Human-Dog Interactions
In this section, we look at how attitudes and factors related to human-dog interactions impact health, well-being and welfare of dogs.
5 articles in this category
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This paper: "Owner-companion dog interactions: Relationships between demographic variables, potentially problematic behaviours,training engagement and shared activities", by Pauleen Bennett and Vanessa Rohlf from the Animal Welfare Science Centre, Department of Psychology,at Monash University in Australia shows influences on perceived behaviour problems by factors such as family dynamics and owner engagement. The discussion is frank about the limitations of the sample and study, but the findings- When it comes to health and behaviour, well-being and welfare, it may be as much or more about the humans who are responsible for dogs rather than the dogs themselves. The complex and rich interactions between people and pets must be borne in mind whenever we discuss issues of health and disease or behaviour problems.
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Within the talk, topics of health and longevity are illustrated with population-level statistics from Agria Animal Insurance in Sweden (they insure over 300,000 dog, 250,000 cats and about 100,000 horses on a yearly basis. See the DogWellNet.com category 'Population Data on Dogs' http://dogwellnet.com/content/population-statistics/general-principles/population-data-general-principles-r16/ for more information). See the article Companion Animal Health and Longevity : Interplay with human-animal- Author: Dr. Brenda Bonnett, DVM, PhD (note: prior to current role as CEO, IPFD)
This pdf file is assembled from slides from various presentations I have made to veterinarians, researchers and those interested in human-animal interactions. Too often we talk separately about 'health' or 'welfare' or issues of human-animal interactions. I think these issues are closely inter-related and we need to view them holistically.
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See her presentation. How Beliefs and Attitudes about Dog Health and Welfare Limit Behaviour Change PDF: Don’t Know or Don’t Care_Bonnett_Sandoe_2016 HumanBehaviourChangeConference All presentations from the conference are available from HBCAW's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEIBUgPge7eZmgr1toX4JOQ Website: Human Behaviour Change for Anima- Among the presenters at The First International Conference on Human Behaviour Change for Animal Welfare held in Dorking, Surrey, UK from September 19-21st was IPFD's Dr. Brenda Bonnett.
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Abstract "A number of dog breeds suffer from welfare problems due to extreme phenotypes and high levels of inherited diseases but the popularity of such breeds is not declining. Using a survey of owners of two popular breeds with extreme physical features (French Bulldog and Chihuahua), one with a high load of inherited diseases not directly related to conformation (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), and one representing the same size range but without extreme conformation and with the same level- A representative study of Danish owners of four small dog breeds P. Sandøe, S. V. Kondrup1, P. C. Bennett, B. Forkman, I Meyer, H. F. Proschowsky,J. A. Serpell, T. B. Lund This newly published peer-reviewed research is available in DWN Downloads.
- external link: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0172091.t001
"An array of previous studies thus indicates that both physical and behavioral attributes of dogs may have an impact on how attractive a specific breed or breed characteristic is perceived to be. However, as far as we are aware, no previous study has investigated the motivational patterns behind peoples' choices between dog breeds, or how these relate to the quality of the relationship between owners and dogs of specific breeds. To address this issue, we surveyed a representative sample of owners of four different breeds of dogs (two with extreme phenotypes, one with a high load of inherited diseases and one relatively healthy) with the overall goal of examining their motivations for acquiring their dog, the health and behavior problems encountered, and the quality of relationships between the dog owners and their dogs."
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See a write up on the research..."Misbehaving dogs die young" at RVC. - Pay for access to the research paper- http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/ufaw/aw/2018/00000027/00000003/art00006 Boyd, C; Jarvis, S; McGreevy, Pd; Heath, S; Church, Db; Brodbelt, Dc; O’Neill, Dg, Mortality resulting from undesirable behaviours in dogs aged under three years attending primary-care veterinary practices in England, Animal Welfare, Volume 27, Number 3, 1 August 2018, pp. 251-262(12)- Abstract
Undesirable behaviours (UBs) are common in dogs and can jeopardise animal and human health, leading to dog abandonment and euthanasia. Dogs exhibiting UBs may have compromised welfare from underlying emotional motivations for the behaviour (eg anxiety) or from the methods used by owners to resolve the problem (eg aversive techniques). The objective of this study was to estimate proportional mortality due to UBs and risk factors for death due to UBs, including death from road traffic accidents, in dogs under three years of age attending primary-care veterinary practices in England from 2009‐2014. Cases were identified by searching de-identified electronic patient records from primary-care veterinary practices participating in the VetCompass Programme. The findings highlight that dogs under three years of age are at a proportionately high risk of death due to UBs (33.7%) compared with other specific causes of death (eg gastrointestinal issues: 14.5%). Male dogs had 1.40× the odds of death from UB compared with females. The proportional mortality from UB for male dogs where information on the cause of death was available was 0.41. Neutered dogs had 1.94× the odds of death due to a UB compared with entire dogs. Aggression was the most prevalent UB overall. Veterinarians had recommended referral in 10.3% of cases where dogs died due to exhibiting a UB and had dispensed nutraceutical, pheromone or pharmacological treatment to 3.0% of the UB cases that died. This study shows that undesirable behaviours require better preventive measures and treatment, through further research and education of veterinarians, other professionals within the dog industry and owners.
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