AMHERST — Does your dog need obedience training? Do you? Now’s your chance.
Dogs and their owners are needed for a University of Massachusetts Amherst study examining how dog training affects the dog-owner bond and human health.
Researchers at the Behavioral Medicine Lab of the university’s department of kinesiology are looking for dog owners aged 21 and older who walk their dogs less than three times a week.
Half the owner-dog pairs in the study will take part in a free six-week basic obedience training course; the other owner-dog pairs will be given the opportunity to do the same at half-price after the study is completed.
The goal is to see if better-trained dogs encourage owners to walk more, increasing the owner’s emotional and physical health.
“We’re hoping that by going through training, owners and their dogs can have more health benefits,” said Katie Becofsky, assistant professor in the department of kinesiology and director of the project.
If your dog is not well-behaved, it can often make owning a pet more stressful than it should be, Becofsky said.
“We want people to get the most benefit of having a pet,” Becofsky said.
Becofsky said Wednesday a lot of people who unfortunately are not eligible have expressed interest in the survey. Dogs cannot take part if they have already taken part in obedience training, if they have conditions that limit their walking or if they have a history of aggressive behavior.
“Amherst is a very active area, which is fantastic, but it makes looking for people who aren’t regular dog walkers difficult,” Becofsky said
Researchers want to recruit 40 dog owners. Half will take part in training, which will be led by My Dog LLC of Amherst, and half will be in the control group. The first orientation day will be next week, but sign-ups will stay open until the end of August.
The study will take place over four months. Training will take place on the UMass Amherst campus, beginning Sept. 10. During that period, both owners and dogs will be asked to wear monitors three times, each time for a period of seven days.
Along with taking part in obedience training, owners also must complete a survey.