Risk factors for unsuccessful dog ownership: an epidemiologic study in Taiwan.
This retrospective study of 259 Taiwanese dog owners in 2004 addressed one of the major contributors to dog overpopulation in Taiwan: unsuccessful dog ownership. We found an inverse association between age of the dog at acquisition and risk of unsuccessful dog ownership: the younger the dog at acquisition the higher the risk. The incidence-proportion ratios (IPRs) of unsuccessful dog ownership for the owners who had a history of pet abandonment or losing a pet compared with those without such a history were 1.8 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.1, 3.0) and 2.1 (95% CI=1.3, 3.3), respectively. Soiling (IPR=2.0, 95% CI=1.3, 3.1) and barking (IPR=1.6, 95% CI=1.0, 2.6) problems had the strongest effects on unsuccessful dog ownership among the post-acquisition variables studied. Preventing owners with a history of unsuccessful dog ownership from acquiring dogs was predicted to yield the largest reduction of risk of unsuccessful dog ownership among the investigated variables (population attributable fraction=33%, 95% CI=11%, 50%).
Weng
Hsin-Yi
HY
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Kass
Philip H
PH
Hart
Lynette A
LA
Chomel
Bruno B
BB
D017677:Age Distribution; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004285:Dogs; D004609:Eliminative Behavior, Animal; D005260:Female; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010067:Ownership; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan