The Stealth Pet Obedience Training Study (SPOT)

Strengthening the Bond Between Owners and Their Dogs to Increase Physical Activity

Americans love pets. Nearly 1 in 2 American households (44%) own at least one pet dog and more than 1 in 3 (35%) own a cat. The bond people form with their pets can be powerful and can provide many mental and physical health benefits. In the case of pet dogs, a strong dog-owner bond increases the odds of regular dog walking, which can help owners meet physical activity guidelines. When the bond is strong, owners feel a sense of responsibility to walk the dog, as well as motivation and social support to walk. Dog walking may be a particularly sustainable form of physical activity as dogs require regular exercise throughout their lives, across all seasons. Owners less bonded to their dogs are less likely to walk them regularly and 40% of owners report never walking their dog.

Obedience training may strengthen the dog-owner bond. Thus, the proposed study will test the hypotheses that obedience training can 1) strengthen the dog-owner bond, and 2) promote physical activity among owners. Forty dog owners who do not regularly walk their dog will be randomized to a 6-week obedience training course (n=20) or a control group that does not receive dog training (n=20). The investigators will assess the strength of the dog-owner bond (via questionnaires) and physical activity levels (via a wearable activity monitor) before training, immediately after completing training, and 6 weeks after completing training. The hypothesis is that the dog-owner bond will strengthen and physical activity levels will increase in the intervention group as compared to the control group. As over 50 million American households own a dog, support for this hypothesis would support further investigation of dog obedience training as a novel strategy for promoting public health.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Activity
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: 6-week basic dog obedience training course

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 41
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, 01003
      • University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 21+ years
• Current dog owner
• Walk dog ≤3 for no more than 20 minutes
• Have not attended obedience training course
• English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have a dog with a history of aggressive behavior
• Have a dog overdue for rabies vaccination (self-reported)
• Self-report regular exercise over last 6 months
• Have any condition that limits walking ability
• Have uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Waitlist control
Experimental: Intervention; 6-week basic dog obedience training course	Behavioral: 6-week basic dog obedience training course; The class focused on teaching owners how to better communicate with their dog and covered basic commands (e.g., sit, down, watch), loose leash walking, and polite greetings, among other skills. The importance of dog walking was implied, but not specifically emphasized. Classes were held once per week for 45 minutes, with 5-8 students per class.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in physical activity from baseline to 6 weeks	Measured with ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers	7 days at baseline, 6 weeks
Change in physical activity from baseline to 12 weeks	Measured with ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers	7 days at baseline, 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in sedentary behavior from baseline to 6 weeks	Measured with ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers	7 days at baseline, 6 weeks
Change in sedentary behavior from baseline to 12 weeks	Measured with ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers	7 days at baseline, 12 weeks
Change in dog-owner bond strength from baseline to 6 weeks	The Perceived Emotional Closeness sub-scale of the Cat/Dog Owner Relationship Scale (C/DORS) was used to assess dog-owner bond strength. The sub-scale score can range from 1-5, with a higher score indicating greater emotional closeness.	baseline, 6 weeks
Change in dog-owner bond strength from baseline to 12 weeks	The Perceived Emotional Closeness sub-scale of the Cat/Dog Owner Relationship Scale (C/DORS) was used to assess dog-owner bond strength. The sub-scale score can range from 1-5, with a higher score indicating greater emotional closeness.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change in dog walking self-efficacy from baseline to 6 weeks	Sub-scales from the Dogs and Walking Survey (DAWGS) were used to assess social cognitive theory-based determinants of dog walking behavior. The self-efficacy sub-scale is scored on a scale of 9-45, with higher scores indicating greater dog walking self-efficacy.	baseline, 6 weeks
Change in dog walking self-efficacy from baseline to 12 weeks	Sub-scales from the Dogs and Walking Survey (DAWGS) were used to assess social cognitive theory-based determinants of dog walking behavior. The self-efficacy sub-scale is scored on a scale of 9-45, with higher scores indicating greater dog walking self-efficacy.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change in social support for dog walking from baseline to 6 weeks	Sub-scales from the Dogs and Walking Survey (DAWGS) were used to assess social cognitive theory-based determinants of dog walking behavior. The social support for dog walking sub-scale is scored on a scale of 3-15, with higher scores indicating greater perceived support from one's dog for walking.	baseline, 6 weeks
Change in social support for dog walking from baseline to 12 weeks	Sub-scales from the Dogs and Walking Survey (DAWGS) were used to assess social cognitive theory-based determinants of dog walking behavior. The social support for dog walking sub-scale is scored on a scale of 3-15, with higher scores indicating greater perceived support from one's dog for walking.	baseline, 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 4, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 30, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): April 1, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 1, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 30, 2020
• Last Verified: March 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: human-animal interaction; dog walking; dog ownership
• Other Study ID Numbers: Grant #16-00293

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No