AVC researchers asking your puppies to lend a paw to science

Have a puppy? The Atlantic Veterinary College wants to hear from you.

Researchers at the P.E.I. college are doing a study into the behaviour of the little whelps.

The researchers are trying to find out how dogs behave at the early stages of their lives, with an ultimate goal of creating development milestones that can be used to diagnose behavioural issues.

Are they just looking to hang out with puppies for fun? Karen Overall, professor of behavioural medicine at the AVC, says no.

Well, maybe.

"Anybody who plays with puppies for a study is having fun. But it's a potentially important study," Overall said.

"Anybody who's ever had kids or taking their kids to the doctor knows that there are developmental milestones that pediatricians look for: When you take your first steps, and when you have your first ... types of social interactions. We don't actually know any of that for dogs and cats."

Overall said the vast majority of pets who are euthanized or relinquished — particularly those three years or younger — suffer from behavioural issues.

She said those deaths may be prevented if owners had that kind of information available.

"They don't fit into the household because they growl, or they cry, or they destroy all sorts of things. And these are all treatable conditions," she said. 

"We somehow think dogs should be better people than we are. They develop mental illnesses and have problems and develop the same way we do. And we just have unrealistic expectations."

Want a treat?

The study is for puppies between eight and 12 weeks.

The doggie participants will be tested on things like whether they run up to a stranger in a timely manner, whether they can find things in boxes, or if they can read their owner's cues.

"The clients move a toy for them to see if they can track the motion of the toy without getting distracted or getting overexcited," Overall said. "Then, we have a whole bunch of cues that tell them where things are hidden and we look at what they do when they're exposed to those cues. And after everything they get a treat."

But first things first.

"The first thing we do is we play with the dogs. Not kidding," Overall said. "We let them get used to the lab setup, and they can run around then there."

Clients will be asked to fill out a questionnaire as their dogs continue to age.

People who want to take part can email AVCpuppystudy@gmail.com.