Canine Cognitive Dysfunction
Just as our mental faculties tend to decline with age, the cognitive abilities of some dogs start to deteriorate around eight years old. This condition is called Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD), which may cause behavioral changes, alteration in activity and memory loss.
Why Dog Toys?
“Variety is the spice of life, so the newest ‘shiny’ object is likely to keep dogs more engaged than a toy that has been hanging around for a long time.” There are many interactive toys designed to stimulate dogs’ brains and improve their mental health.
Dogs see, smell, taste, and feel the world around them differently than humans do. Studies show that environmental enrichment can stimulate dogs from multiple ways through the senses. The expert said that a dog’s sensory system can be divided into: smell (40%), hearing (30%), vision (20%), taste (10%), and touch (10%). We may be able to enrich their lives by providing toys that offer interactive play or require problem solving.
A set of toys with modular system which can stimulate dogs' brains and senses. With the feature of modularity, the owners can change the arrangement of toys in order to make their dogs keep being interested and engage longer time. Also, the toys can allow dogs and owners to play and interact in various way.
Prototypes & Iterations
Starting with the shape with three legs and the plug-in mechanism to attach the other parts. But it is too small for dogs to grab and fragile. Therefore, I made a shape with ball in the middle and change the connecting way to inward threads. But the shape is too big for smaller dogs and the mechanism is difficult and expensive for manufacturing. After that, I utilize the outward thread for assemble and add a little handle or make a flat surface. These two versions didn't work because the handle and flat surface cannot allow dogs to play with paws or mouth.Finally, a shape with a little dome which can provide space for dogs to hold and get rid of the handle in order to have a clean and simple shape.
The modular attachments are designed to stimulate dogs’ brains and perceptions in various ways. Based on dogs’ senses and interactions, I designed various attachments which encourage actions such as pushing, lifting, dropping, batting, pawing, rolling, and chewing. For example, a stick for chewing and licking, a ball can trigger dogs’ interest through the sound and texture, and a rope attachment can be used as a handle for playing with owners. Hence, I designed a lot of attachments and conducted user tests with dogs to learn which ones work or not.
User Testing
Testing with dogs is the most important things to observe what the users like and how they interact with the toys. I went to dog park and tested the prototypes with more than fifty dogs. Recording how they play with the toys and how their owners interact with dogs through toys.
After serveal user tests, I recorded how dogs interacted with different sticks by the action and the senses which are stimulated. Hence, I picked five attachments which attracts dog's interest the most.
