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conferenceseries.com
Volume 8, Issue 4 (Suppl) J Vet Sci Technol, an open access journal
ISSN: 2157-7579 Veterinary 2017
September 04-05, 2017
September 04-05, 2017 | Paris, France
7th International Veterinary Congress
An exploratory study of dog ownership history: Can owners be typified?
Rute Canejo-Teixeira, Isabel Neto, Ulisboa, Luis V. and Maria Manuela Niza
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Statement of the Problem: The human-dog interaction has a 16000-year history. Within a functional human-dog dyad both
the human and the dog benefit from the relationship. Nevertheless, some dyads are dysfunctional, normally due to irresponsible
behavior displayed by owners, such as allowing their dogs to roam in public spaces and/or denying them veterinary care, which
can be a danger to the dog and society. The study of these dysfunctional dyads has received attention in recent years, specially
within the context of dog aggression. However, these dysfunctional dyads are difficult to study since unmotivated owners are
unlikely to volunteer personal information, so alternative methods are needed to better understand why human-dog dyads
fail. This study analyses owners´ history of dog health care to find patterns that could help clarify what is at the core of these
troubled relationships.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: A questionnaire was distributed throughout the Lisbon Area to animal hospitals,
clinics, anti-rabies vaccination programs, and made available online for 8 months. Owners where asked forced questions
regarding the existence of specific occurrences in their history with dog health care (figure 1). MCA and chi-square analysis
where completed.
Findings: 1385 valid questionnaires where completed. MCA analysis revealed 3 clusters with associations between chronic
illness and hospitalization (x2=122.131, df=1, p<0.001), vehicular trauma and unspecified trauma (x2=127.310, df=1, p<0.001)
and caring for more dogs and having a dog bite another (x2=85.236, df=3, p<0.001).
Conclusion & Significance: In this population, owners of dogs with chronic illness could represent function dyads since this
was associated with hospitalization, while those who report trauma (vehicular or not) may indicate dysfunctional dyads, where
the dog is not adequately controlled. In this study, through the use of a questionnaire focused on owners’ history with dog
health care, patterns where recognized which could signal dysfunctional dyads.
Biography
Rute Canejo-Teixeira is a PhD candidate with CIISA at the faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. After first completing a BscH in
Biology and a BEd at Queen´s University, Kingston, ON, Canada, she returned to her native Portugal to pursue her DVM. Ruth completed her MIVM with the study
of Helicobacter spp. In the dog and cat, having identified H. pylori in a cat (Irish Veterinary Journal 2014 67(1) 4). Before securing a scholarship through the FCT.
Rute was a member of the clinical staff at the Veterinary Teaching.
Rute Canejo-Teixeira et al., J Vet Sci Technol 2017, 8:4(Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7579-C1-024