Impact of the First COVID-19 Lockdown on Management of Pet Dogs in the UK
Open accessAbstract
Initial COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in the United Kingdom (23 March–12 May 2020) prompted lifestyle changes for many people. We explored the impact of this lockdown phase on pet dogs using an online survey completed by 6004 dog owners, who provided information including dog management data for the 7 days prior to survey completion (4–12 May 2020), and for February 2020 (pre-lockdown). We explored associations between potential predictors and four outcomes relating to changes pre-/during lockdown (reduction in number and duration of walks; increased frequency of play/training, and provision of toys). Most owners (79.5%) reported their dog’s routine had changed compared to pre-lockdown. There was a four-fold increase in the proportion not left alone for >5 min on any day during a weekly period (14.6% pre-lockdown, 58.0% during lockdown), with the proportion being left for ≥3 h at a time decreasing from 48.5% to 5.4%. Dogs were walked less often and for less time daily during lockdown, with factors related to the dog, owner, household, and home location associated with changes to walking practices. Many dogs had more play/training sessions and were given toys more frequently during lockdown. Decreased walk duration was associated with increased odds of play/training opportunities and toy provision. These changes to dog management have the potential for immediate and longer-term welfare problems.
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Frontline workers face increased workloads and time pressures, leaving less time available to care for pets.
“Similarly, frontline workers face increased workloads and time pressures, leaving less time available to care for pets (5, 6).”
From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as [6]
The Discussion (§4.2; page not provided) says some key workers, including healthcare staff, worked increased hours and consequently spent less time at home. It does not specifically report increased time pressures or establish that they had less time to care for pets. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredChristley et al. assessed the management of pet dogs during the first UK COVID-19 lockdown with 85.7% of participants identifying as female, 14.2% as male, and 0.1% as other.
“Similarly, Christley et al. (6) assessed the management of pet dogs during the first UK COVID-19 lockdown with 85.7% of participants identifying as female, 14.2% identifying as male, and 0.1% identifying as “other.””
From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as [6]
Christley et al. highlight the need to recruit a larger sample of males to reduce sampling bias in animal behavior and welfare research.
“Christley et al. (6) highlight the need to recruit a larger sample of males to reduce sampling bias in animal behavior and welfare research.”
From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as [6]
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Holland, K. E., Owczarczak-Garstecka, S. C., Anderson, K. L., Casey, R. A., Christley, R. M., Harris, L., McMillan, K. M., Mead, R., Murray, J. K., Samet, L., et al. (2021) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani11010240 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-citationDog Walking before and during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: experiences of Uk dog owners.
Owczarczak-Garstecka, S. C., Graham, T. M., Archer, D. C., & Westgarth, C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18126315 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Self-citationCarroll, G. A., Torjussen, A., & Reeve, C. (2022) · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.1017954 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
- Authors
- Christley, R. M., Murray, J. K., Anderson, K. L., Buckland, E. L., Casey, R. A., Harvey, N. D., Harris, L., Holland, K. E., McMillan, K. M., Mead, R., Owczarczak-Garstecka, S. C., & Upjohn, M. M.
- Affiliations
- Dogs Trust (GB)
- Dogs Trust, London EC1V 7RQ, UK
- Corresponding author
- Christley, Robert M.
- Murray, Jane K.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Animals
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2020-12-22
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5
- ISSN
- 2076-2615 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7822167
- OpenAlex
- W3116406098
- Cited by
- 93
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 23
- FWCI
- 10.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Animals (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Dogs Trust
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Keywords
- COVID-19 lockdown, pet dogs, dog welfare, dog walking, dog owners, dog toys, human-dog relationship, lifestyle modification
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