Investigation into owner-reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into Canada

Over 1 million dogs are imported into the United States and roughly 340,000 dogs into the United Kingdom yearly. Although the official number of dogs arriving to Canada is currently unknown, local animal professionals estimate that thousands of dogs are imported into Canada each year. Dog importatio...

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Main Authors: Kai Alain von Rentzell, Karen van Haaften, Amy Morris, Alexandra Protopopova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9200170/?tool=EBI
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author Kai Alain von Rentzell
Karen van Haaften
Amy Morris
Alexandra Protopopova
author_facet Kai Alain von Rentzell
Karen van Haaften
Amy Morris
Alexandra Protopopova
author_sort Kai Alain von Rentzell
collection DOAJ
description Over 1 million dogs are imported into the United States and roughly 340,000 dogs into the United Kingdom yearly. Although the official number of dogs arriving to Canada is currently unknown, local animal professionals estimate that thousands of dogs are imported into Canada each year. Dog importation may be increasing globally while regulation and surveillance are still limited, resulting in concerns for the health and welfare of imported dogs. To date, few studies have investigated how the source location of dogs influences the owner-dog relationship. The current report presents two independent studies that were conducted to assess whether owners of imported dogs reported a poorer owner-dog relationships compared to owners of Canadian-born dogs. In both studies, an online survey was distributed to dog owners (Study 1: n = 803; Study 2: n = 878) in British Columbia, Canada, containing questions on various aspects of the owner-dog relationship. The first study included questions from the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale, Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire, Human-Animal Bond questionnaire, Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale, and constructed questions about training methods, expectations, and health. The second study was comprised of original questions assessing difficult behaviour, training practices, health, attachment, and perceived level of burden of owning a dog. Both studies found no evidence of a poorer owner-dog relationship in non-Canadian-sourced dogs. In fact, owners of Canadian-sourced dogs used harsh training methods more frequently and had higher expectations for their dog. While no signs of poorer owner-dog relationship in non-Canadian-sourced dogs were found, future research should continue the investigation of age, health, and backgrounds of incoming dogs.
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spelling doaj.art-c9e3bff9a5e046969dbb917e233225752022-12-22T02:34:07ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01176Investigation into owner-reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into CanadaKai Alain von RentzellKaren van HaaftenAmy MorrisAlexandra ProtopopovaOver 1 million dogs are imported into the United States and roughly 340,000 dogs into the United Kingdom yearly. Although the official number of dogs arriving to Canada is currently unknown, local animal professionals estimate that thousands of dogs are imported into Canada each year. Dog importation may be increasing globally while regulation and surveillance are still limited, resulting in concerns for the health and welfare of imported dogs. To date, few studies have investigated how the source location of dogs influences the owner-dog relationship. The current report presents two independent studies that were conducted to assess whether owners of imported dogs reported a poorer owner-dog relationships compared to owners of Canadian-born dogs. In both studies, an online survey was distributed to dog owners (Study 1: n = 803; Study 2: n = 878) in British Columbia, Canada, containing questions on various aspects of the owner-dog relationship. The first study included questions from the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale, Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire, Human-Animal Bond questionnaire, Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale, and constructed questions about training methods, expectations, and health. The second study was comprised of original questions assessing difficult behaviour, training practices, health, attachment, and perceived level of burden of owning a dog. Both studies found no evidence of a poorer owner-dog relationship in non-Canadian-sourced dogs. In fact, owners of Canadian-sourced dogs used harsh training methods more frequently and had higher expectations for their dog. While no signs of poorer owner-dog relationship in non-Canadian-sourced dogs were found, future research should continue the investigation of age, health, and backgrounds of incoming dogs.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9200170/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Kai Alain von Rentzell
Karen van Haaften
Amy Morris
Alexandra Protopopova
Investigation into owner-reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into Canada
PLoS ONE
title Investigation into owner-reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into Canada
title_full Investigation into owner-reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into Canada
title_fullStr Investigation into owner-reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into Canada
title_full_unstemmed Investigation into owner-reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into Canada
title_short Investigation into owner-reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into Canada
title_sort investigation into owner reported differences between dogs born in versus imported into canada
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9200170/?tool=EBI
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