Clinical trial NCT04329741: The Stealth Pet Obedience Training Study
Official title: Strengthening the Bond Between Owners and Their Dogs to Increase Physical Activity
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Physical Activity
Keywords: dog walking
dog ownership
human-animal interaction
Lead sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2020-04-01
Enrollment: 41
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 21
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: 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.


Eligibility criteria: 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in physical activity from baseline to 6 weeks
timeFrame: 7 days at baseline, 6 weeks
measure: Change in physical activity from baseline to 12 weeks
timeFrame: 7 days at baseline, 12 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change in sedentary behavior from baseline to 6 weeks
timeFrame: 7 days at baseline, 6 weeks
measure: Change in sedentary behavior from baseline to 12 weeks
timeFrame: 7 days at baseline, 12 weeks
measure: Change in dog-owner bond strength from baseline to 6 weeks
timeFrame: baseline, 6 weeks
measure: Change in dog-owner bond strength from baseline to 12 weeks
timeFrame: baseline, 12 weeks
measure: Change in dog walking self-efficacy from baseline to 6 weeks
timeFrame: baseline, 6 weeks
measure: Change in dog walking self-efficacy from baseline to 12 weeks
timeFrame: baseline, 12 weeks
measure: Change in social support for dog walking from baseline to 6 weeks
timeFrame: baseline, 6 weeks
measure: Change in social support for dog walking from baseline to 12 weeks
timeFrame: baseline, 12 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Amherst
country: United States
facility: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
References: