1. Puppy Chow
ABC, Callie Deaton, and Samantha Thomas
Period 1
10/6/09

2. Question
What type of food attracts a dog the most?

3. Beginning Ideas
The dog will go to the “people” food the most. The
“people” food is bologna.

4. Materials
Moist dog food
Dry dog food
Bologna
Dog
Paper, pencil, etc.
Paper plates

5. Variables/Groups
Control Variable: dog
Independent Variable: types of food
Dependent Variable: dog’s choice
Control Group: dry dog food
Experimental Group: moist dog food, “people” food
(bologna)

6. Procedure
Set out the three foods
Show the dog the food
Bring the dog three feet from the food choices
Let the dog go to the food
See which one she picks out of the three
Record which one she picks
Change the order of the food
Repeat steps 1-7 a total of 5 times

7. Claim
Katie preferred moist dog food when given the choice
between dry dog food, bologna, and moist dog food.

8. Table
Dry Moist Bologna
Trial 1 X
Trial 2 X
Trial 3 X
Trial 4 X
Trial 5 X

9. Graph
3
2.25
# of times chosen
1.5
0.75
0
Dry Moist People
Types of Food

10. Evidence
The graph shows that Katie shows that she chose the
moist dog food three times compared to the dry dog
food one time and the bologna one time.

11. Comparing w/ the Experts
Most dogs prefer canned diets. The aroma, flavor, and palatability of dry diets do not
match that of canned diets.
There are more than 220 million olfactory receptors in the nose of a dog, while humans have
only 5 million receptors, which means that dogs have an excellent sense of smell.
A dog’s sense of smell is said to be a thousand times more sensitive than humans. They are
able to smell food better than humans are and the canned dog food had a stronger smell than
any of the other ones did.
A dog diet may include raw or cooked meats, organ meats, vegetables, grains,and fruits.
Dry diets have less tartar build up on their teeth and less gum disease surrounding the teeth
than canned diets.
Onions, garlic, grapes and anything containing caffeine or alcohol can be toxic to their

12. Reflection
Dogs are attracted to moist dog food because of the smell. We thought Katie would
choose the people food the most but when we opened the moist food it had a stronger
smell than the people food did.
Dogs have a lot stronger sense of smell than humans do and they choose their food
based on it.
I have learned that dogs choose moist food but dry food is better for their teeth and
health.
People choose their food for their dogs everyday and by knowing not only what dogs
prefer but also what is the best for them affects their choice.

13. Bibliography