Holland Katrina E, Owczarczak-Garstecka Sara C, Anderson Katharine L, Casey Rachel A, Christley Robert M, Harris Lauren, McMillan Kirsten M, Mead Rebecca, Murray Jane K, Samet Lauren, Upjohn Melissa M
Dogs Trust, London EC1V 7RQ, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Jan 19;11(1):240. doi: 10.3390/ani11010240.
On 23 March 2020, the UK Government imposed a nationwide lockdown as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. This study aimed to explore how the experience of dog ownership in the UK was impacted during this lockdown. Data for this research came from open-ended survey questions and an electronic diary completed by members of the general public and participants involved in "Generation Pup", an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of dogs. A total of 10,510 free-text entries were analysed. Three major themes emerged: spending time at home with dog(s), walking practices, and behaviour and training. Owners valued having more time than usual with their dog(s) but also recognised that spending extra time with their dog(s) may negatively impact on the dog's future ability to cope when left alone. However, very few owners provided alone time for their dog(s) during the lockdown. The opportunity to walk their dog(s) as part of their permitted daily exercise was regarded positively, but walks under the lockdown guidelines were not always felt to be adequate with respect to providing sufficient exercise and opportunities for interaction with other dogs. Owners reported observing new undesirable behaviours in their dog(s) during the lockdown, including barking and dogs being "clingy" or vocalising when briefly left alone. Based on these findings, we suggest intervention strategies to best support dog welfare that include helping dog owners to teach dogs to cope with being alone, even if owners do not need to leave their dogs alone.
2020年3月23日，英国政府实施了全国范围的封锁措施，作为减轻新冠疫情影响努力的一部分。本研究旨在探讨在此次封锁期间，英国养狗体验受到了怎样的影响。本研究的数据来自开放式调查问卷以及由普通公众和参与“幼犬世代”（一项正在进行的关于狗的纵向队列研究）的参与者填写的电子日记。总共分析了10510条自由文本记录。出现了三个主要主题：与狗在家共度时光、遛狗习惯以及行为和训练。狗主人重视有比平常更多的时间陪伴自己的狗，但也认识到与狗共度额外时间可能会对狗未来独自在家时的应对能力产生负面影响。然而，在封锁期间，很少有主人给狗留出独处时间。作为允许的日常锻炼的一部分去遛狗的机会被给予了积极评价，但按照封锁规定进行的散步在提供足够锻炼以及与其他狗互动的机会方面，人们并不总是觉得足够。狗主人报告称，在封锁期间观察到他们的狗出现了新的不良行为，包括吠叫以及狗在被短暂单独留下时变得“黏人”或发出叫声。基于这些发现，我们提出了一些最佳支持犬类福利的干预策略，包括帮助狗主人教导狗如何应对独处，即使主人不需要让狗独自待着。
