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Table 1 Univariable associations with perceived dog encouragement to walk in 629 dog owners in RESIDE Study, Perth, Western Australia (Sep 2003-Mar 2005)

From: Understanding how dogs encourage and motivate walking: cross-sectional findings from RESIDE

Variable

 

Less than very often (<3pwk)

N (%)

Very often (3 + pwk)

N (%)

OR

95 % CI

P

Dog-related factors

 Number of dogs owned

Single

263 (56.4)

203 (43.6)

1

  

Multiple

75 (51.4)

71 (48.6)

1.23

0.85–1.78

0.28

 Dog size

Small

153 (62.4)

92 (37.6)

1

  

Medium/large

181 (50.0)

181 (50.0)

1.66

1.20–2.32

0.002

 Level of attachment to dog

Medium/low

77 (74.8)

26 (25.2)

1

  

High

261 (51.3)

248 (48.7)

2.81

1.75–4.54

<0.001

 Spouse/partner main person in household who walks with dog

Yes

64 (66.7)

32 (33.3)

1

  

No

274 (53.1)

242 (46.9)

1.77

1.12–2.79

0.02

 Child main person in household who walks with dog

Yes

42 (77.8)

12 (22.2)

1

  

No

296 (53.0)

262 (47.0)

3.10

1.60–6.01

<0.001

 Owns an overweight dog

Yes

38 (58.0)

42 (42.0)

1

  

No

271 (54.4)

227 (45.6)

1.16

0.75–1.79

0.51

 Affected by poor health or age of dog

Yes

148 (56.7)

113 (43.3)

1

  

No

186 (53.8)

160 (46.2)

1.13

0.82–1.56

0.47

 Perceived access to Public Open Space with dog-supportive features

Poor

92 (51.7)

86 (48.3)

1

  

Good/Average

246 (56.8)

187 (43.2)

0.81

0.57–1.15

0.25

 Park within 1.6 km of home with dog-supportive features

No

288 (55.9)

227 (44.1)

1

  

Yes

50 (51.5)

47 (48.5)

1.19

0.77–1.84

0.43

Cognitive factors

 Subjective norm of family, other owners and veterinarian to walking with dog daily

Neutral/Negative

276 (57.9)

201 (42.1)

1

  

Positive

59 (45.7)

70 (54.3)

1.63

1.10–2.41

0.01

 Perceived dog-specific barriers to walking with dog daily

Ambivalent-Likely to discourage

154 (48.6)

163 (51.4)

1

  

Unlikely to discourage

180 (62.1)

110 (37.9)

1.73

1.25–2.39

0.001

 Knowing dog enjoys going for a walk

Ambivalent-Unlikely motivation to walk with dog daily

146 (67.6)

70 (32.4)

1

  

Likely motivation to walk with dog daily

188 (48.1)

203 (51.9)

2.25

1.59–3.19

<0.001

 I feel safe when walking with my dogs

Ambivalent-Unlikely motivation to walk with dog daily

236 (57.4)

175 (42.6)

1

  

Likely motivation to walk with dog daily

98 (50.0)

98 (50.0)

1.35

1.06–2.1.90

0.09

 Perceived dog-specific behavioural outcomes from walking with dog daily

Ambivalent-Unlikely result in positive outcomes

214 (55.6)

171 (44.4)

1

  

Likely positive outcomes

117 (53.7)

101 (46.3)

1.08

0.77–1.51

0.65

 Keep dog healthy

Ambivalent-Unlikely outcome of walking with dog daily

80 (77.7)

23 (22.3)

1

  

Likely outcomes of walking with dog daily

251 (50.2)

249 (49.8)

3.45

2.10–5.67

<0.001

 Reduce the risk of dog barking

Ambivalent-Unlikely outcome of walking with dog daily

283 (56.4)

219 (43.6)

1

  

Likely outcomes of walking with dog daily

48 (47.5)

53 (52.5)

1.43

0.93–2.19

0.10

 Dog might attack other dogs or people

Ambivalent-Likely outcome of walking with dog daily

233 (53.2)

196 (46.8)

1

  

Unlikely outcome of walking with dog daily

108 (58.7)

76 (42.3)

1.25

0.88–1.77

0.21

Owner demographic factors

 Gender

Male

129 (60.6)

84 (39.4)

1

  

Female

206 (52.3)

188 (47.7)

1.40

1.00–1.97

0.05

 Age

Mean (SD) years

40.8 (10.6)

42.2 (11.4)

1.01

1.00–1.03

0.13

 Children at home <18 years

Yes

206 (63.0)

121 (37.0)

1

  

No

122 (45.4)

147 (54.6)

2.05

1.48–2.85

<0.001

 Country of origin

Australia

214 (57.5)

158 (42.5)

1

  

Other

123 (51.5)

116 (48.5)

1.27

0.92–1.77

0.14

 Education

Secondary or less

138 (59.0)

96 (41.0)

1

 

0.24

Trade/apprentice/certificate

128 (54.2)

108 (45.8)

1.21

0.84–1.75

0.30

Bachelor or higher

66 (50.0)

66 (50.0)

1.44

0.94–2.21

0.10

 Occupation

Management/admin

47 (51.1)

45 (48.9)

1

 

0.83

Professional

89 (53.6)

77 (46.4)

0.90

0.54–1.51

0.70

Blue collar

54 (58.7)

38 (41.3)

0.74

0.41–1.32

0.30

Clerical/sales/service/other

78 (55.7)

62 (44.3)

0.83

0.49–1.41

0.49

Not in workforce

65 (57.5)

48 (42.5)

0.77

0.44–1.34

0.36

Other social support for walking

 Social support from family to go walking in past month

Poor

135 (63.4)

78 (36.6)

1

  

Average/Good

201 (51.4)

190 (48.6)

1.64

1.16–2.30

0.01

 Social support from friends to go walking in past month

Poor

287 (56.8)

218 (43.2)

1

  

Average/Good

49 (49.5)

50 (50.5)

1.34

0.87–2.07

0.18

  1. values in bold if 0.05 or less