Nov 13, 2008 - PASTED * COPY

abstract:
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Dogkeeping practices as reported by readers of an Australian dog enthusiast magazine.
from Veterinarians | anthrozoology.org by anthrozoology

Masters, AM; McGreevy, PD;

Australian Veterinary Journal. 2008. 86: 1/2, 18-25.

Objective: To characterise Australian domestic dogkeeping practices relevant to canine health and welfare. Procedure: A quantitative questionnaire was distributed nationally through Dog's Life magazine. Data on management practices, household and dog demographics from 690 Australian dogs in 485 self-selected respondent households were analysed using ordinal and binary regression. Results: Several variables, relating to dog, owner and environment were associated with management practices. The size of the dog correlated positively with being fed outdoors (P<0.001), gameplaying (P=0.016) and being trained (P=0.001) and negatively with time spent indoors (P<0.001). Neutered dogs were more likely to be walked every day (P=0.027) and have had prior treatment for unwelcome behaviours (P<0.001) but less likely to be fed outdoors (P<0.013). The number of children in the household correlated with the dog being fed outdoors (P<0.001). The number of adult female humans in the household correlated with dog being neutered (P<0.001) whereas the reverse was linked to number of adult male humans in the household (P<0.013). Larger numbers of adult female humans in the household were associated with a higher incidence of prior treatment for unwelcome behaviours (P=0.020). The number of dogs in the household correlated negatively with dogs being walked every day (P<0.004) and gameplaying (P=0.001). Pure bred dogs were more likely to have attended puppy preschool than cross breeds (P=0.002). Conclusion: Reference to previous studies of Australian dog owners suggests that the current data are representative in terms of location of households, sex and age of dogs, however, the proportion of pure bred dogs in the current survey was surprisingly high. This was perhaps because respondents were from a particular sector of the Australian dog-owning population. It must be acknowledged that Dog's Life magazine readers may be atypical of Australian dog owners, nevertheless, the study demonstrates that variables relating to the dog, owner or environment can be used to characterise management styles.

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as a trainer, this confirms what i have long-suspected, LOL -
more women S/N, more men prefer to leave the dog intact.
at least this is true in Oz - and i would lay $$ in the USA, too.

i think it is a shame that bigger dogs tend to be fed, and live,
out-of-doors. bigger dogs are no more immune to heat, cold,
insect-bites, etc, than are tinies!
here in Tidewater-VA, USA, for some #@$! reason Siberians are popular - and of course, the high-humidity and extreme heat, plus rainy, cold and windy springs + falls, mean HOT * SPOTS are a major problem for this thick coated Nordic breed. yet local-APOs often have them ** living! ** outdoors, with fly-chewed ears, hot-spots more than half the year, constant flea + mosquito bites (anytime it is over 55-degrees F), and 'Tidewater-crud':
a bare, hyperpigmented area above the tail that may cover the entire rump, nude of hair and often with secondary skin-infections, from bites, yeast, and non-stop biting + scratching. the Crud is often seasonal, with the skin + hair recovering in winter and gradually balding + breaking-out beginning in April.

naturally, behavior-problems in so-called *yard-dogs* are common, and barking, howling, digging, and escaping Siberians are even more common!
ay-yi-yi!

humans create a lotta dog-behavior problems for themselves -
AND for the dogs! ;->
cheers,
--- terry

terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, IPDTA, TDF