It appeared they reacted to different stimulus that signified the arrival of food. These ranged from metronomes, whistles and even the white coat he wore.

He named the dogs’ reaction the “conditioned reflex”.

“Pavlov did what no one at his time did. He was the pioneer. His work paved the way for a new method of studying behavior and higher nervous activity and not only in dogs but in humans as well,” Deputy Director at Institute of Experimental Medicine, Nikolay Sapronov said.

Pavlov’s contribution was crucial not only for physiology but also for medicine.

“The phenomenon of conditional reflexes, which he discovered, helps in the treatment of mental disorders, in particular, of in-between disorders, neuroses, obtrusiveness,” psychiatrist Bobrov Aleksey said.

“And when we work here with our patients suffering from different phobias and neuroses we give them a hand in overcoming fear of open space and traveling in transport, for instance.”

Pavlov described what occurs when a person reacts as much in anticipation of something as the thing itself. For example, in waiting for a meal or a paycheck. It can be applied in sales techniques, to establish a “key hook” in selling things to people.

Pavlov’s discovery is widely used today in advertising. We may be shown pictures of something such as children or people smiling; we start feeling good and connect this feeling to the advertised product, regardless of what the product is, whether it is good or bad for us.

In 1904, Pavlov became the first Russian scientist to win the Nobel Prize.

“Before our scientists went abroad to study medicine and physiology there. Pavlov changed things. He was well-known abroad. His pupils were everywhere in the USA and Canada. Foreign scientists started coming here to learn. Pavlov boosted our science and promoted our country,”  Director of Museum of Experimental Medicine, Yury Golikov says.

The phrase Pavlov’s Dog is common in many languages. It refers to someone who merely reacts to a situation rather than thinks critically.

And all his work is thanks to the stray dogs he found around the city of St Petersburg.

”No one can say how many dogs have been sacrificed for science. Once Pavlov wrote in his diary, that in September alone 29 dogs were operated on; only one survived. Dogs lived from several hours to a day,” Golikov said.

A monument of a dog in the Academy is testament to their essential role in his work.

And a monument to Pavlov himself reminds people of Pavlov's contribution to psychology, literature and philosophy.

Life of Ivan Pavlov, prominent physician and behavior science pioneer.