Holland Katrina E, Mead Rebecca, Casey Rachel A, Upjohn Melissa M, Christley Robert M
Canine Behaviour and Research, Dogs Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 May 10;9:877950. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.877950. eCollection 2022.
With an estimated 12. 5 million dogs in the UK alone, many people acquire a dog at some point during their lives. However, there are gaps in understanding about why UK owners decide to get dogs. Using a mixed-methods convergent design, this study identified the reasoning behind dog acquisition in a sample of UK current and prospective owners. An online survey of current ( = 8,050) and potential ( = 2,884) dog owners collected quantitative and qualitative data. Current owners were asked about the acquisition of their most recently acquired dog, whilst potential owners were asked about their dog ownership aspirations. Additional qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with current ( = 166) and potential ( = 10) dog owners. Interviews focused on the factors that affected why and how people acquire dogs. Of survey responses, companionship for the respondent was the most common reason for wanting to get a dog, reported by 79.4 and 87.8% of current and potential owners, respectively. Facilitating exercise was reported as a reason for wanting to get a dog by 48.2 and 69.7% of current and potential owners, respectively. There were significant differences between current and potential owners in their likelihood of reporting pre-defined reasons, factors and influences involved in their decision to get a dog. Compared to current owners, potential owners were significantly more likely to report being motivated by most of the survey response options offered (including companionship for themselves or other adults in the household, helping a dog in need, lifestyle changes and previous experiences of meeting dogs), suggesting that current ownership status may affect experience and/or reporting expectations around dog ownership. Reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative data confirmed the importance of these motivations and identified additional reasons and factors that drive dog acquisition. These were organized into three overarching themes: , and . These findings provide insights into owners' expectations of ownership which may inform the development of interventions to support potential owners' decision-making around acquisition to maximize both dog and human welfare.
仅在英国就估计有1250万只狗，许多人在人生的某个阶段会养一只狗。然而，对于英国养狗人决定养狗的原因，人们的理解还存在差距。本研究采用混合方法收敛设计，在英国当前和未来养狗人的样本中确定了养狗背后的原因。对8050名当前养狗人和2884名潜在养狗人进行了在线调查，收集了定量和定性数据。当前养狗人被问及他们最近养的狗的情况，而潜在养狗人则被问及他们养狗的愿望。通过对166名当前养狗人和10名潜在养狗人进行半结构化访谈，收集了更多定性数据。访谈聚焦于影响人们养狗原因和方式的因素。在调查回复中，陪伴受访者是想要养狗的最常见原因，分别有79.4%的当前养狗人和87.8% 的潜在养狗人提到这一点。分别有48.2%的当前养狗人和69.7%的潜在养狗人表示，促使他们养狗的原因是方便锻炼。在报告养狗决定中涉及的预定义原因、因素和影响方面，当前养狗人和潜在养狗人之间存在显著差异。与当前养狗人相比，潜在养狗人更有可能表示受到所提供的大多数调查回复选项的激励（包括陪伴自己或家中其他成年人、帮助有需要的狗、生活方式改变以及以前与狗接触的经历），这表明当前的养狗状态可能会影响围绕养狗的体验和/或报告期望。对定性数据的反思性主题分析证实了这些动机的重要性，并确定了推动养狗行为的其他原因和因素。这些被归纳为三个总体主题： 、 和 。这些发现为养狗人对养狗的期望提供了见解，这可能为制定干预措施提供参考，以支持潜在养狗人在养狗决策过程中最大化狗和人类的福利。
