Introduction: London is a family pet and is quite friendly. She is a malti-poo which is a mix between a maltese and a poodle. Dogs are instinctual animals and seem to think before they do things or react to things just as a human would. In the article, “Dogs and Their Affections”, it reads, “dogs have very strongly-marked volition, inclination, and powers of choice.”
Methodology: I knew we were having a family party and that I needed to develop a field study. I couldn’t quite decide on what to choose but I wanted to pick an organism from my everyday life to add a touch of normalcy to what I chose so I could gain a better appreciation for the organism. After researching I found out that I could test whether music affected an animal’s mood. My hypothesis is that, Music does not affect a malti-poo’s mood. I am going to await the arrival of all of the guests and once they arrive turn the music on and watch London’s movement pattern if there is one.
Results: I knew that once the people arrived London would still roam around freely amongst the guest because this was a normal environment for her I had never paid attention however to her reaction to music. Once there was about 20 people in the room, I observed London roaming freely as expected. I thought that the music would not affect her either because it was just additional noise to a family friendly animal. I would suspect it’s instinct would be to go with the flow and once it was tired to lay down as usual not because of the music. Once I turned the music on, London still walked as if nothing changed. I turned the music up louder and while again London’s mood didn’t change, the humans in the room, some of their moods changed which was quite interesting.
Discussion: I was able to prove my hypothesis that the malti-poo’s mood did not change because of music but if I wanted to know if it affected all animals or not that would require a long-term field study. Animals can be very adaptable animals especially dogs, malti-poo’s specifically due to their friendly family nature.
Conclusion: As stated in my discussion, my hypothesis was proven and for more answers in this area I could over a year’s time, study different animals and their reaction to music. There are plenty of animals that I could study over a year to allow me to get feedback in this area but I think in order for the long term field study to be accurate I would need to study many different animals.
References:
Ouida. Dogs and Their Affections, The North American Review, Vol. 153, No. 418 (Sep., 1891), pp. 312-321. Published by: University of Northern Iowa . Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25102246
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese
