Dog Walking before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: Experiences of UK Dog Owners
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design and Methodology
2.2. Survey Design
- •
- “About my dog”: number of dogs in the household; their size; age; sex; owner’s subjective assessment of their dog’s perceived energy levels (response categories were: low energy, medium energy and high energy; no further definitions or descriptions of behaviours that exemplify these categories were provided); and owner-perceived relationship with their dog (based on the Inclusion of the Other in the Self question adapted for pets [28,29]). Respondents were presented with seven images of circles with a progressing degree of an overlap between a circle representing a dog and an owner: starting with completely separate circles, representing a weak relationship, and ending with two nearly completely overlapping circles, representing a strong relationship). For questions relating to only one dog, respondents were asked to answer based on the dog they felt emotionally closest to. This strategy was chosen because dog walking is known to be associated with the strength of the relationship between the owner and the dog [9], and therefore this was the dog most likely to be walked pre-lockdown and thus affected by it.
- •
- “Walking this dog”: frequency of dog’s interactions with people and other dogs on walks before the lockdown; dog’s perceived recall reliability (response categories: dog never comes back when called, rarely, sometimes, often); weekly frequency and duration (in minutes) of dog walking undertaken by dog(s) during the lockdown and before (based upon the Dogs And Physical Activity tool [30]); perceived changes in total number of walks a dog gets from anyone since the lockdown; and perceived changes in how often a dog is off-lead, allowed to interact with other dogs and people since the social distancing measures were in place.
- •
- “Who walks dogs”: who walked the dog during lockdown and before; whether the person who walks the dog changed since the lockdown; and if so, how (open-ended question).
- •
- “Personal dog walking”: weekly frequency and duration (in minutes) of dog walking undertaken by the respondent during lockdown and before [30]; perceived changes in respondent’s number of dog walks since the lockdown and daily number of steps taken pre and during the first national lockdown (the type of a recording device was not specified, respondents may have used mobile phones or smart watches).
- •
- “Other dog walking”: location of dog walking both before and since the lockdown; perceived changes to walking location; description of these changes (open-ended question), whether COVID-19 changes brought the respondents into greater contact with livestock when walking; and attitude-related questions regarding experience of dog walking during the lockdown (e.g., Going for a dog walk offers a break from COVID anxiety). Responses to these questions were presented on a 5-point Likert scale anchored with “strongly agree” and “strongly disagree”.
- •
- “Perceptions of dog ownership”: whether caring for a dog during the period of social isolation has been challenging and helpful; two open-ended questions enquiring about ways in which caring for a dog was challenging and helpful during the lockdown; presence of an emergency care plan (defined in the survey as “verbal or written agreement about who would care for your dog if you were ill or other plans for an emergency”) and whether the respondent made one since the coronavirus outbreak.
- •
- “COVID questions”: whether the respondent experienced suspected COVID-19 disease and if so, whether they and household members walked their dog during the period when they had symptoms and when symptoms were not present any more but they were still within the designated isolation period; whether the respondent or household member was vulnerable and told to isolate for 12 weeks regardless of the symptoms and whether the vulnerable person continued to walk the dog whilst isolating.
- •
- “About you”: respondent’s age, gender, qualifications, and an open-ended questions about anything else regarding experience of dog walking during the coronavirus outbreak.
2.3. Data Handling and Statistical Analysis
2.3.1. Data Handling
2.3.2. Multivariable Regression Analysis
2.3.3. Within- and between-Group Comparisons
2.3.4. Logistic Regression Analysis
2.4. Qualitative Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Owner and Dog Characteristics
3.2. Dog’s Walking before Lockdown
3.3. Differences in Dog’s Walking before and during Lockdown
3.4. Person’s Dog Walking before Lockdown
3.5. Differences in Person’s Dog Walking before and during Lockdown
3.6. Change in Walking Location
3.7. Dog Walking and Attitudes to COVID-19
3.8. Benefits of Caring for a Dog during Lockdown
3.9. Challenges of Caring for a Dog during Lockdown
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variable | Dog’s Walking | Person’s Walking | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before the Lockdown, (Median, IQR) | During the Lockdown, (Median, IQR) | Within-Group Change (n, V, p) | Before the Lockdown, (Median, IQR) | During the Lockdown, (Median, IQR) | Within-Group Change (n, V, p) | |
Overall dog walking frequency | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 558, V = 6665, p = 0.001 | 7 (9) | 7 (1) | 557, V = 139,706, p = 0.001 |
Living arrangements: | ||||||
Living alone | 12 (7) | 7 (7) | 85, V = 3011, p = 0.04 | 10 (7) | 7 (1) | 86, V = 2980, p = 0.02 |
Living with others | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 463, V = 96,984, p = 0.009 | 7 (7) | 7 (1) | 462, V = 115,269, p = 0.03 |
Household composition | ||||||
Single-dog household | 12 (7) | 8 (7) | 316, V = 45,196, p = 0.03 | 7 (9) | 7 (3) | 313, V = 46,513, p = 0.26 |
2 dogs | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 163, V = 11,598, p = 0.04 | 7 (9) | 7 (1) | 167, V = 11,637, p = 0.009 |
3+ dogs | 7 (7) | 7 (5.5) | 79, V = 3527, p = 0.14 | 7 (7) | 7 (1) | 77, V = 3450, p = 0.07 |
Dog size | ||||||
Toy/Small | 7 (7) | 7 (7) | 128, V = 7737, p = 0.42 | 7 (7) | 7 (1) | 126, V = 8562, p = 0.26 |
Medium | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 227, V = 284,611, p = 0.04 | 7 (7) | 7 (2.75) | 228, V = 28,497, p = 0.07 |
Large/Giant | 12 (7) | 7 (7) | 199, V = 17,047, p = 0.013 | 7 (9) | 7 (2) | 198, V = 17,357, p = 0.04 |
Dog’s age: | ||||||
Less than 1 year | 14 (7) | 13 (7) | 27, V = 320, p = 0.58 | 7 (4.5) | 7 (2) | 27, V = 346, p = 0.93 |
1–5 years | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 285, V = 37,047, p = 0.07 | 7 (9) | 7 (1) | 284, V = 37,438, p = 0.13 |
6–10 years | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 198, V = 16,765, p = 0.012 | 7 (8) | 7 (2) | 198, V = 16,544, p = 0.006 |
11+ | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 46, V = 918, p = 0.25 | 7 (8) | 7 (0) | 46, V = 895, p = 0.42 |
Dog’s energy levels: | ||||||
High | 12 (7) | 7 (7) | 207, V = 18,764, p = 0.023 | 7 (6) | 7 (2) | 207, V = 19,093, p = 0.05 |
Medium | 9 (7) | 7 (7) | 310, V = 52,386, p = 0.04 | 7 (9) | 7 (1) | 308, V = 43,258, p = 0.069 |
Low | 7 (7) | 7 (7) | 41, V = 759, p = 0.56 | 7 (8.5) | 7 (1) | 41, V = 754, p = 0.42 |
Relationship with dog: | ||||||
Weak | 7 (3) | 7 (3) | 15, V = 109, p = 0.90 | 5 (3) | 7 (3) | 14, V = 103, p = 0.83 |
Medium | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 275, V = 33,906, p = 0.04 | 7 (7) | 7 (1.5) | 277, V = 35,049, p = 0.09 |
Strong | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 267, V = 31,615, p = 0.02 | 7 (8) | 7 (3) | 265, V = 30,807, p = 0.01 |
Dog’s Walking | Person’s Walking | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Variable/Between-Group Difference (Test-Statistic, p) | Before the Lockdown | During the Lockdown | Before the Lockdown | During the Lockdown |
Alone | 12 (23) | 7 (7) | 10 (7) | 7 (7) |
Not alone | 10 (24) | 7 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (1) |
Comparison | V = 18,061, p = 0.09 | V = 21,142, p = 0.4157 | V = 21,142, p = 0.4157 | V = 15,890, p = 0.0007 |
Single | 12 (7) | 8 (7) | 7 (9) | 7 (3) |
2 | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (9) | 7 (1) |
3+ | 7 (7) | 7 (5.5) | 7 (7) | 7 (1) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 4.8609, df = 2, p = 0.088 | K-W chi-squared = 10.565, df = 2, p = 0.0051 | K-W chi-squared = 2.0056, df = 2, p = 0.3669 | K-W chi-squared = 2.5863, df = 2, p = 0.2744 |
1 dog compared to 2: p = 0.029 1 dog compared to 3+: p = 0.18 2 dogs compared to 3+: p = 0.298 | ||||
Toy/small | 7 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (1) |
Medium | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (9) | 7 (2.5) |
Large | 12 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (9) | 7 (2) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 1.7761, df = 2, p = 0.4114 | K-W chi-squared = 0.36661, df = 2, p = 0.8325 | K-W chi-squared = 1.6573, df = 2, p = 0.4366 | K-W chi-squared = 1.5287, df = 2, p = 0.4656 |
Less than 1 year | 14 (7) | 13 (7) | 7 (6.5) | 7 (2) |
1–5 years, | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (9) | 7 (1) |
6–10 years, | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (8) | 7 (2) |
11+ | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (8) | 7 (0) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 3.1229, df = 3, p = 0.3731 | K-W chi-squared = 5.221, df = 3, p = 0.1563 | K-W chi-squared = 3.4335, df = 3, p = 0.3295 | K-W chi-squared = 2.4675, df = 3, p = 0.4812 |
Energy low | 7 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (6) | 7 (2) |
Energy medium | 9 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (9) | 7 (1) |
Energy high | 12 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (8.5) | 7 (1) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 3.7416, df = 2, p = 0.154 | K-W chi-squared = 3.2972, df = 2, p = 0.1923 | K-W chi-squared = 3.0876, df = 2, p = 0.2136 | K-W chi-squared = 3.9702, df = 2, p = 0.1374 |
Relationship weak | 7 (3) | 7 (3) | 5 (3) | 7 (2) |
Relationship medium | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (1.5) |
Relationship strong | 10 (7) | 7 (7) | 7 (8) | 7 (3) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 1.4272, df = 2, p = 0.4899 | K-W chi-squared = 1.7668, df = 2, p = 0.4134 | K-W chi-squared = 12.543, df = 2, p = 0.00189 | K-W chi-squared = 9.0541, df = 2, p = 0.01081 |
Weak compared to medium: p = 0.029 Weak compared to strong: p = 0.012 Medium compared to strong: p = 0.021 | Weak compared to medium: p = 0.045 Weak compared to strong: p = 0.046 Medium compared to strong: p = 0.182 |
Variable/Between-Group Difference (Test-Statistic, p) | Dog’s Walking before the Lockdown | Dog’s Walking during the Lockdowns | Person’s Walking before the Lockdown | Person’s Walking during the Lockdown |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alone | 500 (500) | 420 (330) | 440 (420) | 420 (335) |
Not alone | 420 (350) | 420 (300) | 300 (300) | 315 (210) |
Comparison | V = 16,524, p = 0.06 | V = 18,315, p = 0.72 | V = 13,254, p = 0.000048 | V = 14,129, p = 0.0002515 |
Single dog | 420 (398) | 420 (330) | 300 (300) | 325 (214) |
2 dogs | 420 (320) | 420 (310) | 400 (360) | 365 (285) |
3+ | 420 (388) | 420 (335) | 420 (405) | 420 (350) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 1.0261, df = 2, p = 0.5987 | K-W chi-squared = 2.2545, df = 2, p = 0.3239 | K-W chi-squared = 9.448, df = 2, p = 0.00888 | K-W chi-squared = 2.5863, df = 2, p = 0.2744 |
Toy/small | 420 (290) | 420 (285) | 300 (315) | 345 (220) |
Medium | 420 (350) | 420 (350) | 360 (368) | 400 (210) |
Large | 468 (400) | 420 (330) | 350 (370) | 355 (282) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 4.8343, df = 2, p = 0.08917 | K-W chi-squared = 1.2931, df = 2, p = 0.5238 | K-W chi-squared = 1.4663, df = 2, p = 0.4804 | K-W chi-squared = 0.56278, df = 2, p = 0.7547 |
Less than 1 year | 420 (345) | 480 (280) | 350 (315) | 345 (248) |
1–5 years | 420 (400) | 420 (330) | 315 (360) | 360 (270) |
6–10 years | 420 (330) | 420 (322) | 360 (370) | 360 (280) |
11+ | 400 (220) | 420 (250) | 300 (225) | 280 (220) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 4.2801, df = 3, p = 0.2328 | K-W chi-squared = 4.1946, df = 3, p = 0.2412 | K-W chi-squared = 2.0934, df = 3, p = 0.5532 | K-W chi-squared = 2.399, df = 3, p = 0.4938 |
Energy low | 300 (292) | 338 (195) | 225 (260) | 205 (195) |
Energy Medium | 420 (320) | 420 (320) | 340 (345) | 360 (270) |
Energy High | 540 (490) | 420 (350) | 360 (390) | 402 (255) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 25.415, df = 2, p = 3.028 × 10–6 | K-W chi-squared = 18.846, df = 2, p = 8.083 × 10–5 | K-W chi-squared = 12.601, df = 2, p = 0.001835 | K-W chi-squared = 22.548, df = 2, p = 0.0000127 |
Low compared to high: p = 0.00018 Low compared to medium: p = 0.04187 Medium compared to high: p = 0.0000000005 | Low compared to high: p = 0.00025 Low compared to medium: p = 0.00610 Medium compared to high: p = 0.00610 | Low compared to high: p = 0.0023 Low compared to medium: p = 0.0087 Medium compared to high: p = 0.0838 | Low compared to high: p = 0.000000006 Low compared to medium: p = 0.000027 Medium compared to high: p = 0.24 | |
Relationship weak | 420 (210) | 420 (200) | 250 (65) | 300 (108) |
Relationship medium | 420 (350) | 420 (305) | 300 (285) | 310 (210) |
Relationship strong | 420 (400) | 420 (330) | 420 (420) | 420 (290) |
Comparison | K-W chi-squared = 0.9277, df = 2, p = 0.6289 | K-W chi-squared = 0.32669, df = 2, p = 0.8493 | K-W chi-squared = 10.397, df = 2, p = 0.005524 | K-W chi-squared = 5.4787, df = 2, p = 0.06461 |
Weak compared to strong: p = 0.047 Weak compared to medium: p = 0.017 Medium compared to strong: p = 0.231 |
Variables | Categories | Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval) | Z Value | p |
---|---|---|---|---|
Owner’s living arrangements | Owner does not live alone | 1 | - | - |
Owner lives alone | 1.61 (0.99–2.63) | 1.90 | 0.06 | |
Owner/household vulnerability to COVID-19 | Owner or household members not described as vulnerable | 1 | - | - |
Owner or household member considered vulnerable | 1.55 (1.00–2.40) | 2.01 | 0.04 |
Variables | Categories | Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval) | Z Value | p |
---|---|---|---|---|
Owner’s living arrangements | Owner does not live alone | 1 | - | |
Owner lives alone | 1.83 (1.09–3.07) | 2.30 | 0.02 | |
Owner/household vulnerability to COVID-19 | Owner or household members not described as vulnerable | 1 | - | |
Owner or household member considered vulnerable | 1.55 (0.97–2.46) | 1.87 | 0.06 |
Theme | Sub-Themes and Supporting Quotes |
---|---|
Companionship | Reduces feelings of isolation and loneliness
|
Purpose and motivation | Reason to get up and get dressed in the morning
|
Break from the bad | Distraction from the news
|
A positive to focus on | Helped keep things in perspective
|
Theme | Sub-Themes and Supporting Quotes | |
---|---|---|
Dog behavioural impacts | Actual | Becoming reactive on walks
|
Anticipated | Potential for separation anxiety, once households return to work and school
| |
Balancing public health guidance with meeting the needs of their dog | Meeting physical needs of dog with 1-walk-a-day rule | Needing more, especially higher-energy dogs
|
Meeting mental needs of dog when trying to stay as close to home as possible | Becoming bored with same routes/scenery every day
| |
Meeting social needs of dog when trying to maintain 2 m distance outdoors | Social dogs and owners having difficulties adjusting
| |
Conflict in outdoor recreation | Crowding | Newcomers and nicer weather
|
Coping | Walking during off-peak hours and other modifications
| |
Contracting COVID-19 | Potential for virus to be left behind on infrastructure in parks and public space
| |
Accessing pet food, supplies, and services | Difficulty finding dog food and supplies
|
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Owczarczak-Garstecka, S.C.; Graham, T.M.; Archer, D.C.; Westgarth, C. Dog Walking before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: Experiences of UK Dog Owners. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 6315. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126315
Owczarczak-Garstecka SC, Graham TM, Archer DC, Westgarth C. Dog Walking before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: Experiences of UK Dog Owners. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(12):6315. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126315
Chicago/Turabian StyleOwczarczak-Garstecka, Sara C., Taryn M. Graham, Debra C. Archer, and Carri Westgarth. 2021. "Dog Walking before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: Experiences of UK Dog Owners" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 12: 6315. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126315