Argentine version of the Monash scale for the evaluation of the owners' relationship with their dogs (MDORS-AR) and analysis of the demographic factors associated with its results

Abstract

The dogs-owners’ relationship Monash scale, which evaluates the owner's perception of the bond with his dog, is a widely used tool in the studies about dog human interactions. The objective of this work was to validate a Spanish version of the scale with an Argentine population. To this end, the scale was administered together with a demographic survey, both through the Internet and face-to-face, to 1703 people. First, we found evidence that confirm the three components’ factor structure of the original scale. Secondly, we found that the administration form influences the results. Since people who responded online reported being emotionally closer to their dogs and perceived its maintenance as less than those who answered in person. Third, there were several associations between dog and owner’s characteristics and the scores of the scale: people who live alone interact more with their dogs, those without children reported greater interaction and emotional closeness, castrated and female dogs are perceived as more costly and people who own a dog for longer time feel emotionally closer to them even though they interact less whit their dog. In conclusion, the present version of the scale is a valid and sensitive tool to detect individual differences regarding the owners' perception of the relationship with their dogs.

Keywords

• vínculo humano-animal, apego, interacción perro-persona, cercanía emocional, costos percibidos de la tenencia de mascotas