Why do people adopt dogs?
Format of work:
Conference Presentation
Event presented at / Journal Name:
Seventh Annual Meeting of AWRN
Speaker / Contact Author's Name:
Eleanor Jordan
Speaker / Contact Author's E-mail Address:
Eleanor.jordan@dogstrust.org.uk
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Research aim:
To understand how differences in the motivation to adopt a dog are shaped by an adopter’s demographics and the characteristics of the dog they chose.
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Background:
There are an increasing number of dogs entering rehoming centres that need to find new adoptive homes. Very little is known about what motivates an individual to adopt a dog and whether these motivations show systematic variations between different dog types or adopter demographics.
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Approach:
Online survey of adopters completed after successfully adopting a dog.
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Key finding:
Motivation for adopting a dog is complex and significantly influenced by both adopter and dog characteristics. We do see distinct motivations between adopters which may be useful for improving the rehoming process.
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Industry or policy relevance:
Rehoming processes may want to take into account that there are distinct motivations for rehoming.
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Route for practical application:
It may be beneficial to ascertain an adopter’s motivation for acquiring a dog during matching.
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Confidence in findings and next steps towards realising impact:
Further work is needed to determine what impact these distinct motivations have on the success of adoptions.
Funders:
Dogs Trust, PPL
Links to Open Access Publications or DOI:
Citation:
Jordan, E. 2023. ‘Why do people adopt dogs? Exploring the role of adopter and dog demographics on motivations for getting a dog’. Seventh Annual Meeting of AWRN, Great North Museum, Newcastle. 18-19th January 2023.
