AnimalTester

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2013-01-31 17:03:35

IAmAn Animal Tester, AMAA

You said that you get dogs from breeders, what types of breeds do you usually get? Mutts, or are certain purebreds better options then others? (like say, a Beagle over a German Shepherd) I notice you didn't mention cats. Do you test with them too, or are they bad subjects?

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We almost exclusively use beagles that are bred for research. They don't ack like normal pet beagles. The breeding facilities test them for natural behavioral tendencies that lead them to be good for research (for example, they naturally sit still when being petted vs being really wiggly). They score them when they are pups and keep the ones with the most desirable behaviors for breeding. Doing this they've changed the way research dogs behave vs regular pets. For example they run around thier cages barking, tails wagging, all happy; when we open the cage door they kinda freeze, stop running around and sit there. Their tails are still wagging, tongue flopping all over the place but they aren't running all over the place. That isn't something trained but rather a behavior bred in them.

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So what happens with pups that aren't selected or aren't good for testing? Are they euthanized or sent to shelters/sold/given away? Interesting that cats aren't really used, what makes dogs more favorable? The ability to train them? Body mass?

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The ones that aren't selected as breeding stock are the ones that sent to us to use for testing.

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