Man's best friend is the subject of a new Netflix documentary featuring the expertise of a University of Arizona researcher. Narrated by Emmy-nominated actor and longtime friend of dogs Rob Lowe, "Inside the Mind of a Dog" follows many dogs, including a group of puppies as they begin their service dog training. The film, which will be available Friday on the streaming platform, explores the relationship between humans and dogs, examines new research in the field of veterinary medicine, and helps pet owners improve their relationships with their furry friends.

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Among the experts featured in the documentary is Emily Bray, assistant professor of human-animal interaction and director of the Behavioral Research Across Years Lab in the U of A College of Veterinary Medicine. 

She wants to better understand how dogs think, behave and solve problems.

"I study canine cognition and the factors that influence it, including aspects of a dog's early environment, like maternal style. I want to understand how dogs view the world and their interactions with us," Bray said. "A lot of my current research is conducted in collaboration with the service dog organization Canine Companions, and in the past, I have also worked with guide dogs and detection dogs. The more we can find out about how dogs in these various working roles think, the better we can set them – and us – up for success."

Bray joined the team of animal experts on "Inside the Mind of a Dog" thanks to the film's director, Andy Mitchell, who contacted Bray directly. A four-time Emmy Award winner who previously directed the documentary "Inside the Mind of a Cat," Mitchell has also developed animal documentaries for National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Disney+, Discovery and Animal Planet.

Bray filmed with the production company, Red Rock Films, last summer at Canine Companions' national headquarters in Santa Rosa, California. Canine Companions is a nonprofit organization that provides service dogs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities and provides facility dogs to work in health care, criminal justice and educational settings. 

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Over the course of two days of filming, Bray discussed her research, answered questions and demonstrated some of the behavioral exercises that bring her research to life. The crux of her work involves engaging dogs of all ages, from 8-week-old puppies to geriatric dogs, in cognitive games so that she can better understand how their brains work.           

"One of the quintessential tasks in canine cognition research is point-following," Bray said. "Our previous research has shown that even at just 8 weeks of age, puppies can reliably follow a human point to find a hidden treat."

Because Bray and her colleagues included hundreds of puppies of known ancestry in their previous research, they could compile their data into a statistical model to determine how much of the variation in the puppies' performance was due to genetics, as opposed to the environment. 

"We found a large role of genetics," Bray said. "Paired with the fact that this skill emerges at such a young age, we concluded that dogs seem to be biologically prepared to communicate with us."

Bray is also one of the U of A researchers behind the Service Dog and Veteran Experiences Study, a national clinical trial examining the potential medical benefits of service dogs on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Alongside other faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Bray studies the impact service dogs have on veterans with PTSD and hopes the team's work may one day lead to more efficient medical interventions for patients.

Peeling back the layers of canine cognition

So, how does a researcher study the behavior and emotions of a nonverbal subject? That challenge is at the heart of Bray's research. To peel back the layers of canine cognition, she uses standardized cognitive tasks that engage dogs in different ways so that researchers can objectively observe and draw inferences from the animals' actions and dispositions. Combining those observations with information about the dog's hormones and other biological markers can provide a little clearer picture of what is going on. 

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"Some traits that we measure in our games are impulse control, memory and reactivity – as well as a dog's temperament," Bray said. "We have other tools as well: we can put an accelerometer on dogs to track their physical activity, take their blood to look at their DNA and check their hormone levels to get a sense of their stress. You can also ask the owners what they think. It is really exciting, because you can explore all sorts of things."

While Bray did not get to meet narrator Lowe while on the set of "Inside the Mind of a Dog," she did work with Mitchell and the rest of the production team and said she found the whole experience exciting. She hopes her contribution to the documentary inspires viewers to spend more time observing their own pet's behavior and thinking about the relationship they share with their dogs. 

"The really big takeaway for me, as I do this science and pull out the variables that we're interested in, is that dogs can be really astute observers of humans – but we don’t always do a great job of returning the favor," Bray said. "There are a lot of behavioral cues that dogs exhibit that the average person just doesn't catch, and that can impact our dogs' experiences and sometimes lead to misunderstandings."

"Inside the Mind of a Dog" premieres Friday on Netflix and is an hour and 15 minutes long. Following the premiere, the documentary team will attempt a Guinness World Record for "most dogs to attend a film screening" at a showing of the movie on Aug. 10 in Middlebury, Vermont. The goal is for at least 220 dogs to attend, alongside their owners.