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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 3d

Absolutely. There is zero tolerance for inaccurate reporting and spreading falsehoods about dogs.

Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 4d

Here are our graphs showing impact of adversity by breed. We found zero evidence that pit-bull types were more impacted by adversity than other breeds, and when it came to baseline aggressive and fearful behaviour? Look at that, solidly in the middle of the pack #CanineScience 🧪 #Boom #TheEnd 4/4

Dumbbell graph showing the impact of early life adversity by individual breed on aggressive behaviour. Permutation testing and linear regression found that there were significant effects of early life adversity for some breeds, including American Eskimo Dog. You know which breed isn't impacted in our study? Pibbles. They're not even close to the most aggressive dog listed. So knock it off and let them be.

Dumbbell graph showing the impact of early life adversity by individual breed on fearful behaviour. Permutation testing and linear regression found that there were significant effects of early life adversity for some breeds, including American Eskimo Dog. You know which breed isn't impacted in our study? Pibbles. They're not even close to the most aggressive dog listed. So, knock it off and let them be.

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 4d

I really appreciate media coverage of our research, truly, it's huge for an #ECR like me on the job market. But don't get it twisted. The dogs don't deserve that #NotTodaySatan #DogIsLove #FactsNotFiction 3/n

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 4d

Despite no good evidence, pit-bull types are frequently characterized as aggressive and dangerous. This false narrative contributes to breed-specific laws which cause relinquishments and euthanasia, and don't actually reduce serious dog bites in society 2/n #BreedSpecificLegislation #CanineScience

a black and white dog is looking at the camera with the words `` what '' written on it .

Alt: a black and white pitty looking dog is looking at the camera with the words `` what '' written on it.

media.tenor.com

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 4d

You know what our recent paper on early life adversity and #dog #behaviour DOESN'T say? Anything about pit-bull type dogs. No mention by us at all, @sciencex.bsky.social. So... how did they earn a callout for aggression and fear in your piece? phys.org/news/2025-10... 1/idk, as many as it takes 🧪

Trauma in a puppy's first six months linked to adult aggression, says new study

As many dog owners can attest, their four-legged companions are delightful and loving. But for others, their animals have an aggressive side, such as biting and attacking strangers, which may ultimate...

phys.org

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 6d

Thank you! I like it not least because it's called a dumbbell graph 🏋️😅🙌

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 6d

This is the first paper from my postdoc with @erinhecht.bsky.social and the Canine Brains Project, check out their ongoing research: sites.harvard.edu/caninebrains...
#CanineScience

Home

Come visit! Are you considering visiting Harvard with your pup to contribute to canine science? Watch our introductory video for a sneak peak at our lab. Travel costs to Boston may be provided for dog...

sites.harvard.edu

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 6d

That's not all! Obvi, nurture doesn't tell the whole story of why dogs develop certain behaviour. We also found that the impact of trauma varied across dog breeds, suggesting that there is a genetic factor for risk or resilience to stress.
#NatureAndNurture #Genes&Environment #IndividualDifferences

Barbell plot summarizing the difference in average aggressive behaviour scores (X axis) for two groups of dogs within the same breed (Y axis). Group 1 (blue dots) are average scores for dogs without a history of early life adversity and Group 2 (red dots) are average scores for dogs of the same breed with a history of early life adversity in the first 6 months. Generally, breeds show a trend towards higher aggression scores for dogs with a history of adversity (i.e., the red dot is to the right of the blue dot), while a few breeds show the opposite trend. None of the instances where dogs with adversity scored lower than those without were significantly different. Dot size represents the number of dogs in the group, with Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers being among the most numerous, while English Shepherds were fewer. Significant differences in aggression scores between dogs with and without adversity are noted by carets next to breed names, including Siberian Husky, American Leopard Hound, and American Eskimo Dog.

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 6d

📣 New publication alert! In a large, diverse sample, #CompanionDogs with a history of trauma before 6 months were seen as more fearful and/or aggressive than trauma-free dogs or those with trauma later on in life
🧪 #CanineScience #DogBehaviour #EarlyLifeAdversity doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Influence of early life adversity and breed on aggression and fear in dogs - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Influence of early life adversity and breed on aggression and fear in dogs

doi.org

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Reposted by Julia Espinosa

Thomas Serre @thomasserre.bsky.social · 15d

Brown’s Department of Cognitive & Psychological Sciences is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor, working in the area of AI and the Mind (start July 1, 2026). Apply by Nov 8, 2025 👉 apply.interfolio.com/173939

#AI #CognitiveScience #AcademicJobs #BrownUniversity

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · 16d

📣 Prospective Canadian grad students, check out NIna's lab and research szeyuhninawang.com 🧪

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Reposted by Julia Espinosa

Ian Hussey @ianhussey.mmmdata.io · Aug 15

I wrote an R package that creates standardized R project structures that are compliant with @mekline.bsky.social's psych-DS...ish.

It also creates additional features for reproducibility and teaching like a readme, license, .gitignore and Quarto templates

+ can validate existing projects

Creating and validating standardized R project structures that are psych-DS compliant-ish

Making psychological code and data FAIR is hard, in part because different projects organize their code and data very differently. Sometimes this is for good reasons, such as due to the demands of a g...

mmmdata.io

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · Aug 11

Immediately going at the top of my reading list 🙌🤓

Christine Webb @christinewebb.bsky.social · Jul 22

The argument of THE ARROGANT APE is that human exceptionalism—a.k.a. anthropocentrism or human supremacy—is at the root of the ecological crisis, giving humans a sense of dominion over Nature, entitled to commodify earth and other species for our own exclusive benefit.

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Reposted by Julia Espinosa

ASAB Winter 2025 @asab-meetings.bsky.social · Aug 5

ICYMI : #ASABWinter2025 will take place from December 15-16, once again in lovely Edinburgh!

Registration is now open 🎉 Abstract submission deadline for posters and talks is August 29 🏃‍♀️🏃🏃‍♂️

More information here: asabwinter.github.io/2025/

Winter ASAB 2025 December 15-16 Edinburgh How sensory information affects behaviour.

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Reposted by Julia Espinosa

Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · Jul 30

🚨Starting soon at 12pm ET: @cdelawalla.bsky.social joins @simonwdc.bsky.social and @jeremymberg.bsky.social to dig into Countering Trump’s War on Science.

We can’t wait - going LIVE soon! Tune in here ➡️ open.substack.com/live-stream/...

LIVE SOON: Countering Trump's War On Science With Colette Delawalla and Dr. Jeremy Berg

Starting Jul 30 at 12:00 PM EDT

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Julia Espinosa

Brooke Fitzwater, PhD (she/her) 🐟🪱🏳️‍🌈♾️ @oceanfilly.bsky.social · Jul 24

With many postdoc grants like the NSF PRFB, Ford Fellowship, and Hanna H. Gray fellowships disappearing, I am currently looking for grants that could fund incoming postdoctoral scholars. Here is a thread of some of them 🧵

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · Jul 27

Also! Tippy tappy your way on over to the MD website to read about the study in more detail and check out our pre-registration of the method: manydogsproject.github.io/manydogs2.html

a brown and white corgi dog is standing on top of a lush green field .

Alt: a red and white corgi dog with forward pricked ears and open mouth with loose tongue is doing a rapid weight change between their front paws on top of a lush green field. This behavior is also known colloquially as tippy-tappies and is generally considered an indicator of positive excitement and anticipation in the dog.

media.tenor.com

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · Jul 27

ManyDogs has a new study! If you're a behavior researcher interested in collecting dog behavior data with your lab, get in touch 🙌🤓🐶 #BigTeamScience 🧪 #OpenScience #CanineScience #WomenInSTEM #dogs #teamworkmakesthedreamwork #AnimalBehavior #ComparativeCognition

ManyDogs Project @manydogsproject.bsky.social · Jul 22

🚨 Calling all dog behavior & cognition researchers - ManyDogs Project is launching ManyDogs 2!

🔍🐕‍🦺We're studying overimitation: Do dogs copy irrelevant actions just b/c their favorite human does them?

Email [email protected] to collaborate globally and contribute to reproducible science!

A white and gray dog touches a yellow dot hanging on the wall with his nose. Text says ManyDogs 2 - Join the Team!

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Reposted by Julia Espinosa

Aidan Wright @aidangcw.bsky.social · Jun 10

Pro tip, folks: if you make a figure for a publication, don’t just hand the copyright over to the publisher. Post it on OSF first and then give yourself permission to use it in the first publication and then all future publications. That way, no permissions issues.

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Reposted by Julia Espinosa

Dr. Gita Gnanadesikan ❌👑 @ggnanadesikan.bsky.social · Jun 10

Up over 10,000 now! But we're aiming for 100,000! #StandUpForScience and join us.

actionnetwork.org/forms/add-na...

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Reposted by Julia Espinosa

Tomer Ullman @tomerullman.bsky.social · May 22

not sure how to get this across to non-academics but here goes,

Imagine if you were suddenly told 'we decided not to pay your salary', that's kind of what the grant cuts felt like.

Now imagine if you were suddenly told 'we are going to set your dog on fire', that's what this feels like:

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · May 19

Like other studies, we found individual differences also matter for dog behaviour! Older age, smaller body size, and living with other dogs or children were associated with increased aggression and fear scores. We also found that some breeds seemed to be more impacted by stress than others 😓🐶

Image of a young human with short brown hair with their arms wrapped tightly around the neck of a light yellow, medium coated dog with dark brown eyes.

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · May 19

A large sample of dog guardians (N = 4,497) shared life history and rated their dog's typical behavioural responses (with C-BARQ), e.g. when meeting an unfamiliar dog or human on a walk. We found that dogs with a history of adversity in the first 6 months were scored higher on fear and aggression

This is an infographic displaying information about the study design and participants that provided data. We asked about 7 specific types of adverse experiences that dogs could have experienced in their lifetime, including: being abandoned or living without a guardian in a shelter, physical abuse, being attacked by a dog/animal, being severely frightened by a human, suffering a physical injury, experiencing corrective punishments, and tethering outdoors for long periods of time. The right half of the figure includes a pie-chart and an icon of a person walking a dog on a leash and lists basic sample information. The total sample of dogs and guardians numbered 4,497 and included data from 211 distinct breeds (i.e., 52.3% of the sample). The mean age of dogs was 5.43 years and 44% of the total sample were female. Approximately 30% of single breed dogs were reported as experiencing adversity, while 36% of multiple/mixed breed dogs experienced adversity. Only responses that were concrete and specific were included, if guardians indicated that they were in anyway uncertain about the nature of the event or when it occured, they were not included in the "early life adversity" cohort.

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · May 19

Pre-print alert📣 Interesting associations between guardian-reported early life adversity and problematic #behaviour in #dogs: doi.org/10.31234/osf... Along with Erin Hecht and colleagues, we found that adverse event timing, genetic ancestry, and environmental factors matter for dog behaviour 🐶🧪

The figure shows a 2-panel point-line graph of the mean C-BARQ scores for Aggression (left) and Fear (right) behaviour scales. Within each panel, data for 2 groups of dogs is summarized: mean scores those that have experienced early life adversity and those that have not. The Y axis indicates the mean score for on a 5-point rating scale with 95% confidence intervals around the mean. The X axis identifies the cohorts, Adversity = has a history of adversity in the first 6 months; No adversity = no adversity in the first 6 months. For both aggression and fear scores, dogs that have experienced adverse events in the first 6 months score significantly higher than those without early life adversity.

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Julia Espinosa @jespinosa.bsky.social · Apr 27

Oh I'm so glad you're here now! 🥰

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