Abstract
The objective: The point of my research and the overall concept of this project is how dogs see the world, a common question in my mind prior to this project. My specific question for experimentation was: If a dog was concentrating on an object in front of it, which color moving object in its peripheral vision would distract it the fastest? Through experiments with my dog, I hoped to find the answer and make sure it matches the facts of my research.
Methods/Materials
Dog; Green paper; Yellow paper; Black paper; Blue paper; Stopwatch; Bones.
1)Tell dog to sit still.
2)Have a partner hold a bone in front of it; it should watch intently.
3)In the dog#s peripheral vision, wave a color paper.
4)Time how long it takes for the dog to show any sign of looking your way.
5)Record the time in seconds and repeat twice.
6)Repeat steps 1-5 for each remaining color paper.
Results
Color Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average
Black 6 10 18 11
Yellow 3 7 11 7
Blue 5 8 10 8
Green 18 20 45 28
*The numbers represent the time (seconds) for the dog to be distracted.
Conclusions/Discussion
After doing my research, conducting my experiment, and analyzing the results, I found that I still had questions that weren#t answered. I understand that there are definite restrictions to my experimentation, and some questions that I may never get answered. Some questions could have been answered by tweaking my experiment to have multiple variables. I could have tested multiple breeds, tested a wider range of colors, tried moving and non-moving objects, etc. Others may just involve more research, such as Do dogs have the ability to read? or Why is a dogs eyesight different from a humans? or What is the farthest distance that a dog can see? All these can be answered with further testing and investigation, which is how science builds upon itself.
This project involves researching and testing dogs' vision, and, most importantly, which colors they can see better than others.
Science Fair Project done By Brittany J. Allison