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.
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.
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.
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.