Holly and Herbie were renegade youths. Troubled and defiant, they were shuttled from home to home throughout their young lives; no family could manage their unruly conduct. But finally, each found someone who saw that beneath their mischievous veneers were two highly intelligent and gifted animals.

Holly, an 85-pound bloodhound, chewed everything in sight and by the time she was 10 months old, had been removed from six different homes. She was languishing in a shelter, with her days numbered, until professional dog trainer Larry Allen intervened. Having trained countless bloodhounds for law enforcement agencies across the United States, Allen sets out to help Holly harness her natural abilities as a tracker in the hope that one day she would become a competent police dog.

Herbie, a two-year-old bearded collie, couldn’t rein in his impish personality or his penchant for attacking livestock. His errant ways had put him at risk of being shot by a local farmer. Fortunately, sheepdog trainer Barbara Sykes sensed Herbie was more than just a marauder. In her gentle yet firm manner, she coaches him hoping to hone his skills to herd rather than bite sheep on her working farm in England.

Beginning with the initial meeting between dog and trainer, viewers follow Sykes and Allen as they apply their professional skills to transform these misfit mutts into the noble working dogs they were bred to be. As their stories unfold, we witness the powerful bond that develops between trainer and pupil.

Celebrate the beauty of a second chance with these remarkable and resilient Underdogs.

To order a copy of Underdogs, visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for Underdogs was originally posted January 2006.

GRADE LEVEL: 5-8

TOPIC/SUBJECT MATTER: Life Science

TIME ALLOTMENT: Two 45-minute class periods

OVERVIEW:

During this video-enhanced lesson, students will learn about dogs’ senses and how they compare to those of humans, with particular focus on the senses of smell and hearing. Students will test their own senses of smell in a sniff test of familiar scents. Students will explore different ways that dogs help humans and watch video segments from the NATURE film “Dogs that Changed the World,” featuring 3 different situations where dogs help humans-sled dogs in the Arctic Circle, sheep dogs in the United Kingdom and a dog in the US who alerts a boy with diabetes when his blood sugar levels are low. Students will then conduct research and create a presentation about a modern dog hero.

MEDIA RESOURCES:

Video

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

Clip 1: Dog Sense

A comparison of dog and human senses

Clip 2: Sled Dogs

A close look at sled dogs and their relationships with the Inuit people in the Arctic Circle

Clip 3: Moving Sheep

A close look at how dogs help perform this job

Clip 4: Delta

Delta, a German Shepherd helps prevent a boy from having diabetic seizures

Web sites

American Kennel Club

This Web site is a good source for information and photographs of dogs.

Los Angeles Natural History Museum

This Web site contains an exhibit entitled “Dogs- wolf, myth, hero and friend,” which contains a lot of information about dogs and related online activities and hands-on activities that can be done at home. One of the featured activities is “Dog Gone Perfect Laboratories,” which challenges visitors to build an online dog for a specific task (pull a sled, herd sheep, etc.). To access this activity, go to the Artificial Selection page, scroll down to the bottom and click on “Dog Gone Perfect Laboratories Activity” in the left hand column.

National Geographic Web sites’ Animal Section
This Web site features many photos of dogs, which can be used in this lesson.

Sheppard Software Web Site’s Dog Section

This Web site includes interesting facts, quizzes and activities about dogs, including a fun “Dog Heroes” quiz.

Standards:

National Science Education Standards, Grades 5-8

LIFE SCIENCE: Content Standard C

As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding of

• Reproduction and heredity

o       The characteristics of an organism can be described in terms of a combination of traits. Some traits are inherited and others result from interactions with the environment.

• Regulation and behavior

o       Behavior is one kind of response an organism can make to an internal or environmental stimulus. A behavioral response requires coordination and communication at many levels, including cells, organ systems, and whole organisms. Behavioral response is a set of actions determined in part by heredity and in part from experience.

o       An organism’s behavior evolves through adaptation to its environment. How a species moves, obtains food, reproduces, and responds to danger are based in the species’ evolutionary history.

• Diversity and adaptations of organisms

o       Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.

MATERIALS:

For each student:

• “Dogs’ Work” Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

For the class:

• A large sheet of paper or board and something with which to write
• Five small, identical, opaque containers (such as 35mm film canisters)
• Five cotton balls and aromatic items. (See the “Prep for Teachers” section for details.)

Note: For a large class, you can prepare more than 5 containers and cotton balls. See the “Prep for Teachers” section for details.

• Labels or small pieces of paper and tape (to label the containers)
• A photograph of a Bloodhound (If you need a photograph, go to the American Kennel Club’s Bloodhound page.)
• One computer for the teacher with a digital projection system and internet access
• One copy of the “Dogs’ Work” Student Organizer Answer Key for the teacher

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Compare human and dog senses;
• Provide details about how dogs use their senses of smell and hearing to help humans;
• Discuss different ways that dogs help humans;
• Describe tasks performed by sheep dogs, sled dogs and service dogs;
• Describe different skills of different breeds of dogs;
• Explain how a dogs’ features (body, head, tail, etc.) can be advantageous for specific environments and tasks.
• Provide examples of heroic acts performed by dogs;
• Discuss why dogs are referred to as “man’s best friend.”

Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and Web sites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as del.icio.us or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Prepare containers and cotton balls for the sniff test:

o       Pre-soak at least 5 cotton balls with common scents. Possible scents include: lemon, orange, pizza sauce, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, garlic “juice” squeezed from a clove, cinnamon, etc.

o        Place each cotton ball in one of the clearly-labeled, small, identical, opaque containers, making sure only to put one cotton ball in each container.

o       Place a label on each container. Write a different number, from 1to 5, on each label.

Note: During the “sniff test” activity in the lesson, you will be dividing the students into groups and giving each group one container at a time. If you have a large class, feel free to prepare more than 5 cotton balls. Make sure to have the corresponding number of containers and labels.

Make a copy of the “Dogs’ Work” Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)for each student.

Make one copy of the “Dogs’ Work” Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF) for the teacher.

Proceed to ACTIVITIES

These brief video segments can be used alone or in combination, to introduce a topic or to spark discussion among your students. The video segments can be adapted for any grade level – suggested focus questions are provided. Stream the video segments from the playlist below, or scroll to the bottom of the page to find downloadable QuickTime versions of the videos. These videos are also used in the lesson plan Man’s Best Friend (grades 5-8).

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Clip 1: Dog Sense

Clip 2: Sled Dogs

Clip 3: Moving Sheep

Clip 4: Delta