“In times of stress, it is good to be with them”: experience of dog owners from a rural district of Sri Lanka

BMC Public Health

Research

Kosala Weerakoon¹  Jayanthe Rajapakse²  Devarajan Rathish³ 

[1] Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Sri Lanka;Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Sri Lanka;

关键词: Child’s preference;    Dog companionship;    Mental satisfaction;    Pet dog;    Stress reduction;    Village dog;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-022-14863-6

 received in 2022-07-31, accepted in 2022-12-13,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe dog has been man’s best companion since ancient times. And, dog ownership is associated with improved physical activity and cardiovascular health. We aim to explore the experience of dog owners on dog ownership and its effects on personal and family health in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Such studies are scarce in developing countries and rural regions.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted using in-depth interviews with dog owners in the Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed and thematic analysis was performed.ResultsThe study findings were reported under the themes of experience of dog owners, pet dogs for children, village dogs as pets, the role of pet dogs in personal and family health, and participants’ advice on dog ownership. Participants highlighted companionship as a positive aspect of pet dogs. However, expenses and reduced travel were the concerns of dog ownership. A child’s preference was important in owning a pet dog. Also, participants were willing to adopt the village dogs. Further, they perceived stress reduction and mental satisfaction when interacting with their pet dogs. Moreover, participants seldom experienced major health risks from their pet dogs.ConclusionsHuman–dog interaction seems to improve the participants’ mental well-being, and future research should focus on its possible consequences. Further, the village dogs were adopted as pets. Guided promotion of such activities could ease concerns related to village dogs in developing and rural regions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

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