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“Have You Seen This Drivel?” A Comparison of How Common Health Issues Are Discussed within Brachycephalic and Non-brachycephalic Dog Breed Groups on Social Media
Phillips, K.; Stewart, C.; Johnston, T.; Mills, D.S. “Have You Seen This Drivel?” A Comparison of How Common Health Issues Are Discussed within Brachycephalic and Non-Brachycephalic Dog Breed Groups on Social Media. Animals2024, 14, 757.
Phillips, K.; Stewart, C.; Johnston, T.; Mills, D.S. “Have You Seen This Drivel?” A Comparison of How Common Health Issues Are Discussed within Brachycephalic and Non-Brachycephalic Dog Breed Groups on Social Media. Animals 2024, 14, 757.
Phillips, K.; Stewart, C.; Johnston, T.; Mills, D.S. “Have You Seen This Drivel?” A Comparison of How Common Health Issues Are Discussed within Brachycephalic and Non-Brachycephalic Dog Breed Groups on Social Media. Animals2024, 14, 757.
Phillips, K.; Stewart, C.; Johnston, T.; Mills, D.S. “Have You Seen This Drivel?” A Comparison of How Common Health Issues Are Discussed within Brachycephalic and Non-Brachycephalic Dog Breed Groups on Social Media. Animals 2024, 14, 757.
Abstract
As brachycephalic dog breed ownership increases, there is a growing concern for the welfare of these breeds due to extreme brachycephalism. Understanding the motivations and behaviours of those choosing to own these breeds is important if we wish to address these concerns. The aim of this study was to investigate how owners of brachycephalic and non-brachycephalic dog breeds use social media dog breed groups to discuss common health issues. The purpose of Facebook posts in relation to common health issues, owner awareness of health issues, and the role of Facebook facilitated social support were explored between brachycephalic and non-brachycephalic dog owners. Twelve Facebook breed groups were selected (brachycephalic breed groups, n=6, non-brachycephalic breed groups, n=6). Using key word searches we extracted the first twenty posts from each group. Thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes: advice seeking, advice giving and community bonding mechanisms. Whilst the purpose of posting did not differ between groups, non-brachycephalic owners appeared to display greater awareness of breed-specific health issues, whilst social support played a more prominent role in brachycephalic groups. This research highlights that social media groups can act as platforms for knowledge exchange and emotional support. These could be utilised by owners, veterinarians and welfare organisations to more effectively enhance dog health and wellbeing.
Keywords
Animal welfare; Brachycephalic; Pet ownership; Owner perception; Health; Health information; Social support; Social media
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
