{"title":"Understanding Canine 'Reactivity': Species-Specific Behaviour or Human Inconvenience?","authors":"Danielle Stephens-Lewis, Amber Johnson, Nia Turley, Rebecca Naydorf-Hannis, Laura Scurlock-Evans, Kimberley Caroline Schenke","doi":"10.1080/10888705.2022.2147007","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dogs are often referred to as \"human's best friend,\" with many households in the United Kingdom and worldwide including a dog. Yet, whilst research highlights the myriad of human health benefits associated with canine companionship, many dogs are relinquished, or euthanized, for purported behavioral problems. A key behavior often cited in these situations is Reactivity, despite a lack of consensus in the literature (or in the lay population) as to exactly what is encompassed within this term. Resultantly, this paper reports on an online survey to investigate how the term Reactivity is understood by humans. Following the completion of a thematic analysis, six sub-themes were developed, forming three overarching theme clusters, namely; Canine Characteristics, The Importance of Human Perception and Human Capability. In sum, this research highlights the complex, nuanced and, sometimes, contradictory nature of understanding around the label of Reactivity, encompassing both canine and human factors. As such, conclusions include the proposal of a preliminary Perceived Reactivity Framework to conceptualize this seemingly multi-faceted concept.</p>","PeriodicalId":56277,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2022.2147007","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/11/24 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"VETERINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Dogs are often referred to as "human's best friend," with many households in the United Kingdom and worldwide including a dog. Yet, whilst research highlights the myriad of human health benefits associated with canine companionship, many dogs are relinquished, or euthanized, for purported behavioral problems. A key behavior often cited in these situations is Reactivity, despite a lack of consensus in the literature (or in the lay population) as to exactly what is encompassed within this term. Resultantly, this paper reports on an online survey to investigate how the term Reactivity is understood by humans. Following the completion of a thematic analysis, six sub-themes were developed, forming three overarching theme clusters, namely; Canine Characteristics, The Importance of Human Perception and Human Capability. In sum, this research highlights the complex, nuanced and, sometimes, contradictory nature of understanding around the label of Reactivity, encompassing both canine and human factors. As such, conclusions include the proposal of a preliminary Perceived Reactivity Framework to conceptualize this seemingly multi-faceted concept.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (JAAWS) publishes articles on methods of experimentation, husbandry, and care that demonstrably enhance the welfare of nonhuman animals in various settings. For administrative purposes, manuscripts are categorized into the following four content areas: welfare issues arising in laboratory, farm, companion animal, and wildlife/zoo settings. Manuscripts of up to 7,000 words are accepted that present new empirical data or a reevaluation of available data, conceptual or theoretical analysis, or demonstrations relating to some issue of animal welfare science. JAAWS also publishes brief research reports of up to 3,500 words that consist of (1) pilot studies, (2) descriptions of innovative practices, (3) studies of interest to a particular region, or (4) studies done by scholars who are new to the field or new to academic publishing. In addition, JAAWS publishes book reviews and literature reviews by invitation only.