Page 30 - Demo

time? Did we stand our ground and hold the dog from going further, or did we follow the dog past the turn but add restriction with the line? Did we go with the dog until it made the decision on its own? Did we back up every time the dog came back to us, or did the dog circle behind us?
• How did the weather conditions and terrain affect the way our dog worked?
• Was our dog happy and motivated when we fin- ished, or tired and frustrated?
• How much did our dog learn about self-correcting after overshooting a turn?
• How much did we learn about how to recognize and react to our dog’s behavior?
• Should we continue to work on it, or can we move on to something else?
• What should we work on next time?
I hope this long discussion about the development and use of training records has been helpful. It takes much longer to explain than it does to actually do, but it does show just how much information can be squeezed onto one sheet of paper.
Tracking gives us the opportunity to watch and work with one of our dog’s natural talents. Tracking dogs have interesting things to tell us if we take the time and make the effort to listen.
Current Studies
The following are current research projects relating to Aussie genetics. If you can assist by providing samples for any of these, please do so. Please feel free to forward, reprint in club newsletters, etc.
NEW!! Thyroiditis, Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia & Diabetes University of Utah
Wayne K. Potts
801 585-9677 potts@biology.utah.edu http://stormy.biology.utah.edu/
Epilepsy
Canine Epilepsy Network - The goal of this project is to develop a screening DNA test for the disease. University of Missouri, Liz Hansen
573 884-3712
hansenl@missouri.edu
Canine Behavioral Genetics
The study is currently focusing on problem behaviors with long-term goals of determining the genetic basis for a wide variety of canine behaviors. Understanding the genetics of these traits can aid breeders in the proper rearing, training and homing of puppies and dogs. They are collecting data via questionnaires and DNA cheek swabs.
Contact Maria Bautista K9BehavioralGenetics@lppi.ucsf.edu 415-476-7898 http://psych.ucsf.edu/k9behavioralgenetics/
Hyaloid Arteries
This project seeks to determine if these are hereditary and why a few of them will be associated with cataracts. Murdoch University, Australia, Kylie Munyard PhD Kmunyard@central.murdoch.edu.au
C.A. Sharp
Pres. Australian Shepherd Health & Genetics Institute, Inc. http://www.ashgi.org
Editor, Double Helix Network News
28 The Australian Shepherd Journal
Domestic Dog Personality & Temperament Study
I am a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Sam Gosling at UT-Austin and am studying personality and temperament in the domestic dog. Currently, we are designing a questionnaire for the assessment
of personality in dogs. Once this questionnaire is completed, we aim to use it to answer a variety of research questions, from what characterizes the best explosives detection dogs and guide dogs, to what type of breed-specific personality traits truly exist, to whether there are specific “types” of dogs who often end up in rescues and shelters. However, to create a reliable and valid dog personality questionnaire, we need thousands of dog owners to fill out the initial version of our on-line questionnaire, which is quite lengthy, and to give us feedback. This is why I’m writing to you! Although the questionnaire is not yet ready, we are compiling an e-mail list of individuals who would be willing to participate in the study. Once the questionnaire is posted (within a couple weeks), I will e-mail the participant list. For further information about this and other studies, please visit our website
at http://www.animalpersonality.org and click on the “Attention Dog Owners!” link. To volunteer for the study, or if you have any questions, please e-mail me directly at amanda@animalpersonality.org.
Please tell all your dog-owning friends about our study!
All the best, Amanda Jones
May/June 2005