Golden Retriever Dog Forums banner

4th Grade Science Fair Project

7K views 44 replies 32 participants last post by  Kalhayd 
#1 · (Edited)
My son, Jacob, is in 4th grade and working on a school science fair project. To encourage participation, the school makes it "just for fun" rather than a competitive thing. So, we don't have to follow the most rigorous scientific methods.

Since we own Golden Retrievers, he tends to make his science fair project about dogs. Last year his science fair project topic was, "What Colors Do Dogs Prefer?" He had read that, contrary to popular opinion, dogs aren't totally color blind. So, he ran a test with our dogs to see if there was some color preference.
Text Display board Science fair Room Poster session


This year he read that 54% of dogs are overweight. 2016 U.S. Pet Obesity Statistics He's running his own test to see what percentage he calculates. We're trying to collect a sample of 50 - 100 dogs. He visited a local pet store that has a scale owners can use and randomly asked folks if they would weigh their dog so he could record the results. Our vet also let him visit a few afternoons after school and ask incoming patients the same thing since the vet requires that dogs be weighed on a scale in the waiting room.

Jacob has seen me commenting on here so he asked if anyone from the Forum site would participate. Because he's comparing the weights to the breed standard per the AKC, his "study" is limited to pure breed dogs. If you want to help him out, all he needs to know is:

Breed?
Gender?
Weight?
Spayed/Neutered?*
Age?

*Some people believe that spaying or neutering a dog leads to an overweight dog. If he gets a large enough sample, he will compare the percentage of overweight dogs that are intact to the percentage of overweight dogs that are spayed/neutered. While this science fair project is just for fun so it doesn't follow anything close to rigorous scientific standards, he does understand that he needs enough of both intact and spayed/neutered dogs to make any comparison between the two even remotely worthwhile. Thus, this component of his project is uncertain at this time.

No names or screen names or any other identifying information will be listed in his results so it's anonymous. His project is due March 23rd which means he'll probably finish it March 22nd. (Kids, you know!) But, I will have him post a picture online so you can see his results if interested.

Moderators - I couldn't find where this request breaks any rules, but if it does, please delete the thread.
 
See less See more
1
#4 ·
I'm including my bridge dogs...Spayed female, 22 inches tall, 58 pounds, neutered male, 26 inches tall, 90 pounds, and intact male, 23-1/2 inches tall, 67 pounds. All Goldens.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GoldenDude
#14 · (Edited)
They do show a color "preference." It's a common misconception that dogs are completely color blind. In reality, they're not totally color blind. They can distinguish blue and yellow.

We worked with our dogs for two weeks to recognize that a blue cup would have treats in it and that a red cup would have a ball in it. We then put a blue and yellow cup in front of them and let them approach the cups. (This was repeated 10 times. You have to shuffle the cups around so they're not going for the same positioned cup. Plus, you have to spray a deodorizer to momentarily throw off their scent ability.) For the most part they always went for the blue cup. We then put a red and green cup in front of them with the command "ball." It was clear that with 10 tries they could not distinguish which cup was red and would therefore have the ball in it. (Dogs can't distinguish red from green.)

Our Goldens are very fetch oriented. I chuckle a bit because many of the balls on the market are orange. But, orange is not a color that dogs see and in fact it will blend in with grass. You want toys that are bright blue or yellow.

This article Your Dog Wants Toys This Color has a great picture of what dog toys look like to us and what they look like to dogs.
 
#21 ·
I didn't list their ages, sorry. Those weights never varied while they were healthy adults, so you could use any age between 2-10 for each of them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GoldenDude
#22 ·
Hey guys.... Without the heights the weights are meaningless.....A 21 inch dog at 90 pounds is very overweight, a 26 inch dog at 90 pounds is very lean.
 
#30 ·
You raise a great point and that's actually one of the things he will discuss in his write-up. We're doing a simple AKC weight guideline comparison to actual weights to determine "overweight." But, our vet is meeting with him to discuss how, like with people, they look at other factors besides just weight, such as height and determining if the dog has a waistline, etc.
 
#24 ·
These are the heights for my lab and golden

Grit male GR 25 inches (over standard height). 85 lbs
Glitter female Labrador 20 inches (under standard height) 55 lbs
Tamily Yorkshire T. Very small. Standard does not give minimum height only min and max weight. Should be between 4 and 7 lbs. she is 5 lbs and feels a little fat!

I thought when I first answered the question that I should have put the heights. Thanks for reminding me.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top