Merritt Bree L, O'Neill Dan G, Brand Claire L, Belshaw Zoe, Dale Fiona C, Pegram Camilla L, Packer Rowena M A
Department of Clinical Science and Services, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Herts, United Kingdom.
Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Herts, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2025 Feb 12;20(2):e0316166. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316166. eCollection 2025.
The owner-dog relationship is a critical component of sustained dog ownership. Increased understanding of risk factors for weak owner-dog relationships can identify owner-dog dyads at higher risk of poor welfare outcomes, including dog relinquishment and euthanasia. The internationally documented boom in puppy acquisition during the COVID-19 pandemic led to welfare concerns for this cohort of dogs, including impulsive purchasing of puppies to unsuitable homes, increased supply of puppies from poor-welfare sources, and deficits in early-life experiences for puppies. Combined, these changes were feared to lead to problem behaviours, weak owner-dog relationships and increased future relinquishment in this uniquely vulnerable generation. The Pandemic Puppies project longitudinally studied dogs bought as puppies aged < 16-weeks old during the 2020 phase of the COVID-19 pandemic by collecting owner-completed data during puppyhood and as adults. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with the owner-dog relationship in early-adulthood via a cross-sectional analysis of a subset of Pandemic Puppies data (n = 794). When dogs were 21-months old owners completed the Monash Dog-Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS), from which the Perceived Emotional Closeness (Closeness) and Perceived Costs subscales were established as reliable in this sample and were used as outcome variables in multivariable analyses to explore risk factors such as health, behaviour, and acquisition-related variables. Problem behaviours, including those related to lack of control, fear, separation, and aggression were the predominant risk factors associated with increased Perceived Costs score. The presence of most problem behaviours was not associated with reduced Closeness, suggesting a potential source of emotional conflict for owners. However, owners of dogs showing aggressive behaviours had lower Closeness scores. Puppy acquisitions explicitly motivated by the pandemic were associated with increased Perceived Costs. Support interventions targeted at owners of dogs with problem behaviours are of high importance if positive owner-dog relationships are to be maintained.
主人与狗的关系是持续养狗的一个关键组成部分。对导致主人与狗关系薄弱的风险因素有更多了解，有助于识别那些福利结果较差风险更高的主人与狗的配对，这些结果包括狗被遗弃和安乐死。国际上有记录显示，在新冠疫情期间小狗购买量激增，这引发了对这批狗的福利担忧，包括冲动地将小狗卖给不合适的家庭、来自福利状况不佳来源的小狗供应量增加，以及小狗早期生活经历的缺失。综合起来，人们担心这些变化会导致问题行为、主人与狗的关系薄弱，以及在这一特别脆弱的一代中未来被遗弃的情况增加。“疫情小狗”项目对在2020年新冠疫情阶段购买的年龄小于16周的幼犬进行了纵向研究，通过在幼犬期和成年期收集主人填写的数据。本研究旨在通过对“疫情小狗”数据子集（n = 794）进行横断面分析，调查成年早期与主人和狗的关系相关的因素。当狗21个月大时，主人完成了莫纳什人与狗关系量表（MDORS），在这个样本中，感知情感亲密程度（亲密程度）和感知成本分量表被确定为可靠的，并在多变量分析中用作结果变量，以探索健康、行为和与购买相关的变量等风险因素。问题行为，包括那些与缺乏控制、恐惧、分离和攻击性相关的行为，是与感知成本得分增加相关的主要风险因素。大多数问题行为的存在与亲密程度降低无关，这表明这可能是主人情感冲突的一个潜在来源。然而，表现出攻击行为的狗的主人亲密程度得分较低。因疫情而明确产生的购买幼犬行为与感知成本增加有关。如果要维持积极的主人与狗的关系，针对有问题行为的狗的主人的支持干预措施非常重要。
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