Just Behaving maintains one of the few structured, mentorship-based puppy raising programs actively seeking scientific validation. We believe our approach works - and we want to prove it.
This page is an open invitation to researchers, veterinary behavior residents, and DVM students who want to study what we do.
What We Offer Researchers
Access to structured behavioral data. Our puppies are raised in a consistent, documented environment with clear protocols. This creates natural comparison opportunities that are difficult to find in typical pet populations.
An established philosophical framework. The Five Pillars - Mentorship, Calmness, Structured Leadership, Prevention, and Indirect Correction - provide testable hypotheses. Each pillar makes specific predictions about behavioral outcomes.
Longitudinal tracking. We maintain relationships with our puppy families, creating opportunities for follow-up studies on behavioral outcomes, emotional regulation, and owner satisfaction.
Proposed Research Areas
Anxiety Prevention Through Structured Mentorship
Do puppies raised with mentorship-based methods show measurably fewer anxiety-related behaviors than those raised with conventional approaches? Our Prevention pillar predicts they should - because the circuits for anxious behavior are never constructed.
Emotional Regulation and Parasympathetic Tone
We hypothesize that puppies raised in calm environments develop stronger baseline parasympathetic tone. This is testable through heart rate variability monitoring during standardized stress protocols.
The Transition Effect
Our "soft landing" protocol predicts that puppies transitioning to new homes with continuity of method will show lower cortisol levels and faster adjustment than those experiencing a "crash landing" (complete change of environment and interaction style).
Prevention vs. Extinction
Our strongest pillar under scientific scrutiny: does behavior prevention (never allowing a behavior to emerge) produce different long-term outcomes than behavior extinction (allowing a behavior and then eliminating it)? Bouton's work on extinction suggests it should.
How to Get Involved
We're looking for:
- DACVB residents seeking research opportunities
- DVM students interested in canine behavior projects
- Academic researchers in animal behavior, developmental psychology, or veterinary behavioral medicine
- Graduate students seeking thesis or dissertation topics
We provide the population, the controlled environment, and the philosophical framework. You bring the methodology and the academic rigor.
Contact Dan Roach directly to discuss potential collaboration:
- Phone: (978) 504-1582
- Email: droach@justbehaving.com