Can we live without a dog? Consumption life cycles in dog-owner relationships

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Tony Ellson

This article uses an observational study of dog ownership to explicate understanding of consumer behavior in the marketing of pet and pet-related products. A close examination of the relationship between dog and dog owner reveals more than metaphorical parallels in consumer behavior. Dog ownership …

Tails of animal attraction: Incorporating the feline into the family

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Hilary Downey, Sarah Ellis

Increased urbanization and female employment have led to the cat overtaking the dog as the companion animal of preference. However, this article looks beyond lifestyle changes as reasons for the popularity of the cat. The article explores the emotional consumer-socialization process involving the …

Animal-companion depictions in women's magazine advertising

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Patricia F. Kennedy, Mary G. McGarvey

Via a content analysis of 1398 advertisements that include both people and pets and that appeared in women's magazines over a period of four decades, this study examines the changing roles played by companion animals and the changes in themes used in these advertisements. Considering both the …

Understanding dog-human companionship

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Michael J. Dotson, Eva M. Hyatt

This article reports a survey of 749 dog owners. The survey focuses on owners' interactions with their dogs. This research identifies seven underlying dimensions that comprise the construct of dog companionship. The dimensions include symbiotic relationship, dog-oriented self concept, …

Hope's Story; A Veterinarian from Michigan sets an Example

Magazine Articles | Contributor(s): Maria-Andromachi Iliopoulou

The role of the veterinarian in animal abuse cases.

Dogfighting, Animal Abuse and Desensitization to Violence

Magazine Articles | Contributor(s): Maria-Andromachi Iliopoulou, Maria A. Iliopoulou

This article describes the consequences of Dogfighting and Animal abuse for young people, communities, the dogs and our society in general.

Development of a survey instrument to assess health-related quality of life in small animal cancer patients treated with chemotherapy

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Maria-Andromachi Iliopoulou, Barbara E. Kitchell, Vilma Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan

Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and the Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology Program, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824. (Iliopoulou, Kitchell, Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan) This manuscript represents a portion of a thesis submitted by …

Companion animals and the elderly

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Roberta Erickson

One important "significant other" that often goes unrecognized in professional circles is the companion animal with whom many elders share their daily lives. Yet, more than a century ago, Florence Nightingale wrote that pets were excellent companions for patients confined by long-term illness. Why, …

Origins of fear of dogs in adults and children: The role of conditioning processes and prior familiarity with dogs

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Sharon Doogan, Glyn V. Thomas

One hundred adults and 30 children completed questionnaires to investigate fear of dogs. Dog fearful adults asked to recall the origins of their fear reported classical conditioning experiences more frequently than vicarious acquisition or informational transmission. Overall, however, there was no …

Aggressive behavior of dogs kept as companion animals: classification and influence of sex, reproductive status and breed

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Peter L. Borchelt

Data were obtained from a total of 245 cases of aggressive-behavior problems in dogs kept as companion animals. Aggression involved barking, growling and biting behavior. For each case, a home visit of one to several hours yielded a description of the sequences of aggressive behavior and the …

Measuring attachment to companion animals: a dog is not a cat is not a bird

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): R.Lee Zasloff

Although the literature on human-animal interactions has documented the physical, psychological, and social benefits resulting from positive relationships with dogs, cats, and other kinds of companion animals, many attachment instruments include items that pertain to specific kinds of interactions …

Ethotest: A new model to identify (shelter) dogs' skills as service animals or adoptable pets

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Pia Lucidi, Nicola Bernabò, Michela Panunzi, Paolo Dalla Villa, Mauro Mattioli

The paucity of dogs dedicated to animal-assisted therapy (AAT) for disabled people creates long waiting lists worldwide and compromises the health of the few certified animals by demanding too much work from them at times, thus jeopardizing their future as service dogs. In an attempt to obviate …

The changing concept of animal sentience

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Ian J.H. Duncan

A brief history of the concept of sentience is given. It is pointed out that the idea of sentience, at least in the mammals and birds, was accepted by lay people by the time of the Renaissance and before it was acknowledged by philosophers. It was not until the Enlightenment of the 18th century …

Assessing the human–animal relationship in farmed species: A critical review

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Susanne Waiblinger, Xavier Boivin, Vivi Pedersen, Maria-Vittoria Tosi, Andrew M. Janczak, E. Kathalijne Visser, Robert Bryan Jones

The present paper focuses on six main issues. First, we briefly explain why an increased understanding of the human–animal relationship (HAR) is an essential component of any strategy intended to improve the welfare of farmed animals and their stockpersons. Second, we list the main internal and …

The quality of the relation between handler and military dogs influences efficiency and welfare of dogs

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

Over the last 10 years, the influence of the dog–owner relationship on dog behaviour has received growing attention, unlike the working dog handler's relationship. Using a questionnaire addressed to the 430 dog handlers of the Belgian army in 2001 (303 respondents), this study investigated the …

Quality of life of the pet dog: Influence of owner and dog's characteristics

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Lieta Marinelli, Serena Adamelli, Simona Normando, Gabriele Bono

The present study investigates how characteristics of both the dog, Canis familiaris, and their owner influence the quality of life (QoL) of the pet dog. The investigation was carried out using a multiple approach: (1) three questionnaires which investigated characteristics of the dog and their …

Owner-companion dog interactions: relationships between demographic variables, potentially problematic behaviours, training engagement and shared activities

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Pauleen Charmayne Bennett, Vanessa Ilse Rohlf

Many companion dogs occupy a privileged position in our society, living closely with human caretakers who go to great lengths to provide for their needs and desires. Others fare less well, being abandoned or killed, many because they are believed to exhibit behaviour problems. The aim in this study …

A preliminary model of human–animal relationships in the zoo

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Hosey G

The concept of the human–animal relationship (HAR) is widely used in farm animal research to describe the outcome of the different qualities and quantities of interaction between stockpersons and the animals in their care. Thus, negative, positive or neutral HARs may result from the effect of …

Growth and Age at Reproductive Maturity of the Carolina Pigmy Rattlesnake, Sistrurus m. miliarius (Reptilia: Serpentes)

Theses | Contributor(s): Kevin Robert Messenger

Growth and age at reproductive maturity are life history attributes that play an important role in the development of proper management strategies. The Carolina Pigmy Rattlesnake, Sistrurus m. miliarius, is one of two dwarf rattlesnake species. The subspecies ranges from eastern NC to nearly the …

An Analysis of the Economic Factors and Changes in Land-Use Associated with the Transition to a Beef Feedlot System in Waterloo County

Theses | Contributor(s): Gary B. Griffith

Agricultural geography in Canada has been largely neglected as a field of geography until relatively recently. This is evidenced by several factors. First, until the mid 1960's, there were only two different agricultural geography courses offered in Canadian universities. Secondly, in that same …