The Good, the Bad, the Helpful: Qualitative Exploration of the Australian Puppy-Raising Experience Through Longitudinal Surveys

Costa, Ana Goncalves; Nielsen, Torben; Christley, Robert; Hazel, Susan

doi:10.1080/08927936.2023.2238435

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Notably, these components align with the factors identified in our study, specifically Anxiety and Weariness. Another qualitative study delved into the experiences of 19 Australian puppy owners, revealing narratives that not only emphasized positive aspects but also brought to light challenges faced by puppy owners, including struggles to manage conflicting demands on their time, concerns about the puppy's health and safety, and feelings of regret 9 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Caring for and raising a puppy is generally a happy event but can be stressful and burdensome for many people and evoke negative thoughts and feelings towards oneself and the puppy. Drawing from two recent qualitative studies, emerging evidence suggests that puppy owners may undergo "puppy blues", encompassing feelings of emotional strain, anxiety about responsibility, and challenges in adapting to the changes brought by a new puppy 9,10 . As many dog owners consider their dogs to be a part of the family 11,12 , owners of puppies may encounter similar challenges and outcomes found in parents of infants.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…While the individual and public health impacts of postpartum affective disturbance are relatively well-established, dysphoric episodes have been only minimally explored in individuals who provide care for a puppy. The term "puppy blues" has gained recognition in scientific literature only since 2023 through two qualitative studies, despite its prevalent use among dog owners 9,10 . Although tools have been developed to assess postpartum affective disturbance, to our knowledge, there is currently no tool for detecting and examining this problem in interspecies relations, leading to a limited understanding of the characteristics of the puppy blues.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Development and validation of the puppy blues scale measuring temporary affective disturbance resembling baby blues

Ståhl,

Salonen,

Hakanen

et al. 2024

npj Mental Health Res

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It has been described that many puppy owners experience a state called puppy blues involving stress, worry, anxiety, strain, frustration, or regret. While puppy blues is a commonly used term among dog owners, the term is nearly nonexistent in scientific literature. In turn, analogous phenomenon, postpartum affective disturbance of infant caregivers, is well described in the literature. This study aimed to develop and validate the first questionnaire to evaluate puppy blues. The methodology involved generating scale items based on a qualitative review of 135 pilot survey responses from people who had experienced distress during the puppy period, conducting exploratory factor analysis for the final scale items from a dataset of 1801 answers from Finnish dog owners (92% women), and collecting test-retest data from 265 individuals to assess the consistency of the measurement of items and factor structure across time. In addition, we collected an independent sample of 326 owners of 1–2-year-old dogs who answered the survey both regarding puppy period and current moment. The results indicate that the scale is a valid and reliable tool for measuring dog owners’ negative experiences and feelings related to puppyhood. We discovered three factors that describe different aspects of puppy blues: Frustration, Anxiety, and Weariness, which accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in puppy blues. The study demonstrated good internal consistency and consistency across two independent samples for the three identified factors. The test-retest reliability of the factors was good. Responses for the current timeframe compared to puppyhood experiences revealed significantly lower current scores across all factors for the current period, validating that the scale captures distress during puppyhood that diminishes over time. Interestingly, we found a fading affect bias where recollections of the experiences in the puppy period became more positive with time. Our findings shed light on the characteristics of puppy blues and provide a useful retrospective tool for measuring it.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Development and validation of the puppy blues scale measuring temporary affective disturbance resembling baby blues

Ståhl,

Salonen,

Hakanen

et al. 2024

npj Mental Health Res

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Consumer willingness to buy and pay for dog-human companionship: a combination of SEM and NCA approaches

Rishi,

Shiva,

Israney

2024

APJML

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PurposeThe phenomenal growth in dog ownership, dog-related products and services consumption, and the development of the pet industry emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of dog-human companionship. This study explored different dimensions of willingness to buy and pay for dog-human companionship.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted among dog owners (N = 337). The data was collected from the dog owners through an adapted questionnaire. Variance-based Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to understand the relationship among the variables under study.FindingsThe results of the data analysis revealed that specialty purchases and activity/youth had a significant association with willingness to pay for dog companionship. However, boundaries predict the willingness to buy products and services related to dogs. In addition, there was a significant difference between males and females regarding buying intentions, wherein females were willing to buy dog products in the Indian context.Originality/valueThis study provides significant dimensions of willingness to buy and pay for the pet industry. The results of this study can help managers draft marketing strategies to influence dog owners.

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The Good, the Bad, the Helpful: Qualitative Exploration of the Australian Puppy-Raising Experience Through Longitudinal Surveys

Cited by 2 publications

References 44 publications

Development and validation of the puppy blues scale measuring temporary affective disturbance resembling baby blues

Development and validation of the puppy blues scale measuring temporary affective disturbance resembling baby blues

Consumer willingness to buy and pay for dog-human companionship: a combination of SEM and NCA approaches

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