The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a cohort of Labrador retrievers in England

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have affected the welfare and health of dogs due to surges in adoptions and purchases, changes in the physical and mental health and financial status of dog owners, changes in dogs’ lifestyle and routines and limited access to veterinary care. The aims of this study were to investigate whether COVID-19 restrictions were associated with differences in Labrador retrievers’ lifestyle, routine care, insurance status, illness incidence or veterinary attendance with an illness, who were living in England and enrolled in Dogslife, an owner-based cohort study. Longitudinal questionnaire data from Dogslife that was relevant to the dates between the 23rd of March and the 4th of July 2020, during COVID-19 restrictions in England, were compared to data between the same dates in previous years from 2011 to 2019 using mixed regression models and adjusted chi-squared tests. Results Compared with previous years (March 23rd to July 4th, 2010 to 2019), the COVID-19 restrictions study period (March 23rd to July 4th 2020) was associated with owners reporting increases in their dogs’ exercise and worming and decreases in insurance, titbit-feeding and vaccination. Odds of owners reporting that their dogs had an episode of coughing (0.20, 95% CI: 0.04–0.92) and that they took their dogs to a veterinarian with an episode of any illness (0.58, 95% CI: 0.45–0.76) were lower during the COVID-19 restrictions compared to before. During the restrictions period, owners were less likely to report that they took their dogs to a veterinarian with certain other illnesses, compared to before this period. Conclusions Dogslife provided a unique opportunity to study prospective questionnaire data from owners already enrolled on a longitudinal cohort study. This approach minimised bias associated with recalling events prior to the pandemic and allowed a wider population of dogs to be studied than is available from primary care data. Distinctive insights into owners’ decision making about their dogs’ healthcare were offered. There are clear implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions for the lifestyle, care and health of dogs.

The Well-Being of Companion Animal Caregivers and Their Companion Animals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review

“…Animals getting more exercise Boardman and Farnworth [84]; Dogs Trust [102]; Esam et al [106]; Lee et al [135]; Oliva and Johnston [153]; Woolley et al [187] Decreased reactivity Boardman and Farnworth [84] More opportunities for training Dogs Trust [102]; Esam et al [106]; Shoesmith et al [176] More pleasant walks for reactive dogs with less people around Dogs Trust [102]; Owczarczak-Garstecka et al [156] Safer to be outside as less traffic around Esam et al [106] Aquariums better maintained than previously and had more money spent on them…”

“…One study suggested behavioral problems were reduced [164]. Animals' physical health was not typically perceived to have changed, although Woolley et al [187] did report decreased odds of episodes of coughing in dogs. Six studies suggested animals got more exercise [84,102,106,135,153,187], and three studies suggested there were more opportunities for training [102,106,176].…”

“…Animals' physical health was not typically perceived to have changed, although Woolley et al [187] did report decreased odds of episodes of coughing in dogs. Six studies suggested animals got more exercise [84,102,106,135,153,187], and three studies suggested there were more opportunities for training [102,106,176]. Walks for dogs were described to be more pleasant for reactive dogs, as there were fewer people around [102,156] and safer due to less traffic [106].…”

“…Participants in three studies specifically described fears of not being able to access medication for their animals [75,87,156] and twenty-seven studies described difficulties accessing, or concerns about accessing, veterinary care [75,77,79,81,86,87,90,97,98,102,106,[121][122][123]126,128,129,145,154,156,165,177,178,184,186,188,190]. Due to concerns about access to veterinary care, some reported concerns about vaccinations lapsing [184]; indeed, Woolley et al [187] found reduced rates of vaccination during lockdown. Three studies described concerns about reduced access to professional grooming services [75,97,156], and participants in ten studies reported challenges around walking/exercising animals [81,87,97,106,121,131,140,154,165,…”

“…[90]; Esam et al[106]; Martinez-Caja et al[140]; Shoesmith et al[176] Animals perceived to be less stressed Platto et al[164] (exception of cats)Behavioral problems reduced Platto et al[164] Decreased coughing in animals Woolley et al[187] …”