Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption
Personal likes, experience, and deep-rooted interests to satisfy emotional needs such as companionship, affection, empathy, and security are some of the underlying human motivations for acquiring a pet companion. In this study, we asked how long the owner took to decide whether to adopt a dog, who t...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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Series: | Animals |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/17/2264 |
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author | Ian R. Dinwoodie Vivian Zottola Karla Kubitz Nicholas H. Dodman |
author_facet | Ian R. Dinwoodie Vivian Zottola Karla Kubitz Nicholas H. Dodman |
author_sort | Ian R. Dinwoodie |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Personal likes, experience, and deep-rooted interests to satisfy emotional needs such as companionship, affection, empathy, and security are some of the underlying human motivations for acquiring a pet companion. In this study, we asked how long the owner took to decide whether to adopt a dog, who their dog was adopted from, their primary motivation for adoption, a ranking of characteristics considered during the adoption process, and how satisfied they were with the eventual outcome. Participants (<i>n</i> = 933) to this Center for Canine Behavior Studies survey completed an online questionnaire with responses representing 1537 dog/owner pairs. A majority of participants reported satisfaction with at least one of their adopted dogs. Odds of eventual satisfaction are higher for participants who spent less than a week considering an adoption or were seeking a pet to provide companionship and affection. Participants that prioritized personality as an adoption criteria were more likely to be satisfied with their adopted dogs. A mast majority (91%) of participants reported they would consider adopting another dog in the future. Selection criteria rankings that participants indicated they would employ for future adoptions tended to shift away from physical to behavior characteristics when compared to selection criteria priorities of prior adoptions. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:06:24Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-338c18b2c5f243e884a4bda55517dcc8 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2076-2615 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:06:24Z |
publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Animals |
spelling | doaj.art-338c18b2c5f243e884a4bda55517dcc82023-11-23T12:38:01ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-09-011217226410.3390/ani12172264Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog AdoptionIan R. Dinwoodie0Vivian Zottola1Karla Kubitz2Nicholas H. Dodman3Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USACenter for Canine Behavior Studies, Salisbury, CT 06068, USACenter for Canine Behavior Studies, Salisbury, CT 06068, USACummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USAPersonal likes, experience, and deep-rooted interests to satisfy emotional needs such as companionship, affection, empathy, and security are some of the underlying human motivations for acquiring a pet companion. In this study, we asked how long the owner took to decide whether to adopt a dog, who their dog was adopted from, their primary motivation for adoption, a ranking of characteristics considered during the adoption process, and how satisfied they were with the eventual outcome. Participants (<i>n</i> = 933) to this Center for Canine Behavior Studies survey completed an online questionnaire with responses representing 1537 dog/owner pairs. A majority of participants reported satisfaction with at least one of their adopted dogs. Odds of eventual satisfaction are higher for participants who spent less than a week considering an adoption or were seeking a pet to provide companionship and affection. Participants that prioritized personality as an adoption criteria were more likely to be satisfied with their adopted dogs. A mast majority (91%) of participants reported they would consider adopting another dog in the future. Selection criteria rankings that participants indicated they would employ for future adoptions tended to shift away from physical to behavior characteristics when compared to selection criteria priorities of prior adoptions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/17/2264dogsadoptionsurveybehaviorexpectations |
spellingShingle | Ian R. Dinwoodie Vivian Zottola Karla Kubitz Nicholas H. Dodman Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption Animals dogs adoption survey behavior expectations |
title | Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption |
title_full | Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption |
title_fullStr | Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption |
title_full_unstemmed | Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption |
title_short | Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption |
title_sort | selection factors influencing eventual owner satisfaction about pet dog adoption |
topic | dogs adoption survey behavior expectations |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/17/2264 |
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