Canine contact networks: A survey-based study of dog contacts and activities.

Abstract

Background: Contact networks influence infectious disease risk and transmission.

Objective: To evaluate dog contact numbers and exposure to higher-risk activities (e.g., day care) in dogs from Canada and the United States.

Animals and procedure: Dog owners were recruited to participate in a survey about their dogs' contacts with other dogs and participation in selected activities.

Results: Data were obtained for 1058 dogs: 829 from a commercial survey group and 329 from a social media recruitment group. Median numbers of dog contacts in the preceding 24 h, 7 d, and 14 d were 1, 3, and 4, respectively, in the social media group, and 2 for each time period in the commercial survey group. In the commercial survey group, dogs had a median of 1 type of queried contact (e.g., day care) (range: 0 to 10). In the social media group, 16% dogs had no reported contacts with any other dogs in the preceding 24 h, whereas 5.2% had no contacts in the preceding week and 3.0% had no contacts over the preceding 2 wk.

Conclusion and clinical relevance: Dog contact activities are variable and influenced by many factors. Understanding this is important for disease modeling, development of infection-control interventions, and assessment of risk.