September 2023

This month’s focus is on some of the recently published pet-based research. Previously I’ve talked a little about large-scale sector reports but alongside this, academic researchers are continuing to make excellent progress in understanding more about the needs of pets and pet ownership. When I initially started to write this edition of the blog, what I didn’t realise was just how much amazing research has been published in the last nine months and how difficult it would be to choose just a few articles to update you on.

Dog behaviour modification in the UK – Who’s doing what?

In January, a study investigating dog behaviour modification practice in the UK was published (Daniels et al., 2023). At Woodgreen, this is particularly interesting to us, as our care and behaviour teams frequently encounter dog owners who have struggled with finding appropriate behaviour advice, and there have been regular calls for the pet training and behaviour industry to be officially regulated. Currently, the profession of behaviourist is not a protected title in the UK, meaning that anyone can call themselves a dog behaviourist and offer advice to clients. Unfortunately, this means that the standard of advice given can vary widely, with potential welfare concerns where aversive training methods are used. In this study, aggression-related reasons accounted for more than half (55.32%) of the primary reasons for seeking behavioural advice. For many behavioural issues, including aggression, both behaviourists and trainers were equally likely to be consulted for advice. Behaviourists were significantly more likely than trainers to use reward-based training rather than balanced training (a mixture of positive and aversive training techniques). Trainers were found to be offering behaviour modification plans (designed to address a behaviour of concern), and not all behaviourists were working through veterinary referrals, although good practice would dictate they should be, to ensure pain-related causes of behaviour are ruled out. Around half of respondents had consulted more than one canine professional, suggesting they did not find a solution for their problem the first time.  The findings of this study highlight the concerns within the sector that it can be difficult for struggling pet owners to know where to go for good advice and the need for the introduction of the regulation of trainers and behaviourists.

Rabbits as children’s pets – a concern for welfare?

The perception of rabbits as low-maintenance starter pets, who make great pets for children is one we often encounter through our work. A team of researchers from Denmark (Skovlund et al., 2023), recently undertook a piece of research to further explore this perception and examine the impact on rabbit welfare, and although this is a Danish study it still provides us with useful findings to consider. The study involved two surveys, where one built upon the other and gathered data from a nationally representative sample of Danish pet owners. The study’s results suggested that most rabbits were acquired for children; solitarily housed; kept in accommodation which is restrictive in size; and not checked daily. The findings also suggested that owners who perceived rabbits as good starter pets were more likely to house them in restricted spaces and fail to appropriately provide for other needs including diet and veterinary care. Where children were the main caretakers, there was also an association with inadequate housing and fewer gnawing opportunities. This paper highlights the importance of changing perceptions of rabbits and their needs in order to improve the care afforded to them. This is likely to be challenging to do, especially when welfare-poor care practices may inadvertently reinforce the original perceptions of rabbits having limited mental abilities and simple needs. For example, failure to provide an environment which encourages natural rabbit behaviour may promote apathy and boredom in rabbits, which may then wrongly confirm to owners that rabbits do not need space or environmental complexity. As a start towards understanding the problems surrounding the link between rabbit acquisition and subsequent care provision, we are working towards exploring rabbit acquisition in the UK further over the coming months through a collaboration with the PDSA, so watch this space.

Rabbits need space to exercise when they want to, not when suits their human carers

Closely related to the previous piece of research, Dr. Nicola Rooney and the team from the University of Bristol have recently published research commissioned by the RSPCA on the effect of run access, hutch size and time-of-day on rabbit welfare (Rooney et al., 2023). The findings of this study provide important support for rabbit housing guidelines and help to challenge the widely reported practice of providing restricted run access for periods of the day. Welfare organisations, including Woodgreen recommend that rabbits are given 24-hour access to a secure run which measures 3m long x 2m wide x 1m high, to allow them to exercise and express natural behaviours whenever they wish to. The study found that rabbits with restricted access to a run (3 hours in the middle of the day) showed an increase in locomotion, binkying (a large playful jump in the air) and social grooming immediately after release into the run, compared to the pairs with unlimited run access, regardless of the hutch size. This increase in behaviour is known as behavioural rebound, and is considered an indicator that the rabbits had been previously unable to express a desired behaviour, and potentially indicates compromised welfare. Corticosterone levels (a stress-related hormone) were raised in pairs of rabbits kept in small hutches with restricted run access (3 hours in the middle of the day), suggesting that the rabbits found this space restriction stressful. The middle of the day period was found to be the time when the rabbits were least active and demonstrates that giving rabbits access to a run purely in the middle of the day when may suit their human owners, limits their opportunity to behave in a natural way when they most want to. If you want to know more about appropriate rabbit housing, you can see our advice here.

Which factors increase the likelihood of cat or dog relinquishment?

Finally, research from Dr. Grace Carroll and team, which forms part of a series of papers investigating dog and cat relinquishment during the Covid-19 pandemic was published in June (Carroll et al., 2023). The paper which examined relinquishment in a number of countries including the UK aimed to assess the effect that demographic variables (e.g. gender, age) had on the risk of relinquishment. Being a male-gendered pet owner or a younger pet age increased the risk of relinquishment, as did the pet being in a household with children. In fact, households with children were 4.6 times more likely to have considered relinquishment or relinquished their cat or dog compared to households without children. When considering this statistic it’s important to remember that relationships with pets are complex and unfortunately, studies such as this are often unable to explore the underlying reasons behind the findings. With an increasing number of individuals in the home, there are more relationships to consider and therefore always going to be more opportunities for potential issues. In our everyday work, by equipping pet owners with information to prepare for their pet’s arrival, we can do our best to help them navigate the challenges they may face, no matter their family makeup. There was also a trend towards renters having an increased probability of considering or having already relinquished a pet. The findings suggested no association between the pet being acquired online and their relinquishment status (never considered relinquishment vs. considered or actually relinquished). In addition to exploring demographic factors linked to the risk of relinquishment, the researchers also explored the owner’s experience of the relinquishment process. 76.2% of owners who had given up their pet agreed it was an emotionally difficult decision, but all agreed that it was the logical, correct decision. 63.2% of participants who were relinquishing a pet were relinquishing the first dog or cat they were responsible for, highlighting the challenges faced by new pet owners. One of the streams of our Pet Services Strategy aims to provide support for new pet owners and help them in the early days when the risk of encountering challenges or experiencing relationship breakdown with their pet is higher. In doing this, we hope to be able to prevent future relinquishments from happening and reduce the emotional stress that both pets and owners go through during the process.

I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to some of the most recent work in the field and if it’s piqued your interest in pet welfare research and insights, explore more of the Insights Hub now to find even more interesting facts and figures! If you’d like to look at the full research papers the direct links are included below.

Next month, look out for a guest contribution from Linda Cantle, Director of Operations (Pet Services).

References

Carroll, G. A., Torjussen, A., & Reeve, C. (2023). Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Households with children at greatest risk of relinquishing a cat or dog. Animal Welfare, 32, e56. Read more here.

Daniels, J. T., Busby, D., Chase-Topping, M., & Brown, S. M. (2023). A survey of dog behaviour modification practice in the UK: Who is offering it, what methods are they using and how effective do their clients perceive practitioners to be? Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 59, 1–7. Read more here.

Rooney, N. J., Baker, P. E., Blackwell, E. J., Walker, M. G., Mullan, S., Saunders, R. A., & Held, S. D. E. (2023). Run access, hutch size and time-of-day affect welfare-relevant behaviour and faecal corticosterone in pair-housed pet rabbits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 262. Read more here.

Skovlund, C. R., Forkman, B., Lund, T. B., Mistry, B. G., Nielsen, S. S., & Sandøe, P. (2023). Perceptions of the rabbit as a low investment ‘starter pet’ lead to negative impacts on its welfare: Results of two Danish surveys. Animal Welfare, 32. Read more here.