Dog Behavior Instructions

Hi everyone!  As part of my Master's Degree program I am currently conducting a study on dogs and how they cue owners into their wants. So if you have a dog, can follow SIX simple steps, and you are willing to spend ten minutes having fun, read on for all of the instructions!!
Aries has tested and approved this study.

The Language of the Dog

The purpose of this research is to assess how different breeds/categories of dogs give behavioral cues to their owners to communicate their wants. It is being conducted as part of Hilary Blair’s work in a graduate program at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. The task should take about five minutes to complete. Your participation is completely voluntary, and you may stop at any time. Confidentiality and anonymity of responses will be maintained to the highest degree possible. If you have any questions, you can contact Hilary Blair at blairhl2@miamioh.edu or my graduate advisor Ruth Allard at allardr@miamioh.edu . If you have questions or concerns about the rights of research subjects, you may contact the Research Compliance Office at Miami University at (513) 529-3600 or humansubjects@miamioh.edu.

Materials Needed: a dog, the dog’s owner (you!), an adult assistant, a treat/toy known to be appealing to your dog, a small closed-off room of your house with limited distractions, stopwatch, means to record the test.

There are two ways you can participate in this study. You can “Be the Scientist!” or “I want Hilary to do it!” If you choose to “Be the Scientist!” you will use the attached ethogram to record your dog’s behavior.  If you “want Hilary to do it!” you will use a video recorder (preferably on a cellphone) and send that video electronically to Hilary along with your “Introduction” section.  Either way, it is short—should take no more than five minutes to complete—and you get to bond with your dog(s), have fun, and maybe even learn something about how people and dogs can communicate!

**Note: If you have more than one dog that you would like to use in this study, please fill out an Introduction sheet and ethogram (or recorded video) for each dog and be sure to complete the exercise individually.

Introduction

Let’s answer some simple questions to get started –

Name of the subject (your dog): _____________________________________

Breed of subject (Mixes are great, but please choose what you think is the dog’s most dominate trait. (I.e. lab mix, beagle mix, etc.) Also, please indicate if dog is mixed: _______________________________

Age of subject:___________________

If you used a treat or toy: __________________________

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Get your dog’s favorite treat/toy. Something you know they love.

Step 2: Hand that treat/toy over to the assistant and have them take the dog into the small room – without you!

Step 3: Have Assistant show the dog the treat/toy, ensuring that the dog is engaged in the process, then place it somewhere out of the dog’s reach. (On a shelf, piece of furniture, etc.) Assistant then leaves room.

Step 4: You enter the room as the Assistant exits. (S)he starts stopwatch and will tell you when thirty seconds has passed.

A)  If you “want Hilary to do it!” enter the room with your video recorder already on and focused on your dog for the full thirty seconds. Please do not speak to, touch, or in any way manipulate your dog or the treat/toy until the thirty seconds has passed and your observations have ended.

B)  If you want to “Be the Scientist!” Enter room with the ethogram (see attached) and pen or pencil. Carefully observe your dog’s behavior. You will be conducting a continuous scan, so each time your dog’s behavior changes you will make a mark on the chart.  Please do not speak to, touch, or in any way manipulate your dog or the treat/toy until the thirty seconds has passed and your observations have ended.

Example of possible test behavior: You walk into the room. Your dog looks at you, looks at the object, barks, looks at you, looks at object, and nudges you with its nose. You are then notified thirty seconds is up. You should have four marks on your ethogram: two marks for Gaze Alternation (GA), one for Vocalization (V), and one for Contact (C).  If your dog looks at you the whole time with no other behavior change you would have just one mark on your ethogram for Gaze Owner (GO).

Step 5:  Reward your dog for doing a great job by giving them the treat or toy.

Step 6:  As soon as you are able after the observation, please send in your results to Hilary at blairhl2@miamioh.edu or simply reply to this blog posting with your results.   You can send the video, take a digital picture of the ethogram and introduction and send that, type out your results in an email, or return the sheets in an attachment along with your responses and observation as well as any questions or comments you may have had.  All results must be received by October 19.

**Don’t forget, you will want to include: the “Introduction” questions, your ethogram/video, and optional, but much appreciated, a picture of your dog(s). 

Ethogram

Species: Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris)

Method: Continuous Sampling

Behavior:                                          Description:                                                                                                                        

Gaze Owner (GO):                         The dog’s face (head and nose) were oriented towards the owner

Gaze Alternation (GA):                 The dog’s face (head and nose) alternated between looking at the           owner and the object

Vocalization (V):                            The dog whined and/or barked

Contact (C):                                    The dog made physical contact with the owner either by                        nudging, pawing, or by placing its nose or head upon the owner,            or came into any other form of physical contact with owner 

Contact with Object (CO):            The dog made physical contact with the object the treat/toy was             placed upon either by nudging with nose or head, or by placing               paws directly on object

Not Interested (NI):                       The dog showed no interest in the treat/toy

Other:                                             Any other behavior that is not classified on this chart