PeterPan Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 We're changing modes and going to do May Term after all. (I thought we were going to keep going with your geography, oh well.) It looks like it's turning into a dog theme. I have dogs in art through history, dog applique (sewing), and now I need dog science. What would that be, and how would we accomplish it? Any suggestions? This can be fun. No cost, just library, internet, and things around the house. Any ideas? Maybe something veterinary? I know she was into cat psychology before. Maybe something like that with dogs? And is there any fun dog MATH that is out of the box? I was looking at the Theonni Pappas books. She loves "Number Devil" so something in that vein, only with *dogs* would be perfect. We're going to the dogs around here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Di-section? *It's probably important to note my 10 month old puppy just peed on the basement floor and that might be colouring my answer.:angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Genetics of dog breeding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 Di-section? *It's probably important to note my 10 month old puppy just peed on the basement floor and that might be colouring my answer.:angry: Oh mercy, that would ruin my dog lover's day. :( But a good answer otherwise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 Genetics of dog breeding? You're onto something!!! That fits with the genetics stuff we've been reading about in the life science!!! Gotta figure out how we learn about that. That's a terrific angle to investigate, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 (edited) I thought of it b/c I think there was just an article in Science or NYT about genetics and dog breeding. I'll see if I can locate a link for you. Ask and you shall receive...... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/science/26obdogs.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y Edited May 6, 2011 by Capt_Uhura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntPol Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Here is the link to the requirements for the Dog Care badge in Boy Scouts: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Dog_Care We did this kit: http://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Explorers-Fun-Your-Science/dp/B00000IS8D -you can probably replicate some of the experiments at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Oh mercy, that would ruin my dog lover's day. :( But a good answer otherwise! LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Do you have a dog? Could you train him to tricks? Learn about the anatomy of dogs. Learn what it takes to be a vet. Learn about the natural diet of a dog vs the diet of a domestic dog. Learn about what is in dog food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Well my dog bit me yesterday (totally my fault), so ds learned about first aid. :glare: I would see if you can tour a local vet office. I would discuss what vaccines do for pets and what other diseases they can get. That might get sad, depends on how technical you want to get. In the realistic realm I would talk about dog safety, how to approach an unfriendly dog, what to do if you feel threatened by a dog, etc. What the different body language of a dog means. Maybe watch some dog whisperer. Discuss what qualities wild animals have in common with domesticated dogs. There's an article in the March issue of National Geographic about domesticating foxes in Siberia. You could also research breeds to see which would be most compatible in different lifestyles. We used to have this great book when I worked at the vet, can't remember the name, but it was wonderful for detailing the attributes of different breeds. I think it was put out by the AKC. You could turn into a math game by saving some money to donate to an animal protection charity. You could call your theme "We've gone to the dogs!" As you can tell I'm having too much fun with your ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 (edited) My girls became fascinated domestication. A group in Russia domesticated silver foxes in a careful genetic experiment. And there's been lots of studies comparing the behavior of wolves and domesticated dogs, including wolf and dog puppies that were raised in similar environments. We watched some videos about it from Netflix then my older dd did lots of reading about both studies. And assuming you have a dog, there are lots of dog science projects: you can culture saliva to see whose mouth is cleaner (yours or your dog's), you can bake dog treats to see what your dog prefers (my dd designed an experiment and baked dog biscuits with different flavors and crunchiness then graphed her results) Edited May 7, 2011 by Karen in CO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Thank you all for the great ideas!! I've made note of every one! Now on the culturing of saliva, how exactly do you do that? Seems like I ought to know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 There is a great series called Dogs 101 which zeros in on different breeds, discussing temperament, breed standards, environment that its suited for, care required, and more. Its on Animal Planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 You could give IQ tests to the neighborhood dogs. You could do agility training and call it PE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsidian Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Thank you all for the great ideas!! I've made note of every one! Now on the culturing of saliva, how exactly do you do that? Seems like I ought to know... http://www.science-ideas.com/dogs-mouth-or-humans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 There is a great series called Dogs 101 which zeros in on different breeds, discussing temperament, breed standards, environment that its suited for, care required, and more. Its on Animal Planet. Ooo, I've heard of that! Rebecca-Dog IQ tests? That's hilarious, lol! STEM-Thanks for the link! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/content/experiment/00000165 Well look what I found! I followed STEM's link and ended up at even a more detailed description of using petri dishes to grow cultures. Now I need to figure out if it's considered safe (and how) to get it onto a slide to look at... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocolate Lover Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 You could go to a dog show/obedience trial, lure coursing trial for the sighthound group, a tracking trial for the scent hound group, an agility trial for the super energized breeds. Possibly find a copy of the televised AKC Nation Dog Show that is an annual event in New York City, I think. I am into Angora rabbits. Rabbits have an entire book on color genetics. It is possible there is something similar with dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Chocolate Lover--Interesting! I did a search and found the AKC site with the listings you're talking about! http://www.akc.org/events/search/ And you're right, a search on our library's site for dog genetics and breeding turned up a ton of stuff. Thanks for the tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Oh this is too much! Now it turns out the 3rd week of May is Dog Bite Prevention Week, hehe. http://www.usps.com/communications/community/dogbite.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 On Myth Busters, they did the "whose mouth is cleaner? Yours or your dogs!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 On Myth Busters, they did the "whose mouth is cleaner? Yours or your dogs!" No way! Well I'll have to look for that episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenMolly Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I love Pavlov! You could study conditioned reflexes based on his studies. http://nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/pavlov/ Molly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 PBS has an excellent documentary from NOVA called Dogs Decoded (it's about various dog breeds/genetics throughout history and how they developed), and it's on Netflix if you have that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cschnee Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 This is a really fun activity on genetics where you get to create your own puppy using DNA. We did it last fall and it was very successful. http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/traitsrecipe.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 This is a really fun activity on genetics where you get to create your own puppy using DNA. We did it last fall and it was very successful. http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/traitsrecipe.pdf Interesting, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Here is a lesson plan to go with the documentary Dogs That Changed the World. It discusses the Silver foxes that Karen mentioned too. You can get the dvd from Netflix but I don't think it is streaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Thanks Aime! I hadn't found that one yet! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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