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Bay Area Dogs Needed for a Canine Sleep Study

University of Edinburgh Research Study

Help us understand the relationship between rest, sleep, and behavioral wellness in dogs. We're seeking healthy dogs to participate in a 2-week monitoring study.

Register Your Interest

About the Study

This research study, conducted through the University of Edinburgh's MSc in Clinical Animal Behavior program, uses wearable GPS activity monitors to track rest patterns in dogs over a 2-week period. We're comparing sleep and rest patterns between behaviorally healthy dogs and those experiencing behavioral concerns to better understand the connection between rest and canine wellbeing.

Is Your Dog Eligible?

We're looking for behaviorally healthy dogs who meet the following criteria:

  • Age: Between 1 and 8 years old
  • Behavior: No known behavioral concerns (no anxiety, aggression, reactivity, etc.)
  • Weight: Over 9 lbs (4 kg)
  • Collar-friendly: Comfortable wearing a collar
  • Stable environment: No major life changes in the past 2 months (new home, family changes, new pets)
  • Medications: Not currently on psychoactive medications; any other medications must be at a stable dose for at least 2 months
  • Not pregnant or nursing

What Participation Involves

Duration: 2 weeks of collar monitoring

Total time commitment: Approximately 50 minutes

  1. Complete questionnaires — Brief surveys about your dog's behavior and routine
  2. 2-week monitoring period — Your dog wears a GPS activity tracker on their collar
  3. Return the device — Simple device management at study end

Optional video component: Selected participants may be invited to join an additional technology validation study involving overnight video recording of your dog's rest area (2 nights) and completion of a brief sleep diary. Additional time: approximately 45 minutes.

What You'll Receive

  • Activity summary report — Receive data insights about your dog's rest and activity patterns from the wearable tracker
  • Contribute to research — Help advance our understanding of canine behavioral health and wellness

For Veterinary Professionals

We would appreciate your help in identifying clients with healthy, well-adjusted dogs who may be interested in contributing to this research.

Ideal candidates for this study:

  • Clients with dogs showing no behavioral concerns
  • Dogs coming in for routine wellness visits
  • Clients interested in objective rest-activity monitoring

Note: Dogs with behavioral concerns are being recruited through behavioral consultation services. Please continue to refer clients seeking behavioral help through your normal referral channels.

Full participant information sheets and consent forms are available upon request.

Study Credentials

  • Ethics approved by R(D)SVS Human Ethical Review Committee (HERC) and Veterinary Ethical Review Committee (VERC)
  • University of Edinburgh
  • All data confidential and anonymized

Research Team

Researchers

  • Dana Al Nazer, DVM — MSc Student, Clinical Animal Behavior; ACVB Resident
  • Lea Tummeleht — MSc Student, Clinical Animal Behavior

Supervisors

  • Dr. Loni Loftus
  • Dr. Carrie Tooley
  • Dr. Rachel Malkani

Questions?

US Participants: Dana Al Nazer, DVM — D.Al-Nazer-1@sms.ed.ac.uk

Estonian Participants: Lea Tummeleht — L.Tummeleht@sms.ed.ac.uk

Register Your Interest

This research is being completed in fulfillment of the Clinical Animal Behavior dissertation as part of the Masters of Science (MSc) in Clinical Animal Behavior at the University of Edinburgh.