June 30, 2004

By: Marcia Stanek
Website: http://www.1st-in-pets.com

Over 40,000 pet owners join BBC ONE's survey to provide valuable information to scientists

The nation has gone pet crazy, after Rolf Harris and Kate Humble invited pet owners throughout the UK to Test Your Pet on BBC ONE.

More than 40,000 pet owners responded via the website and by telephone and joined the biggest ever survey of UK pets.

They also completed six IQ tests devised to test pet brain power. Tests were set to test memory, speed of learning and problem solving ability in dogs, cats, birds, horses, and rodents.

The results have led to new insights into the animals that share our homes.

One of the tests set for all animals asked pet owners to test whether their pets were right or left handed (pawed or clawed). It revealed that most pets are right handed.

Biased handedness was traditionally thought to be a uniquely human trait, thought to relate to the separate functions for the two halves of the brain.

This is the first time it has been recorded on such a large sample size of pets, and one of the strongest indications yet that pets are perhaps not that different to us after all.

Dr Tim Guilford, Reader in Animal Behaviour at Oxford University, helped to devise the series of IQ tests and is delighted with the magnitude of the response, particularly in relation to the handedness test.

It's a huge sample that will need more analysis. But what the results seems to show is a small, but clear bias towards right-handedness, he says.

Exactly how this matches up with scientific research on handedness in animals obviously needs further careful investigation.

Some American research has already shown that right-footed African Grey parrots can learn and remember significantly more human words than left-footed ones.

There are many other reasons why handedness might be interesting.

Other results from the survey have provided revealing insights into our national obsession with pets.

60% of female pet owners miss their pets more than their partners when they are away from home, and 80% of cats sleep in their owner's bedroom.

Dogs appear to be more pampered with gifts and are more likely to get a birthday present than cats and other pets, although even donkeys celebrate!

Tim Guilford says: What we've seen through the tests is how our pets use learning, memory, and problem solving – the more time you spend interacting with your pet, the more fascinating they become, and the more you'll understand about their world.

And for Rolf Harris it's simple: The whole point of Test Your Pet is to get you to spend more time with your pet – and that's good for both of you. For more information, see pet training aids.

About The Author:

Marcia Stanek is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-pets.com.  Pamper your pet and get up to date information on pet health, food, accessories, behavior, gifts and toys.