Proving Dogs Love w/ Clive Wynne

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Dr. Clive Wynne Brings Science Into The Equation of Showing How And Why Dogs Love Us

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About The Episode

While currently residing in Arizona, Clive Wynne is originally from the Isle of Wight (a small island off the south coast of England), where he was born and raised. After traveling around for a while after he was older, he eventually came to the United States and has been here for over twenty years.

Clive is a behavioral scientist and psychologist. The core of his studies is looking at what makes dogs special. Why have they been so “successful” at integrating into our planet and being so numerous? Along with his group of students, this is has been the focus of their studying over the years.

Clive had pushed back for years against previous scientific theories that stated dogs’ intelligence is what makes them stand out. But he was at a bit of a roadblock at times. That was, at least, until his dog Xephos came into his life. While Clive had dogs at certain times throughout his life, he hadn’t had one for a while. Then, about 8 years ago, his family got a new dog. It was Xephos who gave Clive the inspiration and personal experience he needed to unlock his next findings.

The secret, to Clive, is their ability and desire to form bonds with other species – and, of course, particularly with humans. This is connected to the idea that dogs usually form a bond with whatever being they’re around early on, and usually that tends to be us.

Another reason that makes dogs and humans relationships so successful in particular as well is that even though they can communicate in different ways than us, we still understand each other. So we can have particularly strong mutual, loving, and understanding relationships.

Xephos’ name is a shortened version of the ancient Greek author Xenophon, who wrote the first book about dogs. And Clive decided to write his own book, which came out last Fall, entitled, Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You (2019). In the book, focused on his core question of what makes dogs special, he looked to back up the idea of dog’s love for us with scientific data and research. What he found was evidence within dogs’ genes, hormones, brain activity, heartbeat, and more.

About The Guest - Clive Wynne

Dr. Clive Wynne is the Founding Director & Principal Investigator of Arizona State University’s Canine Science Collaboratory. His work and studies involve looking at the question, “What makes dogs special?” At a roadblock in fully tapping into what he was trying to discover with his findings, Clive had help from his own dog - Xephos - who helped him form a greater understanding of the human to dog relationship. Last Fall, he released a book entitled “Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You” that looks at dogs' love through a scientific lens.

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