tjhowell

Hi everyone, I am one of the researchers on this project, and I am responsible for the day to day running of the survey. First of all, I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has completed the survey. We really appreciate you taking the time to make your opinions known. For people who have concerns, this is to be expected in a topic which is controversial. As Diana said, we are looking for a variety of responses from all over the spectrum, including industry members, animal advocacy groups, veterinarians, and the general public (among others). We want to make sure that everyone has a chance to have their say about an issue that many people are clearly passionate about. If you have any questions that you would like to ask me directly, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] Thanks very much, Tiffani Howell

haha it's a small world. I'm glad you are enjoying the survey. Good luck figuring out whose dog is whose ;)

Hi everyone, Thanks for your input. I agree with many of you that buying based solely on looks isn't a good idea, but like many of you also stated, I also acknowledge that it's very common. For better or for worse. To the people who had questions about which photo they were shown: we have a set of 40 photos, each of a different dog, and everyone who completes the survey is randomly assigned one dog photo. If you happen to get the same breed you own, it's entirely by accident -- in fact, one person told us that she has gotten the photo of her own dog! We certainly don't want that to happen, but we can't really control it.

Ah, sorry, if you have more than one dog, please pick the dog with the name closest to the letter 'A' when completing the information about your own dog.

Thanks very much. I know what you mean and in a way I agree with you. But in fact people do make judgement calls all the time based solely on appearance, especially when it comes to dogs. This may be less so in the case of people on this forum who are very interested in lots of different types of dogs, but in general I think it probably happens a lot. We're just trying to figure out a way to quantify that :)

Hello again everyone, Many of you have helped me out in the past when we've been running dog-related surveys, and your information have been really helpful to us. It's that time again! This time the survey is very short (less than 10 minutes most likely) and it should be fun. We will be asking you to look at a photo of a dog and rate that dog's personality and appearance based solely on the photo. This will help us understand whether people who don't know a dog rate their personality, based only on appearance, the same as their owner who knows them well. It proceeds entirely online, and we'd really appreciate it if you'd help us out :) Here's the link: http://latrobepsy.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0368coFCdKE7uEB Please feel free to share it with friends and family who you think might be interested. Also, we're not just looking for dog owners and lovers, but also people don't own or don't even like dogs. Our only requirements are that participants be 18 or over and fluent in English. Thanks very much :) Cheers, Tiffani

or is that blurb the bit above the "I have read the ..." bit? It doesn't seem to be labelled. yes, it's the statement just above :)

Absolutely! I would really appreciate that. The more people we can get the better. If anyone else wants to share with family/friends/facebook, please feel free to do so :)

Thanks again everyone. This is such a big help for us :)

Do they all go on itty bitty little leashes? With tiny individual balls of yarn as rewards. Learning itty bitty kitty tricks? Like how to appropriately position yourself in super cute places like "The hallway at midnight" and "the kitchen during dinner time" And there's probably an entire portion devoted to being clever on camera so their videos end up going viral on YouTube ;)

You guys rock!!! Thank you all so much :)

I have to admit I had never heard of kitten school until I started working on this survey, but there you go :) Thanks to everyone who has done the survey. I really appreciate it. :)

Hi everyone, I put this in the "studies about dogs" thread, but Sally suggested that I create a new post for more visibility. I've posted a couple of times here before when I need help with some dog research that I'm running, and you have always been so helpful, as a group, that I am calling on you again! This time we're hoping to get information about pet-keeping practices for dog, rabbit, bird, and cat owners. By pet-keeping practices I mean things like what you feed your dogs, how you house them, how many you have, how much time you spend with them, etc. I know that people have a lot of strong opinions about what SHOULD be done, but there's precious little data out there to let us know what's actually going on. If you'd be willing to help me out by completing this survey, I'd really appreciate it The survey is entirely online, at http://latrobepsy.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_798ffxGeA8nMOqh Thanks in advance!

Thanks, Sally :) Will do! Hi Tiffany Can I suggest you start a new thread in general discussion? Your post may get lost in here! Hope you're keeping well :) Cheers Sally.

hmm, that's annoying. Let's try once more: http://latrobepsy.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_798ffxGeA8nMOqh Hopefully that will work. Sorry about that.

Hi everyone, I've posted a couple of times here before when I need help with some dog research that I'm running, and you have always been so helpful, as a group, that I am calling on you again! This time we're hoping to get information about pet-keeping practices for dog, rabbit, bird, and cat owners. By pet-keeping practices I mean things like what you feed your dogs, how you house them, how many you have, how much time you spend with them, etc. I know that people have a lot of strong opinions about what SHOULD be done, but there's precious little data out there to let us know what's actually going on. If you'd be willing to help me out by completing this survey, I'd really appreciate it The survey is entirely online, at http://latrobepsy.qualtrics.com/SE/?...BhJ2W75pcYxK9T Thanks in advance!

excellent! Thanks everyone :D :D :D

Yes that's right. Some of the questions are based on studies that have been done with dogs, and others are based on research that is still yet to be tried with dogs, but some have already been done with chimps. The silver foxes in Russia are so cool, aren't they? I'd love to visit them one day :D And there's a dog in South Carolina, USA, that can recognize over 1000 different objects by name. The one in the show you're talking about was either Rico or Betsy, and they are in Austria or Germany. Dogs are amazing aren't they? We didn't want to get too much into breed differences in this survey because it's the first of its kind to ask people about dog cognitive abilities, at least that we know of. Perhaps future surveys could look at breed differences, but this one is more general. Thanks for your comments!

Thanks so much for all your help everyone This is great! By all means Any way to get the word out to as many people as possible would be very much appreciated

Thanks TerraNik and Laneka :D

Hi there, I'm happy to receive any comments and feedback about the questions, but I would prefer if you contacted me privately as I wouldn't want to bias other potential respondents I can be reached at [email protected] And thanks very much to you and Kiara&Heidi too Thanks! Tiffani

Hello, I have posted here a couple times before. I am doing a PhD at Monash University, studying dog cognition. We have a new online survey available for anyone who would be willing to take 15-20 minutes to answer a few questions, telling us what you think dogs are mentally capable of. All responses are confidential. We need people who own dogs AND people who do not own dogs for this one. The only requirements for participation are that respondents be 18 or over and fluent in English. The survey link is here: http://latrobepsy.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eP3ye46QwrUCkM4 It has received ethics approval from La Trobe University and Monash University. Thanks very much Tiffani

oh it's a shame you are all so far away. Well, if you ever find yourselves in Melbourne and bring the dogs along for the ride, let me know Thanks for your support

Hi Pollywaffle, Yes we have ethics approval. The approval number is MARP/2011/123 from Monash University. We wouldn't do any research without ethics Thanks, Tiffani

Hi everyone, I am Tiffani Howell, and I am a PhD student at Monash University. I am running a study about whether dogs can use a mirror to find hidden food, and I am looking for dogs who are at least 18 months old, of any breed. They would need to come with their owner to Monash University, Clayton campus, for about 30 to 60 minutes. The test will involve exposure to the room with the mirror setup for between 2 and 30 minutes (you will know prior to coming in how long your dog will be exposed to the room), then playing a game to teach the dog to associate food with the bowl we are using, and finally having the chance to find the food hidden behind a barrier but visible in the mirror. You will always be with your dog; s/he will never be left alone. I have attached the explanatory statement, but if you have any questions, please let me know. Also, if you are interested in coming in and able to come during regular office hours (Monday-Friday 9am-6pm), next week is Spring Break at Monash so there will be some free parking on campus. If you are interested in being part of this study, please email me at [email protected] (preferred) or call me on 0450 298 745. Thank you, Tiffani Explan statement mirror test 2.pdf