Age-Related Memory and Novel Object Avoidance Differences in Family Dogs: Measuring the Validity and Reliability of a Rapid Behaviour Test Battery

The prolonged lifespan of companion dogs has resulted in an increased occurrence of behavioural and physical challenges linked to old age. The development of behavioural tests for identifying and monitoring age-related differences has begun. However, standardised testing requires validation. The present study aimed to assess external validity, interobserver reliability, and test-retest reliability of an indoor test battery for the rapid assessment of age-related behavioural differences in dogs. Two experimenters tested young and old dogs on a first occasion and after two weeks. Our results found external validity for two subtests out of six. On both test occasions, old dogs committed more errors than young dogs in a memory test and showed more object avoidance when encountering a novel object. Interobserver reliability and test-retest reliability was high. We conclude that the Memory and Novel object tests are valid and reliable for monitoring age-related memory performance and object neophobic differences in dogs.

Robotics: Mobility

Mobility: This topic will use the framework introduced in the introduction to explain what mobility means, and what design choices are made for field operation. It will briefly discuss different sensing techniques, and will go in more depth on how a robot may use sensory input to make appropriate decisions for basic navigation as well as object avoidance. Finally, it will discuss path planning and its difficulties.