The effects of the Spanish COVID-19 lockdown on people, their pets, and the human-animal bond

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Spanish confinement for the control of the COVID-19 pandemic on the behavior of pet cats and dogs, and the support that pets provided to their owners. We found that the quality of life of owners was strongly influenced by the lifestyle...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of veterinary behavior 2020-11, Vol.40, p.75-91
Main Authors: Bowen, Jonathan, García, Elena, Darder, Patricia, Argüelles, Juan, Fatjó, Jaume
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
behavior
Canine Research
cats
confinement
COVID-19
dogs
human-animal bond
SARS-CoV-2
welfare
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Spanish confinement for the control of the COVID-19 pandemic on the behavior of pet cats and dogs, and the support that pets provided to their owners. We found that the quality of life of owners was strongly influenced by the lifestyle and emotional effects of the confinement, and that pets provided them with substantial support to mitigate those effects. However, pets showed signs of behavioral change that were consistent with stress, with dogs that had pre-existing behavioral problems being the most affected.
ISSN:1558-7878
1878-7517
DOI:10.1016/j.jveb.2020.05.013