Fine-grained measures of dogs' eating behavior in single-pan and two-pan tests.

The feeding behavior of dogs in one-pan and two-pan tests was measured in the usual way (total food intake in the test) and at a fine-grained level (cumulative amount eaten on a moment-by-moment basis during the test). The four experiments reported studied dogs' reactions to different dry foods, and to semi-moist and canned foods. The fine-grained measures were informative about the dogs' reactions to the foods in several ways that could not be derived from the usual intake measure. The main value of the fine-grained measurements seems to be that they suggest new directions for research on feeding behavior that may improve the understanding of performance in one- and two-pan tests.