Dog Spies

Julie Hecht, MSc, is an animal behavior researcher, science writer, and public speaker. She has investigated dogs’ understanding of "fairness,” olfactory preferences, dog-human play behavior, and common anthropomorphisms along with Dr. Alexandra Horowitz at the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College in NYC. She frequently holds lectures for the general public and student groups; recent speaking engagements include the Association of Professional Dog Trainers Conference, the Intrepid Museum, the Museum of Natural History, Cornell University, and Camp Unleashed. She teaches Animal Behavior at Hunter College in New York City and taught the Applied Animal Behavior course at the Anthrozoology Masters Program at Canisius College. A regular contributor to The Bark magazine, and a blogger with fellow canine researcher Mia Cobb at Do You Believe in Dog?, Julie's popular writing covers the important things -- everything from dog humping and crotch-sniffing to canine cognition and the infamous "guilty look." Julie received a Masters with distinction in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh, and she is a PhD student in the Animal Behavior and Comparative Psychology training area under Dr. Diana Reiss at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Julie conducted her Masters research on the "guilty look" with the Family Dog Project in Budapest, pioneers in the field of canine ethology. She would really like to meet your dog. Reach her at DogSpies@gmail.com