Dr. Westlund: The Science of Animal Behavior
Want to better understand your pet?
Dr. Westlund offers simple, science-backed strategies for dogs and cats alike. From unique breed requirements to feline communication, discover how to genuinely enrich their lives and strengthen your bond together.
Table of Contents
How Dog Breeding Shapes Behavior
How Dogs Communicate Through Scent Marking
How Nose Work Benefits Dogs With Anxiety
Attachment Bonds vs Imprinting in Dogs
Animal Behavior and Communication
The Science of Fairness in Animals
The Impact of Neutering on Dog Health
How Zoos Have Evolved Beyond Menageries
Understanding Predatory Behavior in Animals
Mating Behaviors in Different Species
Humans as Animals: What Sets Us Apart
How Dog Breeding Shapes Behavior
Selective Breeding and the Predatory Sequence
Westlund explains that while all dogs likely enjoy sniffing, different breeds have been selectively bred to emphasize specific behaviors based on their intended working purposes. This selective breeding has created remarkable diversity among dog breeds, both in appearance and behavioral tendencies. To understand these differences, Westlund describes how domestication has modified the natural predatory sequence observed in wolves. This sequence includes orienting (sniffing and looking for prey), eyeing and stalking, chasing, grab-biting, killing, dissecting, and finally eating.
During domestication, humans selected for specific portions of this sequence in different breeds to serve various functions.
Hounds, for instance, were bred to excel at the initial "sniffing" phase. Pointers were selected for their ability to indicate prey by freezing in position without proceeding to chase. Border collies were bred to eye, stalk, and perhaps chase, but ideally not grab. Greyhounds became the pure chasers, while retrievers were developed for their grabbing abilities without destroying the prey.
Terriers, as Huberman points out, were specifically bred as the "killers" in this sequence. He shares an anecdote about West Highland terriers—those cute white dogs that many people find adorable—and their remarkable dedication to hunting rodents. He describes witnessing a westie fixate on a rodent in a wall for days, calling it "rat TV," noting that if there was any way to access the rodent, the terrier would emerge with its prey. Westlund confirms this behavior is the result of systematic, intentional breeding from a couple hundred years ago. She continues by mentioning livestock guardian dogs that mostly retain only the sniffing and eating behaviors from the predatory sequence, bypassing the hunting behaviors entirely.
The "Genetic Backpack": Meeting Breed-Specific Needs
Understanding where each breed falls on this spectrum is crucial for providing dogs with appropriate enrichment and fulfillment. Working dogs come with what Westlund calls an "evolutionary backpack" or "genetic backpack" that drives them to perform certain behaviors. Meanwhile, toy breeds or lap dogs typically show less interest in these working behaviors. For dog owners and enthusiasts, the key takeaway is clear: to offer dogs a good life, we must understand the purpose for which they were bred and provide appropriate outlets for their natural tendencies.
Each breed's genetic heritage influences their behavior and needs, making breed-specific knowledge an essential component of responsible dog ownership.
Case Study: The Bulldog – Form, Function, and Genetic Links
Huberman shares his personal experience with his bulldog-Mastiff mix, Costello, describing him as a "mudded bulldog" without the extreme physical characteristics that plague modern bulldogs. Unlike breeds bred for hunting or herding, Costello showed no interest in stalking, chasing, or killing—instead focusing primarily on consuming, reflecting his breeding heritage.
The history of the bulldog breed itself tells a fascinating story of selective breeding for specific functional purposes. Huberman explains that the original bulldog line was a cross between mastiff-like dogs (for strength and pain tolerance) and pugs (for the short snout). This combination wasn't random—the short snout provided mechanical advantage for "bull baiting," a cruel practice where dogs would bite and hold onto a bull's nose. "The short snout provides the kind of lever that when they bite down onto the nose of a bull, it was very hard to shake them loose," Huberman explains, comparing the mechanics to the difference between long tongs versus a C-clamp.
Even more interesting is how the genetic mutations are linked. The gene that reduces pain receptors in the face is close to another gene that affects skin elasticity, resulting in the characteristic jowls and skin folds bulldogs are known for. Huberman describes how Costello demonstrated an extraordinarily high pain tolerance in his face but remained sensitive in other areas like his back paws—a gradient of pain reception bred specifically for function.
Modern bulldogs have been bred to such extremes that they must be delivered by cesarean section due to their large shoulders and small hips. Huberman notes that responsible breeders are trying to re-establish the original, more moderate bulldog line with fewer health issues and less exaggerated features.
Breeding's Influence on Temperament and Emotional Life
Beyond physical traits, Huberman touches on the temperament and emotional life of dogs. He describes the implicit contract he felt with Costello: unwavering protection when needed, but complete relaxation when no threat was present. "I'll die for you, but unless your life is in danger, I'm not going to do anything," Huberman explains, calling bulldogs masters of energy efficiency. This glimpse into how breeding shapes not just physical characteristics but behavioral tendencies and emotional responses opens the door to a deeper understanding of how dogs experience the world, a subject both Westlund and Huberman are passionate about exploring.
Connecting Breed Characteristics to Environmental Fit
Understanding a dog's breed characteristics can significantly impact how well they adjust to different living environments. According to Dr. Karolina Westlund, a dog's physical appearance often reveals clues about their natural behavioral tendencies.
"Sometimes it can be hard to know where your dog is on that scale, especially if it's like a mixed breed of some type," Westlund explains. "You can often actually just look at the conformation of the dog. Those very lean dogs with not much muscle and very pointy snouts tend to be the chasers. And the ones with more muscles, front muscles, and bigger jaws tend to be the ones that rip things apart."
Huberman notes this applies to breeds like bulldogs, rottweilers, and mastiffs, as well as smaller breeds like pugs and French bulldogs. There's also an interesting disconnect between dog size and exercise needs. While many assume larger dogs require more space and activity, this isn't always the case.
"You talk to a vet... and say, what's a great apartment dog? And they'll say Great Dane, because they don't need a ton of space to roam," Huberman points out. "But they don't need long walks compared to like a little terrier sometimes needs to just go, go, go, go, go. I mean, needs two hours or more of activity."
Westlund emphasizes the importance of matching your lifestyle with the right breed: "You need to pay a lot of attention to the type of life that you're going to offer, whether it's living in an apartment in a busy city or whether it's on a farm somewhere. Which breed of dog is going to adapt best to that lifestyle."
Navigating Urban Environments and Social Introductions
When asked if dogs enjoy city living, Westlund expresses concern. "I think many dogs get very stressed in cities because of the constant bombardment of sensory information. There's noise, there's dogs. If you're out walking on the street, there's constantly meeting strangers."
This constant exposure to unfamiliar people and animals creates unique challenges. For most animal species, encountering strangers is both rare and stressful, triggering an assessment of whether the unknown entity represents a threat or opportunity. Dogs stand out in their relatively high tolerance for strangers compared to other animals.
Introducing new animals to each other requires careful consideration of this natural wariness. Unlike dogs, who may more readily accept new companions, other pets like cats often need gradual introductions.
Westlund recommends starting with scent exchanges using towels, then progressing to hearing, seeing, and finally physical contact to reduce the risk of aggressive interactions. By understanding these breed-specific traits and natural behaviors, pet owners can create more suitable environments and make better-informed decisions about which animals will thrive in their particular living situations.
How Dogs Communicate Through Scent Marking
Dogs have an innate drive to both send and receive information through scent marking, a behavior that many dog owners witness daily on neighborhood walks. Huberman shares his observation about his bulldog's determination to urinate on various objects, noting the seemingly endless supply his dog had for this purpose.
Westlund explains this behavior is much more than just elimination—it's communication. "They're reading the pee mail from the other dogs in the neighborhood," she states. Urine contains rich information about gender, reproductive state, and potentially even emotional states of other animals. This form of communication is so important to dogs that Westlund doesn't hesitate to describe it as "one of the joys of life for dogs."
This scent-marking behavior appears to be a canine version of social media, as Huberman aptly puts it. Dogs are essentially both consuming information left by others and posting their own updates through their scent. This reflects the significant amount of neural real estate dedicated to olfaction in the canine brain, similar to how humans dedicate substantial brain resources to vision.
The conversation turns to canine evolution, with Westlund explaining the fascinating origin story of domestic dogs. Rather than humans actively capturing and breeding wolves, she describes a process of self-domestication. The least fearful, most explorative wolves began hanging around human settlements, gradually developing a symbiotic relationship with people over time.
Huberman finds this self-domestication process particularly interesting, noting that while other species might approach humans for food—like fish following fishing boats or viral videos of otters interacting with kayakers—the wolf-to-dog transition appears to have been a deeper, more complex symbiotic relationship beyond simple food rewards.
How Nose Work Benefits Dogs With Anxiety
Westlund emphasized that dog owners should consider ways to promote different aspects of the predatory sequence that their particular dog enjoys. Rather than simply placing food in a bowl, there are more enriching alternatives that tap into dogs' natural instincts.
One particularly promising activity Westlund highlighted is nose work, a relatively new dog sport that's only about 15 years old. In nose work, dogs learn to find specific scents in an area by sniffing, roaming, and following scent trails until they locate and mark the target scent, after which they receive a reward. Although research is still in its early stages, studies show that nose work helps regulate arousal—calming highly strung dogs with generalized anxiety while energizing those with depression-like symptoms. It appears to shift dogs toward a positive emotional state.
"Every dog could do nose work," Westlund suggested, noting it's an excellent outlet for the first part of the predatory behavioral sequence. For dogs who chase wildlife, trainers can focus on reinforcing the initial parts of the sequence—the sniffing, pointing, and eyeing behaviors—creating a feedback loop where the dog learns to alert their owner rather than pursue.
Different breeds have different preferences within this sequence.
Greyhounds, for instance, love the chase, while poodles enjoy the "kill and post-kill" activities such as ripping things apart—a surprising revelation to Huberman, who noted the contrast between this behavior and the poodle's elegant appearance.
Regarding feeding, Westlund recommends scatter feeding or using snuffle mats where dogs have to search for their food rather than consuming it from a bowl in seconds. Huberman related this to his experience with his dog Costello, who "ate like a seagull" without chewing.
Huberman also pointed out the importance of cognitive stimulation for dogs. He mentioned that the pet industry sells many products designed to make dogs work for their food, providing mental stimulation especially important on days when outdoor exercise isn't possible. While some dog owners might think their pets just want to relax or fetch, different breeds have different preferences. Huberman shared that his dog Costello had no interest in retrieving balls but loved tugging activities—he would hang onto a rope tied to a tree for up to ten minutes at a time, clearly enjoying the chewing sensation.
Attachment Bonds vs Imprinting in Dogs
Attachment bonds and imprinting are fundamentally different processes in dogs, according to Dr. Westlund. While many people believe dogs imprint on humans, she clarifies that dogs actually form attachment bonds with their human caregivers.
This distinction is significant for understanding canine behavior.
Westlund explains that imprinting is a rapid process occurring within minutes or hours, primarily through visual or olfactory senses. In contrast, attachment takes longer to develop and involves multiple sensory systems.
Attachment bonds, which have been extensively studied in humans, vary in quality depending on how caregivers respond to the needs of the young.
"Dogs form, rather than imprinting on humans, they form a type of attachment bond and they can also be securely or insecurely attached to their persons," Westlund notes.
Huberman connects this to attachment theory in human psychology, referencing the classic Bowlby experiments that identified secure, insecure, and disorganized attachment patterns. These patterns, often discussed in relationship psychology, are observable in pets as well.
The famous "strange situation test" reveals much about attachment patterns. When reunited with their caregiver after separation, securely attached individuals (human or canine) respond with comfort and relaxation, while those with insecure attachment may exhibit avoidant, anxious, or clingy behaviors.
Westlund shares that similar experiments with dogs have demonstrated these same attachment styles. Securely attached dogs tend to be more exploratory and recover more quickly from separation, while insecurely attached dogs may be clingy or avoidant upon reunion.
Early weaning may predispose dogs to insecure attachment, Westlund suggests. When Huberman asks if the standard eight-week separation from mother is appropriate, she expresses concern from an ethological perspective: "For me, eight weeks is way too early."
She references studies from researchers Scott and Fuller that found early separation (at 3-6 weeks) was detrimental to puppy development. However, she acknowledges the limited research beyond the eight-week mark.
The conversation turns to the concept of socialization in puppies. Many breeders and owners focus on exposing young dogs to numerous stimuli—people with different appearances, household items, various sounds—to prevent future fear responses.
Westlund proposes that secure attachment might be more fundamental than extensive socialization lists.
"I think that if we simply allow dogs to have secure attachment so that they have learned self-regulation, being exposed to those things will not be such a big deal," she suggests, though noting more research is needed.
Huberman connects this to human psychology, noting that we can't prepare ourselves or animals for every possible circumstance, but we can develop general self-regulation capabilities. Rather than training for specific events, we can prepare neural circuits for processes. Just as deliberate cold exposure helps humans learn to manage high adrenaline states, secure attachment in early life helps both humans and animals develop broader self-regulation skills.
Fostering Canine Well-being
Dogs, like all animals, have specific emotional needs to feel safe and calm. Westlund explains this through the "core affect space," a model for understanding animal emotions with two key dimensions: valence (pleasant to unpleasant) on the horizontal axis and arousal (high to low) on the vertical axis. The ideal state for a calm, content dog is in what Westlund calls "quadrant two" - the pleasant, low-arousal zone. This is where animals feel relaxed, safe, and socially engaged. To help dogs reach this state, owners should focus on both removing negative stimuli and providing positive experiences. The emotional state of the person doing the petting also matters tremendously. Westlund references polyvagal theory and the concept of co-regulation, explaining that when humans are calm and relaxed themselves, they send subtle cues that animals pick up on. "Just being calm and relaxed yourself can really help relax the dog," she says.
Best Practices for Physical Contact
One essential element for a safe and calm environment is appropriate physical contact. Westlund emphasizes that humans, as primates, tend to be "huggers" who may approach animals with embraces that can feel like restraint to dogs. "To many animals, this is restraint and really scary," she notes. Instead, she recommends using a "consent test" - briefly petting the animal in a spot they typically enjoy, then removing your hand to see if they seek more contact or move away. Most dogs don't enjoy having hands placed on top of their heads; the neck or upper chest areas are generally better starting points.
Huberman mentions research showing that the pace of petting significantly affects a dog's response. Fast patting, which humans often default to, can be aversive to dogs. Slow, deliberate stroking tends to visibly relax dogs - their eyelids begin to hood, and tension dissipates quickly. "For some reason we associate padding with fast padding. Or petting as a quick process," Huberman observes. "It very well could be that all the dogs out there are just dying for some really nice slow strokes."
Different animals have individual preferences for how and where they like to be touched. Westlund notes that in horses, for example, research has shown that patting can be aversive even though it's commonly used as a reward; a scratch at the nape of the mane, however, is typically enjoyable. Huberman observes that dogs often seem to most appreciate scratches in places they can't easily reach themselves, like the rump, the top side of the back leg, or the soft skin in the crook of the rear leg. Regardless of breed, individual dogs have widely different preferences for physical contact. Understanding and respecting these individual preferences is key to creating that safe, calm environment all dogs need.
Rethinking Dominance: An Ethological Perspective
Westlund explained that the ethological definition of dominance differs significantly from popular conceptions of control or power, defining it simply as "priority of access to resources." In stable social groups, dominance hierarchies naturally form to reduce conflict when resources are limited. "Here's a resource, here's like five individuals coming up to it. There's just one there. The dominant individual will have priority of access to that resource. The others simply have to wait or look elsewhere," Westlund explained, noting this system actually reduces aggression.
She highlighted that dominance hierarchies tend to become more pronounced in captivity than in the wild, where animals can simply disperse. This is why, for example, multiple household cats should be fed in separate locations – to reduce conflict that wouldn't naturally occur for solitary hunters. Westlund clarified that feral dogs do form dominance hierarchies regarding resources, but these are fluid and variable depending on the situation. She also distinguished between dominance and other social roles like leadership – the individual who walks first from one location to another – and the controller, who initiates changes in group activity.
Dominance, Training, and Human-Dog Relationships
When Huberman brought up common beliefs about dogs touching humans or invading their space as dominance displays, Westlund firmly disagreed with these interpretations. "I would not label any of those situations that you described as a dominance interaction," she stated. For instance, a dog backing away when approached is more likely showing fear rather than submission.
The conversation then turned to common dog training advice, such as ensuring dogs walk behind their owners. Westlund suggested these practices have little to do with actual dominance but are rather the result of learning through consequences. "If you stay at my side or behind me, then there won't be any unpleasantness, but if you pull ahead, I'm gonna yank you back," she explained, describing how dogs learn to walk in certain positions.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Westlund challenged the notion that humans have any place in a dog's dominance hierarchy at all. "Dogs form relationships with us, but as far as I know, from the ethological perspective, we have no role in a dominance hierarchy among dogs," she said. Dogs recognize we are different species and learn to expect certain outcomes in different contexts, but this is better explained through learning systems rather than dominance frameworks. When Huberman mentioned the common advice that owners should eat before their dogs to establish hierarchy, Westlund again suggested reframing this outside of dominance concepts. While setting clear boundaries and expectations helps create functional human-dog relationships, attributing this to dominance misapplies the ethological concept. Through this conversation, Westlund challenged many common assumptions about dog behavior, suggesting that humans might be completely wrong about how dominance actually functions in our relationships with our canine companions.
Animal Behavior and Communication
Rethinking Human-Animal Distinctions and Understanding Species-Specific Adaptations
Westlund challenges the fundamental way humans categorize themselves apart from other animals, noting that "we humans are also an animal species" despite our tendency to "put ourselves on a pedestal." She emphasizes that we often mistakenly view animals as a homogeneous "other," when in reality each species has its own unique adaptations. Westlund's work focuses on helping animals live better lives with humans, which she says "very often starts with understanding how that animal species would live in the wild." This includes understanding whether they're predators or prey, and how they process and communicate information about their world.
Decoding Canine Communication: Beyond Simple Interpretations
Using dogs as an example, Westlund points out how humans often misinterpret tail wagging as a purely visual signal indicating happiness. In reality, tail wagging occurs in various contexts and may also serve to disperse scent, providing information about the dog's emotional state. Westlund elaborates on the more nuanced interpretations of different types of tail wags, explaining that a "predominant left wag" (on the left side of the dog's body) tends to be associated with negative emotional states, while right-side wagging typically indicates positive emotions. This lateralization extends to cats as well, which tend to view the world from their left eye when in negative emotional states and from their right when experiencing positive emotions.
Different types of tail wags—whether "very low and fast" or "high and sort of stiff"—communicate different emotional states. Studies have shown that humans learn to read dogs by exposure, even passive exposure, with people in cultures of close human-dog interaction developing better interpretative abilities than those from cultures where such interactions are limited. Humans are typically "better at reading gross body language than we are at reading facial expression," partly because dogs move different facial muscles than humans do when expressing emotions. Recent studies on canine facial expressions have examined which muscles move in different contexts by filming dogs exposed to various stimuli—like thunder or the return of their owner. While dogs do show facial expressions, they use different muscles than humans would in similar emotional states, which can lead to misinterpretations. Nevertheless, Westlund concludes that people who live with dogs learn to observe "the entire dog" rather than just facial expressions, making body language interpretation more reliable for understanding our canine companions.
The Nuances of Dog Play and Interspecies Signals
Huberman discussed behaviors that dogs exhibit both with other dogs and with humans, referencing the "down dog" stretch that many dogs perform when anticipating a walk. Westlund clarified that this position is actually known as a "play bow" in the scientific community and functions as a meta-signal for play, though she hadn't specifically seen it documented in the context of walk anticipation.
"Dogs play a bit differently with humans than they do with other dogs, but they do enjoy playing with humans," Westlund noted. To distinguish play from aggression, she introduced the concept of MARS:
M - Metasignals (like play bows)
A - Activity shifts (varying behaviors like chasing, pouncing, and wrestling)
R - Role reversals (taking turns winning and losing)
S - Self-handicapping (stronger dogs restraining their strength)
Exploring Empathy in Canines
The role reversal dynamic in play particularly resonated with Huberman, who observed how touching it is when animals adjust their play intensity to accommodate others, prompting him to ask whether dogs possess empathy. Westlund responded affirmatively, saying "Oh, I think so, absolutely," though acknowledging she wasn't familiar with specific studies on canine empathy. Huberman shared a personal anecdote about his dog Costello placing a paw on the knee of a grieving visitor, noting that while we might anthropomorphize such actions, they're difficult to interpret as anything other than displays of comfort or empathy.
To conclude the exchange, Westlund offered an evolutionary perspective, suggesting that social animals living in cohesive groups would benefit from the ability to read each other's emotional states and attempt to buffer negative emotions. She expressed that such empathetic capabilities would be expected in more cognitively advanced species.
The Science of Fairness in Animals
Westlund describes a remarkable experiment with capuchin monkeys conducted by Franz de Waal and his team that demonstrated a sense of fairness in non-human primates.
In the experiment, two capuchin monkeys were placed side by side, each able to see what the other received. They were asked to perform the same task—handing a rock back to the researcher—for which they would receive a treat. The first monkey received a cucumber and was initially satisfied. However, when the second monkey performed the identical task but received a grape (a preferred treat for capuchins), everything changed. Upon being offered a cucumber again, the first monkey threw a tantrum, essentially rejecting the inequality in rewards for equal work.
Huberman relates this to his own childhood experiences with his sister, noting how they would instinctively compare the size of treats they received, despite not being competitive with each other in other aspects of life. This natural inclination to monitor fairness appears to be deeply ingrained across various species.
The conversation shifts to the balance between selfish and altruistic behaviors in animals. Huberman mentions studies showing crows teaching each other how to open boxes to access food, even when they themselves don't benefit—suggesting a form of altruism alongside the fairness concerns demonstrated in other studies.
This presents a more nuanced picture than the simplistic view of animal behavior being dominated solely by hierarchies and self-interest. As Westlund points out, there's likely an evolutionary advantage to cooperation: "If the group is doing well, then everybody's better off." She explains that while individual selection remains stronger, group selection also plays a role, with more collaborative groups generally outperforming those with less cooperation.
Westlund challenges the traditional scientific caution against anthropomorphism—attributing human characteristics to animals. She suggests that in our fear of inappropriate anthropomorphism, we've swung too far toward what Frans de Waal termed "anthropodenial"—the refusal to recognize genuine commonalities between humans and other animals.
The reality, Westlund argues, likely lies somewhere in the middle.
While different species may perceive the world differently and respond to different stimuli, the underlying emotional and mood responses to environmental factors share significant similarities across species. Our excessive avoidance of anthropomorphism may have led us to overlook these important connections between human and animal experiences.
The Impact of Neutering on Dog Health
Huberman shares a personal story about his bulldog Costello, whom he had neutered at six months old. Years later, when his dog began showing signs of joint pain and other issues at age nine, Huberman made an unexpected decision: he began administering weekly testosterone injections to his neutered pet. The results were remarkable – Costello's vigor returned and his joint pain diminished significantly, adding two quality years to his life.
Rather than facing criticism for this unorthodox approach, Huberman reveals he received hundreds of supportive emails from veterinary professionals who acknowledged the health benefits of maintaining hormonal balance in dogs. This experience has led him to reconsider neutering altogether for any future male dogs he might own.
Westlund points out that attitudes toward neutering vary dramatically by region. In Norway, for instance, dogs cannot be neutered except for medical reasons, while in Western Australia, the opposite is true – neutering is mandatory unless there are medical reasons against it or breeding is intended.
This highlights how cultural factors, rather than pure science, often dictate common veterinary practices.
She also notes that traditional neutering isn't the only option. Alternatives include vasectomies for male dogs and tubal ligation for females – procedures that prevent reproduction while preserving hormone production. Chemical castration provides yet another reversible option to evaluate potential behavioral changes before permanent decisions are made.
The science around neutering has evolved significantly over the past two decades, Westlund explains. While neutering was once broadly recommended to prevent reproduction and reduce behaviors like mounting, recent studies paint a more complex picture. Research consistently shows that neutering, particularly in males, can actually increase fear, reactivity, aggressive behavior, and noise sensitivity depending on when the procedure is performed.
The hormonal changes from neutering affect not just behavior but also physical health, with neutering increasing the risk of certain cancers while decreasing others. Westlund recommends consulting with a veterinarian about the best option for each individual dog, as the effects vary significantly based on breed, gender, and the age at which procedures are performed.
The conversation reveals how the prevalence of pet ownership may influence regional approaches to neutering. With approximately 40% of Americans owning dogs compared to just 15% in Norway, the United States faces greater challenges with pet overpopulation. This likely contributes to the stronger push for neutering in the U.S. as a population control measure to reduce the number of animals in shelters.
Understanding Feline Behavior
Evolutionary Background and Social Structure
Cats, with their sometimes aloof nature, can be a divisive topic among pet lovers. Ethologists like Westlund explain that the common house cat evolved as a solitary hunter that aggregates in loose social groups. Unlike the tight-knit packs of some other animals, cats typically hang out together without forming highly cohesive groups. They hunt individually and eat on their own as well. Properly raised cats typically stay with their mothers for about 14 weeks in Sweden, which seems sufficient for them to "learn how to be a cat" without becoming emotionally disturbed when separated and placed in a new home.
Hunting Instincts and Feeding Practices
Unlike dogs, cats generally retain the complete hunting sequence. They might not always perform the killing bite, but they certainly master the grab bite. When outdoor cats bring prey back to their homes, it's not intended as a gift to their human companions – contrary to popular belief. Rather, they're simply bringing their prey to a place where they feel safe. Huberman affirms, "So it's not a gift. We can put that one to rest," referring to this common misconception. Huberman shared a personal experience about a girlfriend's cat that would catch large mice and place them in their shoes at night. Westlund confirmed these weren't gifts, explaining that cats often lose interest in their catch once it stops moving. Some cats only perform the grab bite without proceeding to the killing bite, which is why they sometimes let rodents go during play. When prey remains still, cats might become bored and walk away, but any movement will restart their predatory sequence.
Socialization, Threat Perception, and Temperament Development
A cat's response to perceived threats largely depends on their early social interactions and learning experiences. Humans often approach cats with good intentions – attempting to hug them, for instance – but cats may interpret this as threatening behavior. Research shows that kittens handled for at least an hour daily between two and eight weeks of age grow into highly social adults who willingly jump into laps and purr contentedly. In contrast, kittens with minimal human interaction (less than 15 minutes daily) develop into cats that acknowledge humans but maintain their distance – the classic "aloof cat" stereotype. These early life experiences significantly shape a cat's temperament.
Scent Marking and Territorial Communication
When cats bump their heads against humans or objects, they're engaging in scent marking, a form of social bonding. Westlund notes, "You do mutual scent marking, which means that everybody in the group smells more or less the same. So it's a way of sort of greeting and incorporating the others in the group." This scent exchange is common among species that live in groups. Scent marking also relates to territory; cats have multiple scent glands in their face that they use to mark their inner territory—areas where they feel safe. In contrast, urine marking typically occurs at the outskirts of their territory.
Elimination Behaviors and Litter Management
By mapping where your cat urinates in your home, you can gather valuable information about the cause. "If it's a territorial thing, it will typically be at the edges, at the windows or doors," Westlund explains. However, if the cat has an elimination problem—perhaps due to pain associated with urination—they may avoid the litter box because they've learned to associate it with discomfort. The use of litter boxes represents an interesting behavioral adaptation in domesticated cats, quite different from dogs, which can be trained to withhold elimination until walks. According to Westlund, cats cover their waste to reduce the risk of infection. She also emphasizes that cats naturally avoid eliminating close to where they eat. "If we have a cat in our house, we shouldn't have the litter box next to the food," she advises. When dogs kick at the ground after defecating, Westlund suggests this is likely a way of spreading scent rather than covering waste, though scientific studies on this specific topic are limited. Huberman emphasizes a practical takeaway for cat owners: keep food and litter boxes separate.
How Zoos Have Evolved Beyond Menageries
What once were simple menageries—places where visitors could merely glimpse caged exotic animals—have transformed into conservation centers with much broader purposes.
Westlund explains that modern zoos serve dual conservation functions: in situ conservation (preserving wild habitats and creating national parks) and ex situ conservation (housing endangered species in environments designed to promote natural behaviors). Many zoos also focus on public education, potentially sparking interest in wildlife conservation among visitors.
Despite these positive developments, Westlund acknowledges the ongoing challenges. She remains conflicted about zoos, noting that while many do valuable conservation work, the housing conditions aren't always optimal. Some species, particularly wide-ranging carnivores like polar bears that naturally travel extensive distances, are especially difficult to maintain properly in captivity.
Huberman shares a disturbing incident that occurred at the San Francisco Zoo during his time as a postdoc at Stanford. A tiger named Tatiana escaped her enclosure after being provoked by two visitors who were throwing objects at her.
What struck Huberman as particularly notable was the tiger's apparent intentionality—she moved through crowds of people, targeting specifically the individuals who had harassed her. The tiger killed one person and injured another before authorities shot her.
This tragic event led to significant changes in enclosure designs at the zoo and sparked wider discussions about zoo safety and animal welfare.
When asked about the tiger's selective targeting, Westlund wasn't surprised by the directed nature of the attack. She explains that animals often demonstrate more sophisticated cognitive abilities than we credit them with. The tiger had associated those specific individuals with an unpleasant experience, which generated a negative emotional state and aggressive behavior directed specifically at them.
Westlund differentiates between types of aggression in animals. While a fearful animal might display defensive aggression by lashing out at whoever is closest, Tatiana demonstrated offensive aggression, which tends to be more calculated and premeditated. This distinction offers insight into the complex emotional and cognitive capacities of large predators.
Understanding Predatory Behavior in Animals
When observing predators like cats in their stalking mode, there are fascinating behavioral elements at play. Huberman mentions how cats typically get one ballistic strike opportunity before the chase begins or the prey escapes. He recalls a childhood pet cat that would stalk and creep up on prey, but just before leaping, it would start chattering its teeth.
Westlund suggests this might be a form of displacement behavior. "There's motivation to move on in the sequence of behaviors to the next behavior, but it's not quite time yet. And so that sort of activation then gets an outlet through that behavior," she explains.
When Huberman characterizes it as almost like a "hydraulic pressure," Westlund agrees, though she notes this phenomenon isn't extensively documented in literature.
The conversation shifts to birds, particularly parrots, which Huberman kept as pets in his youth. He had gray cheek dwarf parrots that he chose not to clip the wings of, allowing them to fly around his room—along with throwing food everywhere. Eventually, he gave them to someone with an aviary.
What are parrots thinking about? According to Westlund, they're concerned with the same things as most animals: "where their next meal is going to come from, social interactions and whether there's any threat anywhere." When Huberman questions if this really constitutes 90% of their conscious life, Westlund elaborates on the priority hierarchy in animal thinking.
Safety comes first for animals. "If an animal is fearful and you try to feed them, they often won't take food," Westlund points out. "The sense of safety has a very high priority because if you don't feel safe, you could die." In potentially dangerous situations, animals must focus their attention on potential predators to survive.
Social environment ranks next in importance. This varies by species—some birds aggregate in large flocks while others form pair bonds. But social interactions related to mating, parenting, and raising young all have high priority because they're essential for "furthering your genes into the next generation."
Finally comes foraging behavior. Westlund notes that while humans think they're doing pets a favor by serving food on a plate, animals are naturally equipped with food-seeking behaviors. When they can't express these natural behaviors, problems can emerge as they redirect that energy elsewhere.
"Did you have any problems with the birds ripping your carpet?" Westlund asks. Huberman admits, "They destroyed everything. I mean they took great pleasure in ripping everything." Westlund identifies this as "foraging behavior directed towards the wrong thing."
Huberman ultimately doesn't recommend parrot ownership, calling his experience "an experiment gone wrong." He notes that these Ecuadorian gray cheek dwarf parrots were marketed as "pocket parrots" that one could carry around, but in reality, "They didn't want to do that at all."
Mating Behaviors in Different Species
Self-recognition and mating behaviors across different species reveal fascinating insights into innate versus learned behaviors. Huberman points out that most animals instinctively recognize members of their own species as potential mates while avoiding reproductive attempts with other species.
For example, dogs don't try to mate with cats (though they might exhibit mounting behaviors for dominance reasons), and horses don't attempt to mate with dogs.
Westlund confirms this is generally innate behavior, but notes some interesting exceptions. She explains that in certain waterfowl species, females innately recognize males of their species, while males must learn through sexual imprinting. Males of these species are typically highly ornamented while females are camouflaged, so males need to learn to identify potential mates based on resemblance to their mothers. If raised by a different species, these males may incorrectly court females from the wrong species.
Huberman shares his experience with aquarium fish, noting that even among closely related fish species, there's never cross-species mating attempts. He extends this observation to fruit flies, where different Drosophila species, though visually similar to humans, won't attempt to mate with other fruit fly species.
"There's inbreeding avoidance as a mechanism that prevents many animal species from mating with someone who's too genetically similar," Westlund explains. But there's also an evolutionary adaptation to avoid wasting reproductive energy on incompatible species.
Westlund then recounts a remarkable exception from her time in Africa in 1995 at the Chimfunji Wildlife Orphanage. There, she encountered a young duiker (a small antelope) that had been orphaned and bottle-raised by humans. The animal had sexually imprinted on humans and attempted to mount her, believing she was a potential mate.
This leads to a discussion about different types of imprinting. Westlund mentions ethologist Conrad Lorenz's observation of a corvid bird that similarly imprinted on humans. This bird would attempt to court a human by regurgitating food gifts—trying to place them in the person's mouth or, failing that, in their ear.
Huberman references the famous image of Nobel Prize winner Conrad Lorenz swimming with a trail of goslings following him—a perfect illustration of imprinting. Westlund clarifies that this is "filial imprinting," distinct from sexual imprinting. Filial imprinting determines who young animals follow and feel safe with, while sexual imprinting determines who they'll later attempt to mate with.
These examples highlight the complex interplay between genetics and environment in shaping animal behavior, particularly in the crucial domains of species recognition and mate selection.
Humans as Animals: What Sets Us Apart
When prompted to consider what makes humans unique among animals, Westlund immediately highlighted our distinctive capacity for cultural learning. Unlike other species that primarily learn through trial and error (classical and operant conditioning) or by observing their immediate peers, humans possess the extraordinary ability to access knowledge across vast stretches of time.
"We sort of stand on the shoulders of giants, we humans, because we can read people's thoughts that are thousands of years old, literally," Westlund observed. This capacity to transmit and build upon accumulated knowledge gives humans an evolutionary advantage unlike any other species.
She noted that humans were once distinguished as "man, the toolmaker," until Jane Goodall's groundbreaking observations of chimpanzees crafting tools for termite fishing challenged this notion. These chimps would break off twigs, remove leaves, and sharpen the ends to extract termites from mounds – demonstrating that tool creation itself is not uniquely human.
Westlund emphasized that our ability to "stamp down knowledge" sets us apart, though she cautiously added that knowledge itself is constantly evolving. "Some of the things that we've been discussing today and that I've seen said with great conviction might be proven completely false a year from now," she remarked, highlighting the dynamic nature of scientific understanding.
Huberman appreciated this reminder of our cognitive limitations – that we can only do so much with "this piece of meat in our skulls" as we attempt to decipher the world. Yet he found profound meaning in Westlund's insight that humans uniquely learn not just from the present but from the distant past and for the future.
The conversation concluded with Huberman expressing gratitude for Westlund's unique perspective as an animal ethologist who studies real-world experiments across diverse settings. Her work clearly demonstrates care for all species and their interactions, while providing practical tools for improving human relationships with companion animals like cats and dogs.
Wrapping Up
Understanding your dog, as Dr. Westlund and Huberman highlight, starts with recognizing the profound influence of their breed. Selective breeding has shaped not just their looks but their innate behaviors, from a hound's keen nose to a terrier's drive. Each dog carries a unique "genetic backpack," dictating their natural tendencies.
Acknowledging this heritage is key to responsible pet ownership. By understanding why your dog behaves a certain way—whether it's a Border Collie's herding instinct or a Bulldog's stoicism—you can provide tailored enrichment and meet their specific needs. This insight helps match the right dog to your lifestyle and deepens the bond you share.
So, consider your dog's ancestral purpose. This knowledge is the foundation for a more understanding, enriching, and harmonious life together.