View great action photos of our recent Dog Agility Exercise Research Study, hosted at the Zoom Room, and conducted by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The Zoom Room is delighted to announce that it will be hosting the first ever scientific research study into the physiological responses (of humans) when practicing dog agility.

Recently, a group of researchers decided to study whether or not the presence of a dog affects the ability of children to follow directions. Preschoolers were asked to perform basic motor skill tasks in the presence of a dog, a human, and a stuffed life-size dog manipulated by a human. The tasks were either demonstrated first or were to be performed at the same time.

Microchips dramatically increase the return rate of dogs in animal shelters to their owners, according to the latest research.

When you point at something, does your dog look at where you’re pointing? Or does he look at your finger? Is responding to this visual cue an inherited genetic trait, something we humans have bred for in the domestication of dogs? Or is it more a matter of the dog’s training?

Researchers Marta Gacsi, et al. have just published a very interesting study, “Effects of selection for cooperation and attention in dogs,” in the recent issue of Behavioral and Brain Functions that sheds much light on these questions.

One of the great benefits of agility training is an increased bond between dog and owner and the development of deeper communication skills. At the Zoom Room, we every day witness this bonding between dogs of all ages and breeds and owners with no previous dog agility experience. A new research study from Italy – published this year in Behavioural Processes by Sarah Marshall-Pescini et al. – sheds new light on this phenomenon and confirms our own observations.

How do you become an expert at something? First, you have to be tackling a well-defined task; second, you need to be motivated to improve; third, you must have plenty of opportunity to practice; and lastly, you must receive feedback along the way, in order to improve. Researcher William S. Helton has been studying dog agility for the past few years in an attempt to better understand the human acquisition of skills, mastery and expertise.

Your dog loves to lick your face. But does he see your face? A new study examines a dog’s ability at human face recognition.

A new research study has confirmed our observations that trained dogs are more likely to be adopted. Even a moderate amount of basic dog training can increase the chances of adoption.