Researchers from Auburn University in the US state of Alabama have decided to establish what effect chewing has on the cognitive abilities of dogs. According to the publication in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, the scientists involved in their work 34 adult Labrador breeds from the kennel, where they specially train dogs to perform various tasks with the help of sniffing. Before the test, the instructors filled in questionnaires to determine the level of fearfulness in the dogs.
In the course of their research, the experts assessed the spatial working and working memory of the dogs: they were required to remember in a short period of time which bucket the treat was hidden in. The test was conducted under two conditions, the difference between which was that before one of them the dogs were given five minutes to chew a chew toy. What was happening was filmed on video, and from the recorded sounds using neural networks scientists determined the intensity of chewing of the dogs.
