Thứ Sáu, 26 tháng 7, 2013



Hi Mia!

I don’t even know where to begin. You sent another round of Tim Tams, and I am in chocolate heaven (the only trouble is that they bring out the hoarder in me, and I easily tell little white lies like, “They’re not open yet.” Typically I share my bounty, but this, not so much).

I adore Champagne Cartel! Great voices and a wide variety of topics. I’m very pleased you are part of that gaggle of women. You had a great Q&A with Amy McDonald on Everyday Yoga, and now because of you, I will keep worms.

Go Go Go!
It seems like you and I are in parallel lands of, “Go - Go - Go!” Julie Dog Updates:
  • CHASER: Got to spend time with Chaser (Facebook/Twitter), the wordy dog, and I’ll report more on that soon. She and I see eye to eye (or maybe, I should say, she wants the ball behind my back).
      Read this book
    • CONFERENCES: Just came back from ISAZ and IAHAIO in Chicago. It was a check plus time with Anthrozoology and human-animal interaction researchers. Hal Herzog (Twitter), author of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals is Professor of Psychology at Western Carolina University. He received the 2013 Distinguished Scholars Award. His talk explored the ultimate reasons behind pet keeping -- more on that another time (but in the meantime, his book should be read by all). Over at #SciAmBlogs, I took a moment to explore what Anthrozoology is all about (not the study of Ants, apparently). I got a little pronunciation assistance from your PhD supervisor. ;)
    • MORE CONFERENCE!!: This weekend, I’m back on a plane to Boulder, CO for the 50th Annual Animal Behavior Society conference. On Sunday, July 28 I’m speaking at the Companion Animal Day at UC-Boulder. The topic: Creating Quality Lives for Dogs and Cats Through the Science of Animal Behavior. The event is free and open to the public! Here’s the lineup (who wins for longest title?):
    - Patricia McConnell, Bring Out Your Inner Dr. Doolittle: Communication and Quality of Life
     
    - Suzanne Hetts and Dan Estep, Can We Still Be Friends?: Helping Dogs and Cats Get Along
     
    - Marc Bekoff, Animals at Play: What We’ve Learned From Dogs and Their Wild Relatives
     
    - Julie Hecht, Get Into the Head of The Dog in Your Bed, and You’ll Both Be Happier: Updates on Canine Cognition Research
     
    - Pamela Reid, When Dogs and Cats Have it Bad and It Ain’t Good: Behavior Rehabilitation of Abused Pets
     
    Do you get the timing right?
    Speaking of excitement, people were incredibly interested in Clare’s research on dog training!! The feedback on the DYBID Facebook was tremendous. Her main finding was, “To teach a new behavior, be fast on your feedback!” 
     
    Masters research conducted by Lindsay Wood, now at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, had similar findings. In her research, when a dog was acquiring complex behaviors, a click was a better marker than a verbal stimulus such as, “Good.” 

     Wood suggests, “The facilitation of learning provided by the clicker bridging stimulus has important implications for animal training, especially when professionals are confronted with time constraints. The potential of the clicker stimulus to improve animal learning throughout the entire process of a behavior may not only increase the rate of behavior acquisition, but also reduce animal frustration and further enhance the relationship between trainer and animal.”

    MANY PEOPLE working with non-human (and human!) animals get their click on! The Shedd Aquarium, yes aqua-rium, recently added a dog show with shelter dogs trained via positive reinforcement, and I assume clicker training. 

    Ken Ramirez, VP of animal collections and training, explains why they added a dog show: "We also want people to see that the techniques used to care for our dolphins, our wales and our sharks -- those training techniques can be useful tools in having a better behaved pet at home." 



    How to work on YOUR training
    The techniques of learning and training don't just apply to dogs. People can practice their training techniques with loads of other species like chickens and guinea pigs.

    Chicken Camp, Terry Ryan

    Guinea Pig Camp, Roger Abrantes
    Well, that's all she wrote! Let's hear what's on your plate!!

     Julie
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    Thứ Hai, 22 tháng 7, 2013

    I have a 10-year old, 25 kg, female lab who was diagnosed with Addison’s disease about 5 years ago. She has been well-controlled on oral Florinef (0.3 mg, twice daily) and prednisone (2.5 mg, once daily).

    I am moving from Canada (Nova Scotia) to Europe and do not want to leave her behind, if it is at all possible.  Do you think that I could fly her to Europe with me or that is not an option?

     I'll do whatever you recommend and feel is best for my dog!

    My Response: 

    As you have proven in your dog, primary hypoadrenocorticism (Addison's disease) is a readily treatable disease with an excellent prognosis, provided that proper monitoring and treat­ment is maintained for life. Dogs on adequate maintenance therapy should expect to lead rela­tively healthy lives, with no obvious impairment to exercise or other usual activities (1,2).

    Therefore, if your dog's Addison's disease is well-controlled, flying should not be a problem. Before you go, I'd repeat a serum chemistry profile, which should include tests for kidney function (urea nitrogen and creatinine) as well as serum electrolytes (sodium, potassium). We want to make sure that her Addison's disease is perfectly regulated the day she leaves for her new home in Europe.

    However, it is vitally important remember that these dogs have no adrenocortical reserve and cannot secrete additional cortisol in times of stress, like normal animals would be expected to do. Therefore, any non­adrenal illness or stressful event (such as air travel) needs to be matched with an appropriate increase in the amount of gluco­corticoid administered.

    So what does that mean in practical terms for your dog? Because of the stress of the air travel, however, I would recommend that you increase the glucocorticoid supplementation (i.e., the prednisone) on the day that you travel. You are giving a relatively low maintenance dose of prednisone now (0.1 mg/kg/day). I'd recommend that you double this daily dose on the day you travel and continue the higher dose (as needed) for 2-3 days once you arrive.

    References:
    1. Kintzer PP, Peterson ME. Treatment and long-term follow-up of 205 dogs with hypoadrenocorticism. J Vet Intern Med 1997;11:43-49. 
    2. Church DB. Canine hypoadrenocorticism In: Mooney CT, Peterson ME, eds. BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Endocrinology. Fourth ed. Quedgeley, Gloucester: British Small Animal Veterinary Association, 2012;156-166.
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    Thứ Năm, 18 tháng 7, 2013

    Hi Julie,

     I loved hearing from Clare Browne about her research into timing of reinforcement in our first guest post last week, and it certainly stimulated lots of great comments and questions on Facebook and Google+. 
    I know you've been busy Chaser-ing around (lucky ducks, both!) and there's also all those amazing conferences happening this week, what with the ISAZ, IAHAIO and AVSAB events on in Chicago, so just a very quick post from me this week! 

    You know how we recently put together out list of top ten books for the Science Book a Day team?

    Well, Chaser's upcoming book release reminded me that we should put them all in one place here, so that we (or anyone else looking for a canine science book or fourteen) could find them easily if needed. 
    Science Book A Day

    In no particular order, here they are:


     McGreevy (2009) A Modern Dog’s Life. 

    A fabulous book, written with humour and insight, that offers a modern take on what challenges and motivates our dogs and how we can best meet their needs.

    http://doyoubelieveindog.blogspot.com/2012/09/todays-favorites-paul-mcgreevys-books.html
    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9781742231051/A-Modern-Dog-s-Life

    Horowitz (2009) Inside of a Dog.

    What’s it like to be a dog? This book covers the science of how dogs think and perceive the world and is accompanied by personal reflections on Horowitz’s own dog’s behaviour. Get to know the umwelt of the dog. http://insideofadog.com/

    http://doyoubelieveindog.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/tis-season-to-be-doggy-fa-la-la-la-laaaa.html
    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9781451672756/Inside-of-a-Dog

     Bradshaw (2012) Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet.

    This recent publication answers the very important question: “What’s good for dogs?” Explore recent research into dog behaviour and cognition and take away ways to make your dog psychologically healthy.

    http://www.bris.ac.uk/vetscience/people/88445/index.html     
    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9780465030033/Dog-Sense

    Lindsay (2000 / 2001 / 2005) Handbooks of Applied Dog Behavior and Training Triptych

    Three enormous books containing so much canine science that even the heartiest of appetites will be satiated.
    1. Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Vol. 1: Adaptation and Learning
    2. Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Vol. 2: Etiology and Assessment of Behavior Problems
    3. Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Vol. 3: Procedures and Protocols
    Search to purchase:
    http://booko.com.au/9780813807546/Handbook-of-Applied-Dog-Behaviour-and-Training-Principles-of-Behavioural-Adaption-and-Learning-v-1

    http://booko.com.au/9780813828688/Handbook-of-Applied-Dog-Behavior-and-Training-Volume-II

    http://booko.com.au/9780813807386/Handbook-of-Applied-Dog-Behavior-and-Training-Procedures-and-Protocols-v-3



    Miklósi (2009) Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition.One of the first books to collate and synthesise the growing primary research on dog evolution, behaviour and cognition. Often used in the classroom, it offers an in depth overview of canine science research methods as well as study findings. Keep a lookout for the second edition!

    http://familydogproject.elte.hu/index.html

    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9780199545667/Dog-Behaviour-Evolution-and-Cognition

      
    Csányi (2005) If Dogs Could Talk: Exploring the Canine Mind.

    What does careful observation and documentation of dog behaviour tell us about the canine mind? And how did people and dogs come to share these strong emotional bonds? Readers join Csányi, and his dogs Flip and Jerry, in this scientific exploration of the high degree of mutual understanding between humans and their four-legged best friends.

    http://familydogproject.elte.hu/staff.html
    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9780865477292/If-Dogs-Could-Talk

    Coppinger & Coppinger (2002) Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution.How did dogs come to be dogs, and where does their diversity come from? From village dogs to dogs in our beds, the Coppingers investigate how physical appearances and behaviours develop from both genes and the environment in which they are raised.

    http://www.hampshire.edu/faculty/rcoppinger.htm
    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9780226115634/Dogs
     
    McConnell (2003) The Other End of the Leash.

    Dogs and humans are two entirely different species with distinct evolutionary heritages, yet can walk down the street together, move in synch and seemingly share mutual understanding. But are we always on the same page? Learn how dogs might interpret our human behaviour, and learn how to interact with dogs in ways they best understand. A must-read for anyone interested in enhancing their relationship and communication with canine companions.

    http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/
    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9780345446787/Other-End-of-the-Leash

     Jensen (2007) The Behavioural Biology of Dogs.
    With separate sections by various experts, this book offers a nice overview of canine behavioural biology. Sections focus on dog evolution and development, basic behaviour and assessment, prevention and treatment of common companion dog behaviour     problems. 

    https://www.ifm.liu.se/biology/zoology/applied_ethology/group_members/per-jensen/

    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9781845931872/The-Behavioural-Biology-of-Dogs




    Serpell (1995) The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People.

    An early publication pulling together research into dog behaviour, cognition and evolution. The book dispels many myths and stereotypes about our canine friends and includes sections on dog origins, behaviour and behaviour problems as well as human-dog interactions. A comprehensive overview, rooted in scientific evidence. Keep a lookout for the second edition! 

    Scott & Fuller (1965) Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog: The classic study.

    Often referenced, but probably not so often read, this classic study, spanning twenty years, covers research into the role of genetics and socialisation on dog behaviour.

    http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/nmb/page28619.html    Search to purchase: http://booko.com.au/9780226743387/Dog-Behaviour

    Now, we were asked to put together a list of 10 canine science books and managed to squish in 13 there, but if anyone has others they'd have liked to see on this list, PLEASE list them into the comments section and we have have the best list of 15, or 20 or 500 canine science books going round!

    In other news, Julie, I've joined a cartel. A while ago, my clever friend, Carolyn, had the idea of creating a positive space for working mums that offers support and smart ideas on how to get through the day. And now, it exists. Somehow, I'm part of it?! 

    We're called Champagne Cartel and we have a lot to say. Champagne Cartel is a bunch of six working mums who are all doing the best we can with what we've got. Between us we have 11 kids - ranging in age from 21 years to teeny-tiny - and loads of wisdom and experience to offer. We believe in sometimes putting yourself first, which may or may not include the odd sneaky glass of champagne. And we think guilt is for suckers. 

    So if you're ever feeling like a break from canine science, and think you'd like to dip a toe in the champagne, so to speak, you'd be very welcome!

    I've just received some more SUPER EXCITING NEWS, but it will just need to wait until next time!


    Most importantly Julie, what (and how??) does Chaser think?

     Mia

     Further reading:
    • The books above!
    • Ramos D., Ades C. & Dornhaus A. (2012). Two-Item Sentence Comprehension by a Dog (Canis familiaris), PLoS ONE, 7 (2) e29689. DOI:
    • van der Zee E., Zulch H., Mills D. & Dornhaus A. (2012). Word Generalization by a Dog (Canis familiaris): Is Shape Important?, PLoS ONE, 7 (11) e49382. DOI:
    © 2013 Mia Cobb
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    Thứ Hai, 15 tháng 7, 2013


    I'm writing about my dog Minnie, a 7-year old female spayed miniature pinscher (Min Pin). In November of 2012, she was diagnosed with diabetes and started on insulin (Humulin N; NPH insulin). She was very overweight when I adopted her (body weight of 26 pounds) and looked more like a football with legs. After being diagnosed as diabetic, my vet changed her diet to Hills Science Diet w/d. It really helped her lose weight, and now she looks like a Min Pin should look (current weight, 14 pounds).

    Despite her body condition normalizing, I am now very concerned about her current health. Her blood sugar levels generally range from 100-120 mg/dl on 7 units of NPH twice daily, but her thirst and urinations remain high. In addition to the polyuria, she now is showing signs of hair loss, muscle weakness, and thinning of the skin. Also, when I feed her, you would think it was her last meal. My thought was that it was from her diet but my vet insists that w/d has everything Minnie needs. 

    The vet was concerned that she may have Cushing’s syndrome. We did a screening test for Cushing's syndrome (i.e. a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test), which came back today negative for Cushing’s disease. A test for thyroid function was also normal. I once again asked about the food, which my vet still believes isn’t the cause of her hunger and hair loss.

    My question is – Could there be something in W/D that Minnie is allergic to that could be causing some of the same symptoms? Or could it be that she isn’t getting the appropriate nutrition? I’m also wondering what would be another good dog food for diabetic dogs that she might respond to better?

    Anyway – thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you could offer some good advice. 

    My Response: 

    It's very difficult to attribute all of your dog's clinical signs to the feeding of the Hill's w/d diet. That said, I would change Minnie's diet as the first step in her management.

    What's the best diet for canine diabetes?
    There is not one type of diet that is recommended for all dogs with diabetes. Diabetic dogs can do well when fed a number of diets as long as they are nutritionally complete and balanced, do not contain simple sugars, are fed at consistent times in consistent amounts, and are palatable to ensure a predictable and consistent appetite. As we all know, it's difficult enough to regulate a diabetic when they are eating consistently well— if they refuse to eat their diet, adequate glucose regulation can become next to impossible.

    With any diabetic dog, the most important dietary factor in the diabetic is consistency, so that you can match your insulin dose to the degree of postprandial (after feeding) hyperglycemia. The key to feeding diabetic dogs is to feed the same amount of the same diet at the same time every day!

    Feeding diabetic dogs to optimize body weight
    In diabetic dogs that are overweight or obese, I always recommend feeding a reduced calorie diet designed to help the dog lose weight. The high fiber diets (such as Hills w/d) are good for this purpose (1-4). So feeding Minnie the w/d when she was grossly obese was a very good idea.

    In underweight dogs with diabetes, however, the goal of dietary therapy is the complete opposite. In these thin dogs, our priority is to normalize body weight and restore and preserve muscle mass. These dogs may never regain the weight needed if a food with moderate to high amounts of fiber is fed — they may even continue to progressively lose even more weight. Therefore, these thin to emaciated dogs should be fed a high-quality, higher energy diet that can contain a slightly increased fat content to ensure that they regain their lost body weight (3-5).

    Recent studies fail to show a clear-cut clinical benefit of feeding a high-fiber diet over a typical adult maintenance diet with moderate-fiber content to diabetic dogs. In one study, no significant differences in insulin requirements or glycemic control were found in dogs fed a high-fiber, moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-fat diet versus an adult maintenance diet with moderate fiber, lower carbohydrate, and higher fat (5). As expected, weight loss occurred when the dogs were fed the high-fiber diet, whereas body weights were maintained with the moderate-fiber diet. 

    Not all diabetic dogs should be automatically fed a high-fiber diet, such as Hills w/d. In your dog, a change in diet to one higher in calories would now be indicated, at least in my opinion.

    Cushing's syndrome and diabetes in dogs
    I do agree with your veterinarian that the signs of increased hunger, continued polyuria and polyuria (despite good control of the blood glucose values), hair loss, and thin skin all point to hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's syndrome) (8).  This is a common problem is middle-aged to older dogs, resulting from an excess production of cortisol from the adrenal glands. Secondary diabetes will develop in about 10% of dogs with Cushing's syndrome, and the diabetes is frequently difficult to control (8-10).

    The fact that a single test for Cushing's has been negative cannot completely rule out Cushing's syndrome (8,11).  However, the fact that Minnie is showing signs of weight loss cannot be explained by Cushing's, a condition in which weight gain is more common (8-10).

    In any case, additional testing of adrenal function should be considered, especially if a diet change hasn't caused a marked improvement within a month or two.

    The Bottom Line 

    Dogs should never be fed a high-fiber diet just because they have diabetes. Such high-fiber diets are contraindicated in thin or emaciated dogs with diabetes, as well as normal weight dogs that are undergoing unwanted weight loss (5).

    Many diabetic dogs do better on maintenance diets containing lower amounts of fiber and carbohydrate and higher amounts of protein. A consistent diet —that is, the type, amount, and time of feeding —is generally much more important in diabetic regulation than any particular fiber content or specific type of diet. Other than that, we want to feed any diabetic dog a diet that will maintain normal body weight.

    References: 
    1. Nelson R, Duesberg C, Ford S, et al. Effect of dietary insoluble fiber on control of glycemia in dogs with naturally acquired diabetes mellitus. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1998;212:380–386.  
    2. Graham PA, Maskell E, Rawlings L. Influence of a high fibre diet on glycaemic control and quality of life in dogs with diabetes mellitus. J Small Anim Pract 2002;43:67–73. 
    3. Rucinsky R, Cook A, Haley S, et al. American Animal Hospital Association. AAHA diabetes management guidelines. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2010; 46:215-224. 
    4. Zicker SC, Nelson RW, Kirk CA, et al. Endocrine Disorders. In: Hand MS, Thatcher CD, Remillard RL, Roudebush R, Novotny, BJ (eds), Small Animal Clinical Nutrition. Mark Morris Institute. 2010; 559-584. 
    5. Fleeman LM, Rand JS, Markwell PJ. Lack of advantage of high-fibre, moderate-carbohydrate diets in dogs with stabilised diabetes. J Small Anim Pract 2009;50:604-614. 
    6. Rand JS, Farrow HA, Fleeman LM, et al. Diet in the prevention of diabetes and obesity in companion animals. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2003;12 Suppl:S6.1 
    7. Elliott KF, Rand JS, Fleeman LM, et al. A diet lower in digestible carbohydrate results in lower postprandial glucose concentrations compared with a traditional canine diabetes diet and an adult maintenance diet in healthy dogs. Res Vet Sci 2011;96; 288-95.
    8. Melián CM, Pérez-Alenza D, Peterson ME. Hyperadrenocorticism in dogs In: Ettinger SJ, Feldman EC, eds. Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine: Diseases of the Dog and Cat. Seventh ed. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier, 2010;1816-1840.
    9. Peterson ME, Nesbitt GH, Schaer M. Diagnosis and management of concurrent diabetes mellitus and hyperadrenocorticism in thirty dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1981;178:66-69. 
    10. Eigenmann JE, Peterson ME. Diabetes mellitus associated with other endocrine disorders. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 1984;14:837-858. 
    11. Peterson ME. Diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism in dogs. Clin Tech Small Anim Pract 2007;22:2-11. 
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    Thứ Năm, 11 tháng 7, 2013


    Do You Believe in Dog? is approaching our one-year anniversary (Wow! Yay!!!), and in the coming months, we will be opening up the blog to guest posts from other researchers exploring canine behaviour, cognition and welfare. 


    Give a warm welcome to our first guest, 
    Clare Browne from the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
    Hi Mia and Julie,

    As you both know from the last Canine Science Forum, my PhD investigates dog-human communication and how this communication affects dog training.
    (source)
    I would like to claim that everyone is New Zealand is a fantastic dog trainer and we all communicate brilliantly with our dogs, but alas, we’re just like everyone else. It turns out that when people give feedback to dogs during training, we’re often a bit slow. Let me explain...

    You’re no doubt aware that if we want to increase the likelihood that a behaviour occurs again, positive reinforcement (AKA “rewarding” -- adding something to keep the behaviour going) will achieve this. The types of positive reinforcement that are most commonly used in everyday dog training are verbal praise, food, and patting/petting. My PhD studies investigated two things: a) how fast are dog owners delivering positive reinforcement to dogs; and b) does it matter if owners are slow in providing dogs with reinforcement?

    Not really Clare's gumboots
    To answer the first of these questions, I put on my gumboots and spent many evenings at my friendly local dog clubs, filming owners training their dogs in beginner classes. I collected 1,810 instances where commands were given to dogs. I then went slightly mad and spent months watching videos of people training their dogs. Figure 1 shows how all the dogs responded to their owners, and 44% of the time, dogs did not respond to their owners at all. This one result made me feel like I wasn’t wasting all these years of my PhD – there clearly is a need for research into the efficacy of dog training!

    I used some fancy computer software and measured very precisely (down to 25 frames per second) the time between when the owners said the command and when the dogs performed the behavior, like laying down or sitting. I found that owners varied a lot in the time it took them to deliver positive reinforcement to their dogs. Some owners were almost instantaneous with their praise and then the treat followed quickly, whereas others took ages – the longest time was over 6 s! (That might not sound long to you, but try imagining that you’re a Labrador and having to wait 6 s for a treat, all of a sudden it’s a much more serious situation.) 


    But does this even matter? Had I gone mad watching videos in my darkened office for no good reason?

    To answer this second question, I had to run an experiment. 

    I had each dog work inside a large pen, and I sat in the neighbouring pen. A screen in between us prevented the dogs from seeing my body language. I held a pre-training session where the dogs learned that a “beep” sound came just before a feeding device delivered a food treat into their pen. (This “beep” is analogous to us saying, “Good dog”). Once the dogs were comfortable with this, they were taken out of the pen while I set up the equipment. I put two boxes into the pen. These boxes had held dog treats (but were emptied just prior to the experiment) so that they smelled alluring to the dogs. Each box had an open top, and infrared (IR) beams criss-crossed the top surface of both boxes. These IR beams were connected to a computer, so that whenever they were broken (i.e. when a dog sniffed inside a box), the computer delivered a “beep” and then a food treat came from the feeding device. 
    Click to enlarge image
    There was a catch: when the dogs sniffed inside the ‘non-target’ box, nothing happened. But when they sniffed inside the ‘target’ box, the positive reinforcement food reward was delivered. The dogs, essentially, were being trained to stick their heads inside one of the two boxes (perhaps not necessarily something every owner wants their dog to do, but a good example of a simple behaviour!). 

    Twenty dogs received positive reinforcement immediately, as soon as they sniffed inside the target box – there was no delay. However, for another 20 dogs, as soon as they broke the IR beams, the computer started a timer and positive reinforcement (“beep” + treat) was delayed by 1 second.

    The results were really interesting! Of the 0 second delay dogs, 60% learned the task; but of the 1 second delay dogs, only 25% learned the task – less than half as many with no delay.  

    Check out this video of a dog learning the task with a 0 s delay: