Psychic dogs

OpenSourceScience released a press-release about their search for psychic dogs:

Researchers at OpenSourceScience.net have offered a $1,000 prize to dogs who successfully demonstrate they know when their owners are coming home. Many dog owners claim their pets anticipate their arrival by going to wait at a door, window, or driveway. Some claim their dogs do this even when they arrive home unexpectedly or at odd hours. While some researchers, including Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist, and former Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge University have investigated this phenomena, many scientists remain unconvinced it really occurs.

OpenSourceScience is a project started by Alex Tsakiris, host of the Skeptiko.com podcast, where he interviews leading scientists and their critics on topics of controversial science, like psi research, consciousness and its survival after death. Alex started the OpenSourceScience.net projects in order to create scientific experiments on collaborative ground between all kinds of researcher, skeptics and not. The first experiment is a replication of a famous research performed by Rupert Sheldrake, which deals with the subject of whether dogs know when their owners return home.

If you have a dog who, in your opinion, knows when you come home, you’re invited to take part in the experiment and you could earn a $1000 prize for a successful demonstration. For an example, look at Dogs That Know:de la Cuadra Dogs.

The researchers are encouraging dog owners who have noticed this anticipating behavior in their dogs to take part in the experiments and have set-up a special website address for participants: www.dogsthatknow.com. OpenSourceScience.net founder Alex Tsakiris explains: “This is an experiment that anyone can join in on and make a real contribution. We feel very confident this happens all the time. It’s a matter of finding dog owners who are willing to help demonstrate just how special these animal abilities are.”

For an interview I’ve done with Alex Tsakiris, where he explains more of the project read Interview with Alex Tsakiris.