Factors Affecting Turkish Dog Owners' Breed Choices, and Their Associations with Socio-demographic and Dog-Related Variables

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting dog owners' breed choices at the time of acquisition and whether they were associated with socio-demographics and dog-related variables (size, temperament, function). Answers (n = 581) to a questionnaire formed the data for this study. In order to determine which factors affected breed choice, a principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted. This revealed that owners were influenced by adaptation ability, social influence, working expectation, and breed characteristics at the time of dog acquisition, all of which explained 54.8% of the total variance. In order to determine the relationships between these influences, demographics, and dog-related factors, both univariate and multiple regression analyses were conducted. It was found that gender, education level, housing type, number of children, having another pet, and owners' self-classification of professionalism were significantly associated with the factors affecting owners' choices. Furthermore, dog-related factors were found to be a better predictor than the demographics of the owner in determining the factors affecting breed choices.