RESUMEN
Despite many dogs living in homes in the UK, there is still more to know about the welfare of those individual animals. Past research has shown that owners' thoughts and behaviours have a substantial impact on their dog's welfare. This study aimed to better understand owners' pre-purchase behaviours, knowledge and understanding, and ownership practices, and explore any associations between these factors and their dog's welfare. We conducted further analysis of the data collected by People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) for their 2017 PDSA Animal Welfare (PAW) Report (n = 1814). We extracted variables to describe owner demographics (7), pre-purchase behaviours (1), knowledge and understanding (4), welfare indicators, (2) and ownership practices (4), and we tested for an association between these variables. We found more pre-purchase research was carried out by younger respondents and those with a higher education level. Also, more research was associated with feeling more informed about the five welfare needs and knowing to seek help for behaviour from appropriate sources. Overall, the study found several novel and significant results worthy of note and further exploration but did not find any strong connections between the variables.
RESUMEN
One of the main aims of companion animal welfare charities is to educate the public about the needs of animals. This is frequently performed through campaigns focusing on specific aspects of welfare. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Britain's biggest animal welfare charity, launched the nationwide #DogKind campaign in March 2019. Targeted mainly at 25-34-year-olds, the campaign aimed to increase awareness of separation-related behaviour (SRB) among dog owners and encourage them to seek help for SRB from reliable sources. This research involved a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design evaluating the campaign's effectiveness. It was conducted through a series of online surveys at three different time points: before the launch of the campaign (n = 2002), six months after (n = 2423), and, again, two months later (n = 269), during which we asked the same questions regarding knowledge of SRB. An experimental trial of 269 participants tested whether accessing a video alongside the campaign web pages increased the effectiveness of the campaign objectives. Overall, the campaign appeared to be effective in reaching its target audience but not at raising awareness of SRB or increasing the number of owners intending to seek help. The inclusion of a video in the campaign made no difference to its effectiveness. This study shows that this campaign had limited success in achieving its targets and highlights the importance of thorough evaluations of education interventions that aim to improve the welfare of companion animals.
RESUMEN
Vets, animal welfare charities, and researchers have frequently cited educating owners as a necessity for improving the welfare of companion dogs. The assumption that improving an owner's knowledge through an education intervention subsequently results in improvements in the welfare of the dog appears reasonable. However, the complexity of dog welfare and dog ownership and the context in which these relationships occur is rapidly changing. Psychology has demonstrated that humans are complex, with values, attitudes, and beliefs influencing our behaviours as much as knowledge and understanding. Equally, the context in which we individuals and our dogs live is rapidly changing and responding to evolving societal and cultural norms. Therefore, we seek to understand education's effectiveness as an approach to improving welfare through exploring and understanding these complexities, in conjunction with the relevant research from the disciplines of science education and communication. We argue that well designed and rigorously evaluated education interventions can play a part in the challenge of improving welfare, but that these may have limited scope, and welfare scientists could further consider extending cross-disciplinary, cross-boundary working, and research in order to improve the welfare of companion dogs.
