corvus Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Simple question. What does the average DOLer want out of science? If you could make a wish list of the 5 things you would most like to see more research done on in dogs, what would they be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyTansy Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 research on Polygenic conditions - particularly those which pose a threat ... HD and ED, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Epilepsy!!! Genetic tests galore!! Stem cells- the how, much, when, where and how to deliver it for dogs specifically More on how raising pups affects their future temperaments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honeybun Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Cheaper cataract operations. Compared to humans, animals are VERY expensive.....some $4000- $5000 per eye, although cheaper if two done at once, still out of the reach of many owers/rescue groups. Perhaps the science is there already, just not enough eye specialists maybe is the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 More research into canine cancer, the causes, effective treatment, prevention (if possible) and whether certain cancers are heritable in family lines, ie a genetic link or is it just chance. Research into the benefits of holistic treatments and a raw diet, compared to conventional treatment of symptoms and the effects of a commercial diet. Research into the effects of diet and exercise on dogs that have a genetic predisposition to joint problems like HD, ED and arthritis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJean Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Simple question. What does the average DOLer want out of science? If you could make a wish list of the 5 things you would most like to see more research done on in dogs, what would they be? Research on the effects of commercial food and while you're at it, the effects of over feeding on bone disorders like HD and ED. Research the effects of vaccinations, and worm treatments on immunology. Research gastric torsion. Research the problems of applying science to behaviour outcomes and what happens when we do this. Research the equation or nature Vs nurture and its impacts over generations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) 100% effective, Tick, Flea and Snake repellants that aren't toxic to dogs. More research into cancers and autoimmune disorders and what in our modern world causes them. Edited August 22, 2012 by dancinbcs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazar Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Nice question Effects of commercial diets vs raw on overall health and behaviour and more specifically human diseases like, diabetes (and the ones mentioned by OP) Effects of all the preventative medication, like vaccinations, flea, etc on overall health (including behaviour) and their relationship to diseases. Also the impact of these things on genetic makeup - don't want much... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) 1. Better marketing of results - especially where results confict with previously known scientific or bogus scientific results. And basic explaining of how scientific tests work - double blind tests, controls and placebos. 2. A study that shows the health effects - mental and physical from using slip chains (aka choke collars). I'm reasonably sure there is damage to some dogs' necks and tracheas with long term use - especially by people who never release the collar and allow their dog to pull in front of them wearing it (most people I see using them do this). There's also mental damage to some dogs who don't take adversives well - ie it puts them off going a walk or dog club training. Had a discussion with Paul McG about this and I can't quite afford it unless I'm the researcher. Still working on friends with money tho. 3. Some better research on dog bites - and media reporting - ie something we can point to and say the media is all hype - here are the facts (eg most dogs that bite - are in the home - not wandering the streets, and if it's not a big scary dog - no reporter wants to know). 4. Some studies that compare reward based training (eg treat training) vs yank and crank - with dog club training methods and pet dogs in mind. 5. some more stuff on the benefits of owning a dog and how to deal with dog phobic people. And maybe some stuff about dogs and health - ie the number of places that say you can't bring a dog here, because it's "unhealthy" when you're way more likely to get something nasty from another human - but they're not banned, even if they've clearly got the flu. Edited August 22, 2012 by Mrs Rusty Bucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 1. I'd like to see a tick paralysis vacccine! 2. stem cell research 3. effects of raw diets vs commercial diets 4. polygenic diseases eg. ED, HD, OCD, epilepsy etc 5. clinical trials/studies on "preventative surgeries" such as JPS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobite Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I would like to see more research into the causes and genetic links to DCM, osteosarcoma , bloat and auto immune skin problems, all of which I'm sure are problems in many breeds. Pam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Research on dangerous dogs. Why they actually snapped. What made that dog cross the road, go into that house and kill that little girl. Most of the owners of these attacks claim that the dogs have never shown aggression prior to the fatal/bad attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJean Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 2. A study that shows the health effects - mental and physical from using slip chains (aka choke collars). AND HALTIS I'm reasonably sure there is damage to some dogs' necks and tracheas with long term use - especially by people who never release the collar or Halti and allow their dog to pull in front of them wearing it (most people I see using them do this). There's also mental damage to some dogs who don't take adversives well - ie it puts them off going a walk or dog club training. Same applies for haltis or 'gentle leader' (etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 dog training aid and restraints - slip collars, halties, front attach harnesss, sporns (armpit harness), rear attach - sled dog harnesss... I think we'd need to compare - "correct use" with "normal use" or what the pet dog owner does with these and the effects of that. I have seen a lot of head halters fitted and used incorrectly but one of my fav trainers loves it (with some modifications for comfort) for teaching her puppies not to sniff without permission - because it gives her control over the dog's head in a way that nothing else does. When I used it briefly with my dog - I had a flat collar (or front attach harness) and the halti on at the same time and the stop dog was the harness and horse lead rope, the halti had the lightest skinniest lead I could find attached - so I could control her head without "leaning" on it and release fully. I'd start with the slip collars vs limited slip (martingale) vs flat collars tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollipup Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Finding an accurate way to measure stress and pain in dogs as I believe currently the only option is observing behaviour. Then using this to study the effects of various training tools and methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 measure stress and pain in dogs I think a blood test for cortisol (hormone) gives an idea. You'd have to train the dog to be cool about having it's blood taken first. or some way of measuring what's in the blood while doing the "experiment". Or you might be able to do a mass testing of dogs at dog club - and then compare steroid levels with collar types. But it would be hard to attribute cause from that. I was thinking it could be fairly straight forward for vets to report to an online database - patients that come in with neck injuries or trachea problems and what kind of collar they came in with and what their owner says they usually wear. With humans you can see some nice bruising and swelling - it's a bit harder to see that in dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollipup Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 measure stress and pain in dogs I think a blood test for cortisol (hormone) gives an idea. You'd have to train the dog to be cool about having it's blood taken first. or some way of measuring what's in the blood while doing the "experiment". Or you might be able to do a mass testing of dogs at dog club - and then compare steroid levels with collar types. But it would be hard to attribute cause from that. I was thinking it could be fairly straight forward for vets to report to an online database - patients that come in with neck injuries or trachea problems and what kind of collar they came in with and what their owner says they usually wear. With humans you can see some nice bruising and swelling - it's a bit harder to see that in dogs. I actually asked Emily Larlham about this at her seminar on the weekend. She only told me verbally so I don't have links unfortunately but she said that studies have shown that cortisol levels are unreliable. She said they tested cortisol of abused and non abused women and both could either have high, normal or low levels and there was no real pattern. I would be interested to find out more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 i think some people (and dogs) are "naturally anxious" so would always have a higher level than "normal". What I'd be interested is what things/activities change the level. Eg does putting on a slip chain - up the dog's stress hormone (or blood pressure) compared to when it's relaxing. Of course blood pressure alone would not be a good measure either because it goes up for lots of reasons other than just stress or pain. How you'd measure that reliably, I can't imagine right now. I do know for myself - having visited three doctors inside a short period of time - that one of them reliably made my blood pressure about 20 points higher than my measure with any of the other doctors (one of whom is a family friend). The bad blood pressure doctor was the one that frequently told me off for doing unhealthy things (eating bad food?). So measring the stress/pain indicator - would have to be something that you could do that didn't alter the stress/pain. ie training the dog to be cool about having blood taken might negate the level of stress hormone in the blood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Not research into dogs but research into owners, fitting in with JulesP suggestion on dangerous dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollywaffle Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) It's probably a bit out there, but whether they are capable of feeling our equivalent of 'love' - with the human interpretation of the word - especially for their human 'owners'. Not sure if pure science could reach that far, but I'd love to know. Edited August 23, 2012 by Pollywaffle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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