A remarkable 6,000 tails are wagging at Dogs Trust, as the charity celebrates the 6,000th puppy enrolled onto its innovative research study, Generation Pup. It is the first ever study of its kind to follow dogs of all breeds throughout their lives.
The latest recruit is a nine-week-old female Golden Retriever, Maddie, whose owner Jan Kiley found out about the Generation Pup study through social media. “Working for Dogs for Autism, I wanted a pup with a good temperament who can be an ‘ambassadog’ for the charity,” said Jan. “After reading about the Generation Pup study, I was very keen to sign up because I always like talking about my dogs and like to promote people’s understanding of dogs.”
The Generation Pup study, which launched in 2016, tracks puppies under 16 weeks of age through to adulthood, to learn how their early experiences, environment, diet and exercise affects their health and behaviour later in life.
It is a never-before-seen study that will enable researchers to gain pioneering new insights into our canine companions to improve dog welfare for future generations. The study will also provide valuable insight on whether lockdown restrictions experienced during the pandemic have had an impact on our canine companions.
The charity is hoping to recruit 10,000 puppies onto the study so is calling on owners to sign up!
“Maddie has settled in really well – it feels as though she has been here forever!” Jan continued. “She is very fond of her new fur-siblings, nine-year-old Labrador x Golden Retriever, Georgie, six-year-old Dalmatian, Alfie and Cally the cat! She is very focused and keen to learn. As with many Goldies, she is a clown and makes me laugh every day!”
Generation Pup is open to all breeds and crossbreeds of puppies from anywhere in the UK and Republic of Ireland. In order to participate, puppies will need to be registered onto the study before they reach 16 weeks old. Puppies that have gone through quarantine, can be registered up to 21 weeks of age.
“We are so pleased we have recruited 6,000 pups into the study so far and we are so grateful to all of the owners who give up their time to help with the study,” said Dr Jane Murray, Research Manager for Generation Pup, at Dogs Trust. “The more puppies we have signed up to the study, the greater potential we have to understand more about our dogs and how to further help them in the future.”
To find out more about Generation Pup or to sign up your new four-legged family member, visit www.generationpup.ac.uk
