An Exploration of Attitudes toward Dogs among College Students in Bangalore, India

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The presence of dogs in urban spaces and family homes is becoming increasingly common worldwide. Despite this, investigations into cultural variations in this practice are still new. Using self-report, pen-and-paper surveys, we explored attitudes toward both pet dogs and stray dogs in an urban, college sample in Bangalore, India. We found a notable presence of pet dogs in homes or desire to have a pet dog, as well as the use of affiliative terms (family, companion) regarding these pets. Not surprisingly, we also found expected sex differences between men’s and women’s attitudes toward pet dogs and stray dogs in shared, urban spaces. ABSTRACT: Conversations in the field of anthrozoology include treatment and distinction of food animals, animals as workers versus pests, and most recently, emerging pet trends including the practice of pet parenting. This paper explores attitudes toward pet dogs in the shared social space of urban India. The data include 375 pen-and-paper surveys from students at CHRIST (Deemed to be University) in Bangalore, India. Reflecting upon Serpell’s biaxial concept of dogs as a relationship of affect and utility, the paper considers the growing trend of pet dog keeping in urban spaces and the increased use of affiliative words to describe these relationships. The paper also explores potential sex differences in attitudes towards pet and stray dogs. Ultimately, these findings suggest that the presence of and affiliation with pet dogs, with reduced utility and increased affect, is symptomatic of cultural changes typical of societies encountering the second demographic transition. Despite this, sex differences as expected based upon evolutionary principles, remain present, with women more likely to emphasize health and welfare and men more likely to emphasize bravery and risk taking.