Title of Presentation

Session E: The Personality Principle: The relationship between knowledge of purebred health problems and breed preferences

Sub-theme

Research and Theory

Keywords

Anthropomorphism; human-animal relationship; purebred dogs

Start Date

12-10-2018 3:00 PM

End Date

12-10-2018 4:15 PM

Abstract

Throughout the last decade, a substantial body of scientific literature has been devoted to exploring factors related to decreasing purebred dog health. Although breeding for extreme features, for instance, is a substantial documented problem, the fact is that many brachycephalic, breeds, such as Pugs and Bulldogs, are rising in popularity because of their flat-faces features, the very source of concern for their welfare. of interest in this investigation was whether the awareness of purebred health problems extends from the academic community to the general public—namely, dog owners—and whether an individual’s choice of dog breed was impacted by being aware of breed problems. Accordingly, we recruited 402 respondents who were surveyed regarding current and past dog ownership status, their preference for particular dog breeds, reasons for such preference, and their general knowledge of dogs, dog health, and breed-specific health issues. An overwhelming majority of respondents (78%) currently had at least one dog, with purebreds representing more than half. Moreover, over 160 individual named dog
breeds were identified, as well as over 100 named health problems and diseases. The self-rated knowledge (SRK) of approximately two-thirds of respondents indicated they knew a lot about dogs, with 77% acknowledging awareness of breed-specific health issues. However, only 26% (n=84) indicated that health concerns were a prohibitive factor toward that specific breed. The most salient, though unsurprising, finding was that a dog’s expected personality was the strongest factor for why individuals opt for certain breeds, while high knowledge of health problems appear not to be a deterrent in acquiring future purebreds. This “personality principle” raises an important question about the cognitive dissonance that seems to be at play here: Why does the immediate attraction to, and preference for, certain breeds motivate individuals more than the long-term health of their dog?

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Oct 12th, 3:00 PM Oct 12th, 4:15 PM

Session E: The Personality Principle: The relationship between knowledge of purebred health problems and breed preferences

Throughout the last decade, a substantial body of scientific literature has been devoted to exploring factors related to decreasing purebred dog health. Although breeding for extreme features, for instance, is a substantial documented problem, the fact is that many brachycephalic, breeds, such as Pugs and Bulldogs, are rising in popularity because of their flat-faces features, the very source of concern for their welfare. of interest in this investigation was whether the awareness of purebred health problems extends from the academic community to the general public—namely, dog owners—and whether an individual’s choice of dog breed was impacted by being aware of breed problems. Accordingly, we recruited 402 respondents who were surveyed regarding current and past dog ownership status, their preference for particular dog breeds, reasons for such preference, and their general knowledge of dogs, dog health, and breed-specific health issues. An overwhelming majority of respondents (78%) currently had at least one dog, with purebreds representing more than half. Moreover, over 160 individual named dog
breeds were identified, as well as over 100 named health problems and diseases. The self-rated knowledge (SRK) of approximately two-thirds of respondents indicated they knew a lot about dogs, with 77% acknowledging awareness of breed-specific health issues. However, only 26% (n=84) indicated that health concerns were a prohibitive factor toward that specific breed. The most salient, though unsurprising, finding was that a dog’s expected personality was the strongest factor for why individuals opt for certain breeds, while high knowledge of health problems appear not to be a deterrent in acquiring future purebreds. This “personality principle” raises an important question about the cognitive dissonance that seems to be at play here: Why does the immediate attraction to, and preference for, certain breeds motivate individuals more than the long-term health of their dog?