Harvard is opening a lab to study dogs’ brains and memories in the hopes of better understanding the human mind. Spoiler alert: This research is going to yield a whole lot about Snausages.

Studying a species known to chase its own tail may seem an unlikely way to better understand the human mind. But scientists at Harvard University’s new Canine Cognition Lab hope to gain insight into more than the psychology of dogs from visiting pet pooches – including an alert German shepherd named Celia and a rottweiler called Taylor who loves to eat chicken.

“Here’s this species we live with. Everyone has their views about how smart they are. No doubt we are overinterpreting – and in some cases underinterpreting,” said Marc Hauser, a Harvard professor who has long studied cognition in cottontop tamarin monkeys and who heads the new lab. “To what extent is an animal that’s really been bred to be with humans capable of some of the same psychological mechanisms?”

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