The Stealth Pet Obedience Training Study

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Physical Activity

In brief

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.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04329741

Run by

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

People needed

41

Starts

2017-07-01

Expected to finish

2018-06-30

Last updated by the study team

2020-04-01

Who can join

Age: 21 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

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

You may not qualify if…

• 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

Where it is running

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

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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