Talking treats: A qualitative study to understand the importance of treats in the pet-caregiver relationship.

Autor: Nielson SA; Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada. Electronic address: snielson@uoguelph.ca., Khosa DK; Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada., Verbrugghe A; Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada., Clow KM; Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Preventive veterinary medicine [Prev Vet Med] 2024 May; Vol. 226, pp. 106163. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 02.
DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2024.106163
Abstrakt: Treats are a prevalent aspect of pet care, frequently given by dog and cat caregivers for varying reasons. However, recommendations of reducing or eliminating treat feeding poses a common challenge, leading to potential non-adherence surrounding weight management practices. To explore caregivers' perceptions and experiences surrounding treat feeding, we conducted five online focus groups with 24 dog and cat caregivers, recruited via an infographic shared on social media using snowball sampling. NVivo12© was used to organize and analyze verbatim transcripts using inductive thematic analysis. Outcomes illustrated three major themes: 1) the role of treats as an important tool for caregivers; 2) considerations for treat selection and provision; and 3) caregivers' need for more and better information and support related to treats. Participants emphasized the importance of treats for managing behaviours, health-related activities, and enhancing the pet-caregiver relationship. Results suggest that the diverse and valued applications of treats, caregivers' satisfaction associated with treat-giving, and perceived lack of guidance surrounding treats may present challenges for caregivers in reducing treat feeding with their pets. Findings highlight opportunities to enhance the available resources that can empower both veterinary professionals and caregivers to make well-informed decisions and foster sustainable changes in treat feeding practices to support weight management and overall health. Such considerations can improve client compliance with veterinary recommendations, to promote companion animal health and well-being while fostering the human-animal bond.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The work described has not been published previously, is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, its publication is approved by all authors, and if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright-holder.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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