NCT04329741

The Stealth Pet Obedience Training Study

Strengthening the Bond Between Owners and Their Dogs to Increase Physical Activity

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 41 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Amherst · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 21 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Americans love pets. Nearly 1 in 2 American households (44%) own at least one pet dog and more than 1 in 3 (35%) own a cat. The bond people form with their pets can be powerful and can provide many mental and physical health benefits. In the case of pet dogs, a strong dog-owner bond increases the odds of regular dog walking, which can help owners meet physical activity guidelines. When the bond is strong, owners feel a sense of responsibility to walk the dog, as well as motivation and social support to walk. Dog walking may be a particularly sustainable form of physical activity as dogs require regular exercise throughout their lives, across all seasons. Owners less bonded to their dogs are less likely to walk them regularly and 40% of owners report never walking their dog. Obedience training may strengthen the dog-owner bond. Thus, the proposed study will test the hypotheses that obedience training can 1) strengthen the dog-owner bond, and 2) promote physical activity among owners. Forty dog owners who do not regularly walk their dog will be randomized to a 6-week obedience training course (n=20) or a control group that does not receive dog training (n=20). The investigators will assess the strength of the dog-owner bond (via questionnaires) and physical activity levels (via a wearable activity monitor) before training, immediately after completing training, and 6 weeks after completing training. The hypothesis is that the dog-owner bond will strengthen and physical activity levels will increase in the intervention group as compared to the control group. As over 50 million American households own a dog, support for this hypothesis would support further investigation of dog obedience training as a novel strategy for promoting public health.

Conditions

• Physical Activity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	6-week basic dog obedience training course	The class focused on teaching owners how to better communicate with their dog and covered basic commands (e.g., sit, down, watch), loose leash walking, and polite greetings, among other skills. The importance of dog walking was implied, but not specifically emphasized. Classes were held once per week for 45 minutes, with 5-8 students per class.

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-07-01
• Primary completion: 2018-06-30
• Completion: 2018-06-30
• First posted: 2020-04-01
• Last updated: 2020-04-01

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States