Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

For the dog's preference picking out one favorite toy out of a total of four in the project, "Dog toys: what makes one a favorite or a flop?",

do we use toys we currently own;

borrow toys that we are missing (scent of another dog though?);

or does this project need to done with all new toys for an accurate response?

Hi,

I think you could include all those possibilities as independent variables in your project. That would make for a really interesting set of data. You would have to try and keep the play time conditions the same each time. Just vary the toys.

Things can happen pretty quickly with active young dogs so it would be a good idea to set up a video camera to record each session. Just put it up on a table or tripod where the dog can't knock it over.

I just had another thought. Do you have a trail cam--one of those cameras that starts recording when an animal moves into its field? You could set that up in your dog's favorite room, put all the toys in there that you want to test then open the door and let the dog in, but then close it so that you are not in the room to possibly influence to dog's response.

This is a fun experiment! Do let us know how it turns out.

Sybee