Compliance with Veterinary Advice on Dog Walking Is Influenced by Owners' Beliefs.
- 1Animal Behaviour, Cognition & Welfare Group, Department of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK.
- 2Healthy Pet Behaviour Services, Brisbane, QLD 4034, Australia.
- 3Melbourne Veterinary Specialist Centre, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150, Australia.
Abstract
Dog owners may not always comply with veterinary advice on walking their dogs. This study surveyed dog owners internationally to elucidate factors which may be driving owner decision-making and variations in compliance. Four hypothetical scenarios were presented where the veterinarian advised the owner to walk their dog less for a medical (arthritis/degenerative joint disease) or behavioural (fear/aggression to something commonly encountered on a walk) reason, or more for a medical (overweight) or behavioural (improving mental well-being) reason. Owners were significantly less likely to comply with veterinary advice to walk their dog less for a behavioural reason. Multivariate analysis produced a minimum adequate model with four significant variables to explain differences in compliance with advice for walking less for a medical versus a behavioural reason: I do NOT feel that my vet expects me to walk my dog; I believe that walking my dog is important for my dog's physical health; Walking my dog gives me important "quality time" in nature; I do NOT feel that walking my dog is important for my dog's social interactions with people. Owners' beliefs around these factors were most influential in the prioritisation of physical over behavioural health. Awareness of owner beliefs, particularly those involving walking less for behavioural reasons, may enable veterinary teams to use appropriate counselling tools to bring about improvements in outcomes for patients.
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BibTeX
@article{bollaert2026compliance,
title = {{Compliance with Veterinary Advice on Dog Walking Is Influenced by Owners' Beliefs.}},
author = {Bronwen E Bollaert and Daniel S Mills and Jacqui M Ley and Helen E Zulch},
journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/ani16192975},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882943},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Compliance with Veterinary Advice on Dog Walking Is Influenced by Owners' Beliefs.
AU - Bronwen E Bollaert
AU - Daniel S Mills
AU - Jacqui M Ley
AU - Helen E Zulch
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
JO - Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
DO - 10.3390/ani16192975
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882943
AB - Dog owners may not always comply with veterinary advice on walking their dogs. This study surveyed dog owners internationally to elucidate factors which may be driving owner decision-making and variations in compliance. Four hypothetical scenarios were presented where the veterinarian advised the owner to walk their dog less for a medical (arthritis/degenerative joint disease) or behavioural (fear/aggression to something commonly encountered on a walk) reason, or more for a medical (overweight) or behavioural (improving mental well-being) reason. Owners were significantly less likely to comply with veterinary advice to walk their dog less for a behavioural reason. Multivariate analysis produced a minimum adequate model with four significant variables to explain differences in compliance with advice for walking less for a medical versus a behavioural reason: I do NOT feel that my vet expects me to walk my dog; I believe that walking my dog is important for my dog's physical health; Walking my dog gives me important "quality time" in nature; I do NOT feel that walking my dog is important for my dog's social interactions with people. Owners' beliefs around these factors were most influential in the prioritisation of physical over behavioural health. Awareness of owner beliefs, particularly those involving walking less for behavioural reasons, may enable veterinary teams to use appropriate counselling tools to bring about improvements in outcomes for patients.
SN - 2076-2615
ER -