A scientific research paper took a reviewed 400 YouTube videos of dogs chasing their tails. A close look showed that about a third of the dogs observed showed signs of clinical pathology (“neurological, compulsive or other pathological conditions”).
Habitual tail-chasers had 6.5+/?2.3 times the odds of being described as ‘Stupid’ than other dogs, and perseverative dogs were 6.8+/?2.1 times more frequently described as ‘Funny’ than distractible ones were. Compared with breed- and age-matched control videos, tail-chasing videos were significantly more often indoors and with a computer/television screen switched on. These findings highlight that tail-chasing is sometimes pathological, but can remain untreated, or even be encouraged, because of an assumption that it is ‘normal’ dog behaviour.
Another takeaway from this study is how YouTube can provide a vast and unsifted resource of behavioral observations to researchers of all kinds. Someday a scientist may be watching
your behavior, either on video, in the description, or in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment