Association between puppy classes and adulthood behavior of the dog

On 23 March 2020, the UK Government imposed a nationwide lockdown as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. This study aimed to explore how the experience of dog ownership in the UK was impacted during this lockdown. Data for this research came from open-ended survey questions and an electronic diary completed by members of the general public and participants involved in “Generation Pup”, an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of dogs. A total of 10,510 free-text entries were analysed. Three major themes emerged: spending time at home with dog(s), walking practices, and behaviour and training. Owners valued having more time than usual with their dog(s) but also recognised that spending extra time with their dog(s) may negatively impact on the dog’s future ability to cope when left alone. However, very few owners provided alone time for their dog(s) during the lockdown. The opportunity to walk their dog(s) as part of their permitted daily exercise was regarded positively, but walks under the lockdown guidelines were not always felt to be adequate with respect to providing sufficient exercise and opportunities for interaction with other dogs. Owners reported observing new undesirable behaviours in their dog(s) during the lockdown, including barking and dogs being “clingy” or vocalising when briefly left alone. Based on these findings, we suggest intervention strategies to best support dog welfare that include helping dog owners to teach dogs to cope with being alone, even if owners do not need to leave their dogs alone.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“More Attention than Usual”: A Thematic Analysis of Dog Ownership Experiences in the UK during the First COVID-19 Lockdown

Holland

Owczarczak‐Garstecka

Anderson

et al. 2021

“…This suggests that offering advice services at point of relinquishment request could make an important contribution to reducing relinquishment due to behavioural problems but will not suit all owner-dog dyads. A suite of services including free or low-cost dog training classes [39,40] and pro-active behaviour advice at veterinary appointments [41] may need to be considered to truly be effective at reducing behaviour-based relinquishment.…”

Section: Advice Acceptancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A training class environment could create an opportunity for owners to get advice on behaviour problems whilst also providing opportunities for socialisation which in turn may reduce other behaviour problems. Studies have demonstrated that attending puppy training classes has the potential to reduce future levels of behaviour problems [40,44] and risk of future relinquishment [39].…”

Section: Behaviour Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Dog Relinquishment to Rescue Centres Due to Behaviour Problems: Identifying Cases to Target with an Advice Intervention at the Point of Relinquishment Request

Powdrill-Wells¹,

Taylor

Melfi

2021

Behaviour problems are a leading reason for dogs being relinquished to rescue centres across the world every year. The aim of this study was to investigate whether free behavioural advice would be accepted at the point of an owner requesting to relinquish their dog for behavioural reasons. The call records of 1131 relinquishment requests were reviewed and analysed to establish if the offer of free behaviour advice was accepted. The results showed that advice was accepted in 24.4% of relinquishment requests and behavioural problem was a significant predictor of whether advice was accepted (p < 0.001). The odds of advice being accepted were 5.755 times (95% CI: 2.835–11.681; p < 0.001) greater for a relinquishment request due to problems with general management behaviours compared to aggression between dogs in the home, representing 4.2% and 20.2% of overall relinquishment requests. These data suggest that owners are prepared to accept behaviour advice at the point of relinquishment request, so advice interventions could have potential to impact the levels of dog relinquishment to rescue centres. The impact of an intervention offering behaviour advice may be limited by overall levels of advice acceptance by owners and therefore complimentary proactive solutions to reduce behavioural relinquishments should also be considered.

“…The learning process further influences behavior through trial and error [ 2 ]. Dog owners intervene proactively in this process by enlisting the help of dog trainers to teach them how to reinforce desired behaviors and suppress unwanted behaviors through antecedent management and structured lessons [ 3 , 4 ]. Most agree that dog owners (guardians) who learn and employ best practices rooted in reward-based training for managing and preventing undesired behaviors in dogs establish a more trusting and prolonged relationship [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, there is a paucity of evidence that training and socialization of puppies in the first 6 months of life is effective in reducing behavior problems [ 10 ]. In a relatively small retrospective study, Gonzalez-Martinez [ 4 ] found that puppies and juveniles that had attended classes had more favorable scores for family-dog aggression, trainability, nonsocial fear, and touch sensitivity. That study did not distinguish the behavioral consequences of early (<3 months) and later (3–6 months) puppy training and only positive (reward-based) training was employed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Investigation into the Impact of Pre-Adolescent Training on Canine Behavior

Dinwoodie

Zottola²,

Dodman

2021

An online survey about puppy training was sent to members of the Center for Canine Behavior Studies and posted on our social media platforms. Six hundred forty-one (641) qualifying owners provided information on 1023 dogs. About half (48%) of the dogs involved in the study attended puppy training and the balance (52%) did not. The goal of the study was to find out whether puppy training at various ages (1–3 months, 4 months, 5–6 months) helped prevent behavior problems later in life (≥1 year). Attending training at 6 months of age or younger resulted in 0.71 the odds of developing aggressive behavior (95% CI: 0.53–0.97; p = 0.030), 0.64 the odds of having a compulsive behavior (95% CI: 0.45–0.92; p = 0.015), 0.60 the odds of exhibiting destructive behavior (95% CI: 0.37–0.96; p = 0.035), 0.68 the odds of excessive barking (95% CI: 0.47–0.99; p = 0.043), and 1.56 the odds of house soiling (95% CI: 1.08–2.27; p = 0.019). Ancillary findings about the entire study population were that dogs acquired at 12 weeks of age or younger were found to have 0.65 the odds of fear/anxiety (95% CI: 0.46–0.92; p = 0.016) and 0.50 the odds of exhibiting destructive behavior (95% CI: 0.31–0.79; p = 0.003). In addition, male dogs were found to have 0.68 the odds of developing aggressive behavior (95% CI: 0.53–0.88; p = 0.003), 0.66 the odds of developing compulsive behavior (95% CI: 0.49–0.88; p = 0.006), 0.37 the odds of mounting/humping (95% CI: 0.26–0.52; p < 0.001), and 1.53 the odds of rolling in repulsive materials (95% CI: 1.18–1.97; p = 0.001). Neutered dogs of either sex were found to have 3.10 the odds of fear/anxiety (95% CI: 2.05–4.72; p < 0.001), 1.97 the odds of escaping/running away (95% CI: 1.12–3.69; p = 0.025), 2.01 the odds of exhibiting coprophagia (95% CI 1.30–3.19; p = 0.002), and 1.72 the odds of rolling in repulsive materials (95% CI: 1.12–2.66; p = 0.014). The odds of problematic jumping deceased by 0.84 for each 1-year increase in age (95% CI: 0.80–0.88; p < 0.001).