# MRIs to identify top candidates for training?



## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

An interesting proposal. I've often wondered what is going on in the brain of that dog ... 

www.dodsbir.net/sitis/display_topic.asp?Bookmark=44105


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## Steve Estrada (Mar 6, 2011)

Is this for humans or your dog? Couldn't get link working....](*,)


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

It doesn't show up for me but common sense and the ability to read and train a dog will trump a machine any day. That machine doesn't, by any streatch, take into the equation an individual's skills (or lack of) to eval and train the dog. 
Show me a potentially great dog as recognized by this machine and I'll tell you a million way to ef it up. Probably did most of them myself at one time or other. Probably still doing a few. :-o :lol: 
JMHO of course!


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

Unsure why the link doesn't work when I insert it? Try copying and pasting it into your browser, if the clicking didn't work. 

Proposed is a study, using MRIs of dogs, to:
1) pick best candidates for working dogs, including both operational military and therapy dogs for PST
2) make training more efficient by seeing which parts of dogs' brains light up and how (when dog experiences different training techniques)
The ideas are better explained if you go to the actual proposal which is in the link. Above is my simplified understanding.

If the copy & paste into browser doesn't work, Google the proposal's title "Functional Imaging to Identify Outstanding Service-Dogs" (acronym is FIDOS). No joke.


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

*Re: MREs to identify top candidates for training?*

I'm trying to get government funding for my own study.
MREs to identify top candidates for training.
I'll take a bunch of dogs and a bunch of MRE's and compare how food drive effects training. I figure a $50K grant could get the study off the ground? ;-)


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## Keith Jenkins (Jun 6, 2007)

I'm afraid any MRI of my dog's brain would reveal something from a 3 Stooges short....


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

Thomas, re: your MRE grant idea...
It's not for nothing, the land in which you live is called
"the Land of the Great PX, where the lights shine all night" .


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Just wondering if the kind of dog that could be trained to sit still during an MRI would be a good working candidate?

But this was the one I saw
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/01/dog-brains/


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