish Dog BioBank and a large international survey on dog behaviour.
Tell us about your dog!
Help us understand how early life experiences affect adult dog behaviour.
Fill out the survey below and tell all the dog owners you know to do the same.
Based on survey responses we are currently inviting some dog owners to come in for follow-up behavioural sessions in Arizona, US, and at several locations in Sweden. Next year we will expand our behavioural sessions to include other European locations and Florida, US.
Get in touch if you…
…have a cool research idea and are interested in collaborating with us
…are interested in doing research in the group as a student or postdoc
…want to enroll your dog in one of our ongoing research projects
…cannot find one of our publications. We’ll send it to you
…are interested in having us come give a talk about our research
Contact information below
Location
Linköping University, Sweden