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Kelli Knowles

Mrs. Stevens & Mrs. Radcliffe

Life Science

13 January 2017

Which Stimulus Has the Greatest Affect on a Dog?

Motivating a dog isnt hard to do. Most dogs are easily excited just by small gestures a

human makes. However, the question is, what makes a dog completely motivated, or at least

more motivated than any other way. My Science Fair question is, Which Type of Stimulus Has

the Greatest Affect on a Dog? In my experiment I test 3 different dogs 2 times. In addition, I

use dog treats, dog toys, and calling their name and running alongside of them for 3 different

types of stimulus affects. I have each dog try each product twice running 5 yards each time.

Furthermore, I time how long it takes each dogs to run the 5 yards and by calculating that I can

find my results. If I test dog toys, dog treats, and motivation on 3 different dogs, then then the

dog treat will make the dog run the fastest.

Do dogs understand spoken words or human gestures?

Many people in the world today have dogs. They consider their pet as part of the family.

Furthermore, the main difference seems to be the fact that you cant actually speak with your

dog. However, that doesnt stop people from trying. Dogs are able to learn phrases and tricks

taught by their owner. Although it does seem to make the owner feel closer to their dog, its not

the same as actually having a conversation with them. But the real question is, do these dogs

understand what the phrases they learn mean, or are they just hand gestures they follow? Studies

have shown that dogs can understand verbs, and even up to 70 different objects and the names of
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each one (Hech). In addition to this, researchers found that dogs can understand that specific

words map up to specific physical actions.

Dogs understand different emotions? And what part of their brain controls their mood?

Dogs are the oldest domestic species. They have been interacting with people for a

hundred years, and as a result, the canine species have learned how to understand and

communicate with us better than any other species(Travis). In addition, dogs strong sense of

observation allows them to pick up hints in our body language, smells, and the tone in our

voices. Some [papers] Ive read say humans have been able to evolve and survive because of

our partnerships with dogs, says Sackman. A dog's brain reacts similarly to a human's brain

when exposed to emotional stimuli like the sound of a baby crying. These animals are very

sensitive, and experience pain just the same as we do. Studies have shown theyre capable of

feeling optimism, anxiety, happiness, fear and depression. Lastly, dogs get jealous when another

dog gets a bigger reward than them for the same behavior. So overall this, the answer is yes.

Dogs do understand different emotions.

Why do Dogs Develop an Attachment to Their Owners?

Do dogs develop an attachment to their owners? The answer is yes. The attachment dogs

feel towards their owner is essential to their well-being. Dogs feel the relationship between their

owner with such an intensity that most can only feel if they are taught how to respond with being

left alone. Although dogs do enjoy each other's company, they crave human attention. Dogs

become very distressed after being left alone without their owner for hours at a time(Travis).

When they experience constant abandonments, it can cause a dog to have sever anxiety. A dog
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is a mans best friend is a legitimate statement. A dog will never leave its owner if they have a

special bond or relationship.

How do Dogs Memories Work?

Dogs have associative memory. Associative means of or involving the action of

associating ideas or things. The stronger the association, the harder it is to change. Humans have

episodic memory, which means they have the ability to remember many things by replaying it in

their minds. Dogs, however, are not like that. Dogs remember things associatively(How). For

instance, If you regularly put on your favorite baseball cap before you take your dog to the park,

your dog will get excited any time you take out that hat. The dog associates the hat with going to

the park. This association will last unless you create a new association with the cap.

(Weiss-Roessler). Dogs can easily forget small to major events that happened 5 minutes prior,

because they dont have long term memory. They have more of a short term memory.

What Previous Research has Been Done on Dogs Response to Stimulus?

The dictionary definition of Stimulus is a thing or event that evokes a specific functional

reaction in an organ or tissue. Coming off from this, In 1902 Ivan Pavlov started from the idea

that there are some things that a dog does not need to learn. For instance, Dogs dont learn to

salivate whenever they see food. This reflex is hard wired into the dog(McLeod). Hard Wired

means things that are just part of who you are, or things that make you you. Classical

conditioning is what Pavlov studied. Classical Conditioning is a learning process that occurs

when two stimuli are repeatedly paired. A response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus

is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.

Which of a Dogs Senses is the Strongest?

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Unlike humans who rely on sight to get through life, dogs use their sense of smell.

When smelling something, dogs are able to translate a lot more information about it than by

staring. In addition, dogs scent protecting membrane in their noses is about 60x bigger than a

human's. Everyone has their own, unique smell that distinguishes one person from another to a

dog. That is all they need to know who is who. Its also why dogs are able to know when our

mood is off, because it affects how we smell. Furthermore, a dogs urine is essentially a full

profile on them, which is why dogs are so interested in smelling things when outside. It helps

them smell who was around the neighborhood that day. For instance, the daily newspaper.

If I test dog toys, dog treats, and motivation on 3 different dogs, then the dog treat will

make the dog run the fastest. Now that you have read my essay you can see that dogs are very

intellectual and smart animals. They dont just eat, sleep and repeat. They are easily motivated to

do things. Finding out what exactly motivates a dog the most is what I tested. In conclusion,

around 78.2 million dogs in homes around the U.S. My question can help determine how to get a

dog or even a stray to do things for their benefit. I found after having my dog for almost 2 and a

half years, that using food to gain better attention from him helped the most, but overall it

depends on the dog.

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Works Cited

Bradshaw, John. "The Bond Between Pet And Owner." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers,

19 Nov. 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.

<https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pets-and-their-people/201211/the-bond-betwee

n-pet-and-owner>.

Hech, Julie. "Do Dogs Understand Our Words?" The Bark. The Bark, Inc., 2016. Web. 28 Oct.

2016. <http://thebark.com/content/do-dogs-understand-our-words>.

McLeod, Saul. "Pavlov's Dogs." Simply Psychology. McLeod, S. A., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 03

Nov. 2016. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html>.

Stewart. "A Dog's Sense of Smell: Understanding Their Strongest Sense | Stewart Pet." Stewart

Pet. 2016 Stewart Brand Dog Food, 2016. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.

<https://www.stewartpet.com/a-dogs-sense-of-smell-understanding-their-strongest-sense/

Travis, Helen Anne. "PetMD." Dog Brain Facts. N.p., 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.

<http://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/dog-brain-facts-understanding-canine-cognition>.

Travis, Helen Anne. "PetMD." Dog Brain Facts. N.p., 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.

Warren, Dr. John. "Which Type of Stimulus Has the Greatest Affect on a Dog?" Personal

interview. 22 Nov. 2016.

<http://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/dog-brain-facts-understanding-canine-cognition>.

Warren, John. "Science Fair Interview." Personal interview. 14 Dec. 2016.

Weiss-Roessler, By Josh. "How Dog Memory Works." Cesar's Way. Cesar's Way Inc, 20 July

2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

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<https://www.cesarsway.com/dog-behavior/innocuous-behaviors/How-dog-memory-wor

ks