Human-Dog Relationship during the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy
Danila d’Angelo,
Andrea Chirico,
Luigi Sacchettino,
Federica Manunta,
Maurizio Martucci,
Anna Cestaro,
Luigi Avallone,
Antonio Giordano,
Francesca Ciani
Affiliations
Danila d’Angelo
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy
Andrea Chirico
Department of Psychology of Development and Socialization Processes, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Luigi Sacchettino
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy
Federica Manunta
Veterinary Behavior and Consulting Service at “Free Interdisciplinary Italian Dog Academy” (LAICI), 25126 Brescia, Italy
Maurizio Martucci
Azienda Sanitaria Locale 3, 10068 Piemonte, Italy
Anna Cestaro
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy
Luigi Avallone
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy
Antonio Giordano
Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine and Center of Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Francesca Ciani
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy
The SARS-CoV2 pandemic forced an abrupt interruption of social contacts and interpersonal affective relationships all over the world, according to national directives. Many considerable inconveniences occurred with important repercussions also on the emotional state of people and their pets. We carried out a national survey to evaluate the human-dog relationship in a social isolation context using an adapted version of Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale, the perception of the dogs’ discomfort by their human owners, and the resilience of the dog through the quantification of symptoms, in time of the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results highlighted that the human-dog interaction was similar during quarantine; however, there was lower owner’s perception of a dog’s cost during the quarantine than before it.
