Research note: Installation of videorecording equipment had minimal effect on behavioral measurements in 14 kenneled military dogs

We quantified the behavioral perturbation induced in kenneled dogs using a classical procedure of video equipment installation. Using 14-minute sessions of videorecording, 136 hours of recordings were collected from 14 healthy, individually housed Malinois shepherds. Our results show that dogs trotted, jumped, and ran more during the first 2 minutes of recording. These behaviors suggest an intense but brief agitation following installation of the video equipment. These results lead us to advise researchers, when studying the behavior of kenneled dogs by videotaping, to evaluate the duration of perturbations stemming from their particular experimental procedure and to carefully examine it.