Separation-related behaviours (SRBs), including but not limited to vocalisation, pacing, destruction and toileting, occur in the absence of human company. As well as being problematic for the dogs’ owners, such behaviours indicate that the dogs’ emotional state is compromised. As part of the COVID-19 pandemic, time spent alone decreased considerably for many pet dogs, leading to concerns about the development of SRBs when dogs are left alone more again. The main aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that dogs whose time left alone decreased most (compared to a February 2020 pre-COVID baseline) would be at greatest risk of developing new signs of SRB when time left alone increased again. To achieve this aim, we utilised survey data gathered from dog owners between 4th May and 3rd July 2020, during the first COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ period in the United Kingdom (UK), and a follow-up survey of the same dog-owner cohort, completed when restrictions had eased between 10th October and 2nd November 2020. Individual dogs fluctuated considerably in whether they showed signs of SRB or not across the study period (n = 1807). Overall, the prevalence of SRB in the population decreased from 22.1% to 17.2%, as did the time dogs were left alone for between February and October 2020. However, 9.9% of dogs had developed new signs of SRB by the follow-up survey in October 2020, with dogs whose leaving hours decreased most during lockdown restrictions being at increased risk of developing SRBs. These findings have implications for our understanding of the etiology of SRB, by showing a link between changes in owner routine and SRB risk.
Owners’ understanding of dog behaviour influences dog welfare. This study aimed to investigate owners’ experiences of living with dogs and perceptions of dog behaviour/behaviour change. Data from an ongoing UK/ROI longitudinal study of dogs were used. Open-ended survey data (n = 3577 comments, n = 1808 dogs) when dogs were 12/16 weeks (data combined), 6, 12, 18 and 24 months were analysed to cover the dog’s puppyhood/adolescence. To evaluate the usefulness of open-ended survey questions, both quantitative textual and qualitative thematic analyses were employed. Textual analysis identified an overall positive sentiment at all timepoints; the proportion of positive: negative sentiments increased with the dog’s age. Words related to ‘love’ were the most frequent descriptors at all but the first timepoint, when ‘bite’ was the most frequent descriptor. Qualitative analysis helped to identify that owners attribute dog behaviour to ‘Dog’s biology’, ‘Personality/deliberate action’ and ‘External influences’. Analysis of open-ended survey responses helped to identify changes in perception over time. When dogs were young, owners described problematic behaviours as ‘mischievous’, unintentional and context-specific. Similar behaviours shown by older dogs were seen as ‘deliberate’. Both positive and negative experiences of dog ownership were identified. However, as not all respondents answered open-ended questions, the generalisability of our findings is limited.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.