Development of a discriminative questionnaire to assess nonphysical aspects of quality of life of dogs.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a preliminary discriminative questionnaire for assessment of nonphysical aspects of the quality of life (QOL) of pet dogs and evaluate the questionnaire's content validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency.


METHODS
Owners of 120 dogs.


METHODS
Each QOL question had 4 response options, representing descending levels of QOL that were equally weighted. A maximum of 38 items contributed to the QOL score. The questionnaire was administered by telephone to owners of dogs with appointments at a veterinary teaching hospital before the appointment. After the appointment, each dog was classified as sick or healthy by use of defined criteria; owners of healthy dogs had a second interview 3 to 4 weeks later. Test-retest reliability (kappa), internal consistency (Cronbach alpha), and respondents' comprehension were used as criteria for excluding an item.


RESULTS
There were 77 sick and 43 healthy dogs. Twenty-two QOL questions had significant kappa values (0.11 to 0.91). The Cronbach alpha values for 5 domains of QOL ranged from 0.45 to 0.61, indicating that the domains had moderate internal consistency (homogeneity). The initial pool of 38 items was reduced to 27.


CONCLUSIONS
The questionnaire was designed to complement veterinary assessment of dogs' physical health. The questionnaire may be a useful tool in making decisions regarding dogs' QOL.
Wojciechowska
Janina I
JI
Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre and the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada.
Hewson
Caroline J
CJ
Stryhn
Henrik
H
Guy
Norma C
NC
Patronek
Gary J
GJ
Timmons
Vianne
V
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D004285:Dogs / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors