ABSTRACT

Significant numbers of dogs are relinquished to shelters each year, impacting dogs, owners, and communities. Attitudes surrounding relinquishment may guide how a dog owner responds to situations such as behavioral problems or financial difficulties and may also influence what owners disclose to shelters at the time of surrender. However, no previous studies have examined attitudes toward relinquishment from those not currently involved in the process. In this study, university students (n = 443) completed an online survey examining their attitudes toward dog relinquishment in various scenarios focused on either dog-related or owner-related reasons for relinquishment. Additionally, participants were told that the dogs were either adopted from a shelter or purchased from a breeder. Dog source had no significant effect on judgments of the decision to surrender; therefore, a bias against shelter dogs was not evident. Participants rated individuals relinquishing dogs negatively, but there was a significant effect of scenario, with more sympathy for those relinquishing for financial difficulties or serious dog behavioral problems. Dog relinquishment was rated as less acceptable by those with current or previous ownership of a dog, previous experience with professional trainers, and those who reported higher pet attachment. These results supplement the existing research on attitudes toward relinquishment. A better understanding of attitudes surrounding relinquishment provides context for owner-stated reasons for surrendering dogs and information that could help guide future interventions for decreasing relinquishments.

摘要

每年有大量的狗被放逐到庇护所，影响到狗，主人和社区。放弃的态度可能会指导狗主人如何应对诸如行为问题或经济困难之类的情况，也可能影响狗主人在投降时向庇护所披露的信息。但是，以前的研究都没有从目前不参与该过程的人那里研究放弃的态度。在这项研究中，大学生（n = 443）完成了一项在线调查，考察了他们在各种情况下对狗被遗弃的态度，重点是与狗有关或与主人有关的被遗弃的原因。此外，参与者被告知，这些狗要么是从庇护所收养的，要么是从饲养员那里购买的。狗源对移交决定的判断没有重大影响；因此，对庇护犬的偏见并不明显。参与者对放弃狗的人给予了负面评价，但这种情况产生了显着影响，对那些因经济困难或严重的狗行为问题而放弃狗的人表示更多同情。拥有或现在拥有狗的人，以前有专业培训师的经验的人以及报告宠物依恋程度较高的人，对狗的放行被评为较不可接受。这些结果补充了有关放弃态度的现有研究。更好地理解有关放弃的态度，为主人陈述的交出狗的原因提供了背景，并提供了信息，可以帮助指导将来为减少放弃而进行的干预。