Association between preschooler movement behaviours, family dog ownership, dog play and dog walking: Findings from the PLAYCE study

Effects of dog ownership on children's social-emotional development: findings from the PLAYCE cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Dog ownership is common in families with children and could play a role in children's social-emotional development. This study used longitudinal data on dog ownership and changing dog ownership to investigate their effects on young children's social-emotional development.

METHODS

Parents reported family dog ownership when their child was aged 2-5 years and at 5-7 years. Children (n = 591) were assigned to a dog ownership group by combining their current and prior dog ownership status. The parent-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) measured children's social-emotional development at 5-7 years. Analyses included linear, Poisson, and logistic regression and adjusted for socio-demographic factors.

RESULTS

Girls who acquired a dog had significantly higher peer problems scores than non-dog owner girls (exp(β) = 1.8; 95% CI 1.3, 2.6). Boys who acquired a dog had significantly lower peer problems scores than continuing non-dog owner boys (exp(β) = 0.5; 95% CI 0.3, 0.8). There were no other significant effects observed between dog ownership group and SDQ scores or the odds of having abnormal scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, changing or continuing dog ownership status had minimal impact on young children's social-emotional development. Future longitudinal research should examine the effects of dog ownership on child development by family characteristics and attachment to the dog.

IMPACT

Dog acquisition was associated with higher peer problems for girls and lower peer problems for boys, but not the odds of having abnormal peer problems scores. Dog acquisition, dog loss, and continuing dog ownership status were not associated with other measure of social-emotional development. This study used longitudinal data to examine effects of dog ownership on child development. Overall, changing or continuing dog ownership status had minimal impact on young children's social-emotional development. Since dog ownership is selected into, longitudinal research is needed to confirm if changes in children's social-emotional development occur following changes in dog ownership.

Pet Ownership and Family Involvement in Sports and Other Activities

The impact that companion animals may have on adolescent engagement in sports and other activities is currently unclear. This study included participant data gathered from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®, a longitudinal study of brain development and youth health outcomes in the United States (n = 8,489). This study aimed to clarify the extent to which companion animal type impacts family involvement in sports and other activities. Additionally, it is framed within the bioecological model of human development, which provides a useful framework for human-animal interaction researchers going forward. This study utilized multiple logistic and linear regressions in answering the research questions posed. The results indicate that, when adjusting for context- and person-level covariates, there does not appear to be a meaningful relationship between companion animal type and family involvement in sports and other activities, physical activity, or screen time. This study serves as a guidepost for human-animal interaction researchers as to the importance of including contextual variables in their studies before making claims regarding the impact of companion animals on youth, especially when details about the companion animal relationship are unavailable.

Longitudinal effects of dog ownership, dog acquisition, and dog loss on children's movement behaviours: findings from the PLAYCE cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Regular physical activity is important for children's physical and mental health, yet many children do not achieve recommended amounts of physical activity. Dog ownership has been associated with increased physical activity in children, however, there have been no longitudinal studies examining this relationship. This study used data from the Play Spaces and Environments for Children's Physical Activity (PLAYCE) cohort study to examine the longitudinal effects of dog ownership status on children's movement behaviours.

METHODS

Change in dog ownership from preschool (wave 1, age 2-5) to fulltime school (wave 2, age 5-7) was used as a natural experiment with four distinct dog ownership groups: continuing non-dog owners (n = 307), continuing dog owners (n = 204), dog acquired (n = 58), and dog loss (n = 31; total n = 600). Daily movement behaviours, including physical activity, sedentary time, sleep, and screen time, were measured using accelerometry and parent-report surveys. Differences between groups over time and by sex were tested using linear mixed effects regression models.

RESULTS

Girls who acquired a dog increased their light intensity activities and games by 52.0 min/day (95%CI 7.9, 96.0) and girls who lost a dog decreased their light intensity activities and games by 62.1 min/day (95%CI -119.3, -4.9) compared to no change among non-dog owners. Girls and boys who acquired a dog increased their unstructured physical activity by 6.8 (95%CI 3.2, 10.3) and 7.1 (95%CI 3.9, 10.3) occasions/week, compared to no changes among non-dog owners. Girls and boys who lost a dog reduced their unstructured physical activity by 10.2 (95%CI -15.0, -5.3) and 7.7 (95%CI -12.0, -3.5) occasions/week. Girls who lost a dog decreased their total physical activity by 46.3 min/day (95%CI -107.5, 14.8) compared to no change among non-dog owners. Continuing dog ownership was typically not associated with movement behaviours. Dog ownership group was not associated with changes in sleep and had mixed associations with screen time.

CONCLUSION

The positive influence of dog ownership on children's physical activity begins in early childhood and differs by child sex. Further research should examine the specific contributions dog-facilitated physical activity makes to children's overall physical activity, including the intensity and duration of dog walking and play.

Are children and dogs best friends? A scoping review to explore the positive and negative effects of child-dog interactions

Personal wellbeing is greatly influenced by our childhood and adolescence, and the relationships formed during those phases of our development. The human-dog bond represents a significant relationship that started thousands of years ago. There is a higher prevalence of dog ownership around the world, especially in households including children. This has resulted in a growing number of researchers studying our interactions with dogs and an expanding evidence base from the exploration of child-dog interactions. We review the potential effects of child-dog interactions on the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of both species. A search of the SCOPUS database identified documents published between January 1980 and April 2022. Filtering for key inclusion criteria, duplicate removals, and inspecting the references of these documents for additional sources, we reviewed a total of 393 documents, 88% of which were scientific articles. We were able to define the numerous ways in which children and dogs interact, be it neutral (e.g., sharing a common area), positive (e.g., petting), or negative (e.g., biting). Then, we found evidence for an association between childhood interaction with dogs and an array of benefits such as increased physical activities, a reduction of stress, and the development of empathy. Nonetheless, several detrimental outcomes have also been identified for both humans and dogs. Children are the most at-risk population regarding dog bites and dog-borne zoonoses, which may lead to injuries/illness, a subsequent fear of dogs, or even death. Moreover, pet bereavement is generally inevitable when living with a canine companion and should not be trivialized. With a canine focus, children sometimes take part in caretaking behaviors toward them, such as feeding or going for walks. These represent opportunities for dogs to relieve themselves outside, but also to exercise and socialize. By contrast, a lack of physical activity can lead to the onset of obesity in both dogs and children. Dogs may present greater levels of stress when in the presence of children. Finally, the welfare of assistance, therapy, and free-roaming dogs who may interact with children remains underexplored. Overall, it appears that the benefits of child-dog interactions outweigh the risks for children but not for dogs; determination of the effects on both species, positive as well as negative, still requires further development. We call for longitudinal studies and cross-cultural research in the future to better understand the impact of child-dog interactions. Our review is important for people in and outside of the scientific community, to pediatricians, veterinarians, and current or future dog owners seeking to extend their knowledge, and to inform future research of scientists studying dogs and human-animal interactions.