A survey of dog ownership in suburban Australia—conditions and behaviour problems

Abstract

There has been an increasing emphasis in Australia on confining dogs to owner’s properties (household backyards) as a solution to problems of dog aggression. Therefore, there is a need to determine the social and physical conditions that make up the dog’s backyard environment and how these factors may affect dog behaviour and welfare. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the conditions provided to dogs in suburban Melbourne (Australia) and any behavioural problems associated with these conditions. A survey of 203 dog owners across suburban Melbourne was conducted. The questionnaire consisted of questions relating to demographics, the dogs’ routine and confinement and what behaviours the owners observed in their dogs. The relationship between some of the environmental factors and the occurrence of problem behaviour was then examined. The main behaviour problems reported by owners were overexcitement (63%) and jumping up on people (56%). Some of the factors that were correlated with the occurrence of problem behaviours included how well the dog obeyed commands ( P<0.01), whether the owner had owned a dog before ( P<0.01) and how much time was spent with the dog ( P<0.01). Dogs that had obedience training were more likely to obey commands than those that that did not ( P<0.01) and large dogs were more likely to receive training than small dogs ( P<0.01). These findings provide an interesting insight into some of the factors that may be related to the occurrence of behaviour problems in dogs.