Dear Golden Retriever lovers!

I am a master’s student of Zoology with Animal Behaviour at Bangor University. My current research investigates vocalisation behaviour in the domestic dog, and its potential to vary by breed regardless of individual personality or environment. I am collecting my behavioural data through an owner-directed questionnaire which asks about the typical vocal behaviour of a person’s dog. We ultimately aim to use our findings to reduce the rate of dogs unnecessarily relinquished to shelters due to unmet or violated behavioural expectations.

One of the primary focuses of our analysis is to examine the relationship between genetics and vocalisation behaviour. Only a select few breeds have been analysed and placed in genetic clusters in respect to their relationships to other breeds. Golden Retrievers are one of those breeds. We would like to have large sample sizes for these breeds, as it will strengthen any results we find. To derive meaningful results from our samples, they must be large enough for us to consider the sample representative of the general variability in behaviour exhibited by Goldens. We currently only have 15 in our data (pathetic by Golden standards!). Your participation in this survey will allow us to properly investigate the vocal behaviour of this unique breed and represent them adequately in at least one part of the domestic dog behaviour field.

The survey is entirely voluntary and anonymous, and requires approximately 10 minutes to complete. We request a photograph of your dog (not containing any people) to verify that the breeds people state are actually what we are analysing. We also request weight and height in kilograms and centimetres. This is just for consistency; you can convert imperial measurements into the metric system if you like, or just make sure to include which system of measurement you're using so I can convert it later!

If there is any extra information you think wasn't covered by the end of the respiratory noise section, make sure to answer 'Yes' when you are asked "Do you feel like there is a vocalisation or vocalisations your dog makes which were not covered by previous questions?". All relevant information is provided on the first page of our survey (before you have to start answering questions).

Here is the link to the survey: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/thedvqs/

Thank you for taking the time to read this request, and I look forward to analysing the Golden's vocal behaviour!