Female Dogs or Males?
By: Delaney Ehlers
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this experiment is to find out if female dogs are smarter than male dogs. I became interested in this experiment because I love dogs and I would like to find out more about them. The information gained from this experiment will help other by knowing how well the two dogs react and who to trust more.
Research
From proven research from a website, female dogs are smarter than males. Female dogs take care of offspring—this could be one possible explanation for the differences in male and female dogs. Male dogs are raised to be hunters; females are nurturers and therefore may be better with reasoning.
Some scientists who are studying the brains of man’s best friend, report that dogs do seem to love us back, and more than that, they actually see us as their family. It turns out that dogs rely on humans more than they do their own kind for affection, protection, and comfort. Most of this information comes from a recent neuroimaging study about smell processing in the dog brain. Animal scientists at Emory University trained dogs to stay still in an MRI machine and used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to measure the way that dogs react to the smell of people and other dogs. In order to measure the dogs' reactions, the scientists used dogs and people that were both common and uncommon to the animal in question. Smell offers a lot of potential insight into social behavior because dogs see the world through their noses.
Some scientists who are studying the brains of man’s best friend, report that dogs do seem to love us back, and more than that, they actually see us as their family. It turns out that dogs rely on humans more than they do their own kind for affection, protection, and comfort. Most of this information comes from a recent neuroimaging study about smell processing in the dog brain. Animal scientists at Emory University trained dogs to stay still in an MRI machine and used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to measure the way that dogs react to the smell of people and other dogs. In order to measure the dogs' reactions, the scientists used dogs and people that were both common and uncommon to the animal in question. Smell offers a lot of potential insight into social behavior because dogs see the world through their noses.
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is the female puppy will be smarter than the male puppy throughout the series of tests. I base my hypothesis on the test results of a proven website and the strong feeling that I know what the answer will be.
Materials
A pencil
A notebook
A timer
Around 15 pieces of dog food
A male puppy
A female puppy
2 tennis balls
A piece of wood
A notebook
A timer
Around 15 pieces of dog food
A male puppy
A female puppy
2 tennis balls
A piece of wood
Procedures
1. Stand about 6-8 feet away from the dog
2. Get their attention on the ball
3. Put the wood behind the ball
4. Move the ball behind the wood at about mid-speed pace
5. Leave the ball behind the wood for about 20 seconds
6. Put the ball in front of the wood at about mid-speed pace
7. Time how long it took the dog to notice
8. Write down data
9. Repeat steps 1-8 a second time
10. Give them a treat or play with them for a bit when you're done
11. Repeat steps 1-10 with the other dog
IV: Gender DV: Smartness CVs: Size of ball and the speed of which I am showing them the ball
Results
The original purpose of this experiment was to find out if female dogs are smarter than male dogs. The results of the experiment showed that female dogs are smarter than male dogs.
Conclusion
My hypothesis was the female puppy will be smarter than the male puppy throughout the series of tests. The results indicate that this hypothesis should be considered correct. Based on the results of this experiment if you want a smarter dog, buy a female. If I were to conduct this science fair project again, I would use an older age of the dog or use sound instead of sight.
Acknowledgements
Mrs. Cunningham
Derek Ehlers
Jennifer Blackwell
Justis Collins
James Collins
Puppies!!
This is the litter in which the puppies came from.
Observations/Log Data
This was my data from my experiment.