Table 3.
Orthogonal factor loadings for owner-reported quality of life1
| Scale/Subscale/Question number | Orthogonal factors | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IM | GS | AL/GA | DF/BN | IM/AL | GS | EI | SO/BN | BN/SA | ||
| Item | Fac1 | Fac2 | Fac3 | Fac4 | Fac5 | Fac6 | Fac7 | Fac8 | Fac9 | |
| Eigenvalue | 4.86 | 3.10 | 2.24 | 1.74 | 1.52 | 1.44 | 1.35 | 1.27 | 1.18 | |
| % of the total variance | 14.3 | 9.1 | 6.6 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.5 | |
| Physical | ||||||||||
| General sickness (GS) | ||||||||||
| Q1: | My dog acts sick. | 0.195 | 0.539 | 0.071 | 0.084 | -0.043 | 0.158 | 0.322 | -0.081 | 0.123 |
| Q2: | My dog does not like being touched. | 0.095 | 0.582 | 0.021 | -0.122 | -0.103 | 0.153 | -0.095 | 0.069 | 0.181 |
| Q3: | My dog has difficulty eliminating or eliminates more frequently than usual. | 0.192 | 0.661 | 0.160 | -0.094 | 0.043 | 0.018 | 0.051 | 0.115 | 0.022 |
| Q4: | My dog has difficulty sleeping. | 0.070 | 0.671 | 0.217 | -0.057 | 0.057 | -0.117 | 0.075 | 0.030 | -0.225 |
| Q5: | My dog vomits more than he/she used to. | -0.107 | 0.569 | -0.084 | -0.021 | 0.066 | 0.202 | 0.135 | -0.181 | 0.023 |
| Q6: | My dog has difficulty breathing. | 0.395 | 0.396 | -0.058 | 0.230 | 0.083 | 0.182 | 0.189 | -0.235 | -0.171 |
| Q7: | My dog’s temperament has changed. | 0.219 | 0.504 | 0.120 | 0.067 | -0.016 | 0.455 | -0.077 | -0.088 | -0.206 |
| Q8: | My dog has become aggressive to dogs or people who were accepted before. | -0.024 | 0.107 | 0.202 | -0.042 | 0.125 | 0.774 | 0.033 | 0.047 | -0.062 |
| Q9: | My dog gets lost in places that should be familiar. | 0.169 | 0.214 | 0.005 | -0.034 | 0.172 | 0.433 | 0.060 | -0.092 | -0.034 |
| Q10: | My dog shows less desire to interact with other dogs or people than usual. | 0.263 | 0.071 | 0.145 | -0.132 | 0.062 | 0.621 | 0.190 | -0.001 | -0.048 |
| Immobility (IM) | ||||||||||
| Q11: | My dog has a lot of energy. | -0.073 | -0.100 | 0.144 | -0.084 | -0.692 | -0.168 | -0.079 | 0.036 | -0.148 |
| Q12: | My dog rarely gets excited anymore. | 0.568 | 0.051 | 0.042 | -0.148 | 0.028 | 0.166 | 0.003 | 0.319 | 0.120 |
| Q13: | My dog has difficulty getting up after lying down. | 0.832 | 0.102 | -0.084 | -0.059 | 0.068 | 0.031 | 0.012 | -0.067 | 0.002 |
| Q14: | My dog has difficulty walking. | 0.827 | 0.164 | -0.036 | -0.055 | 0.013 | -0.008 | 0.073 | -0.036 | -0.017 |
| Q15: | My dog plays less often. | 0.727 | 0.069 | 0.003 | 0.026 | -0.128 | 0.155 | 0.021 | -0.147 | -0.066 |
| Q16: | My dog’s overall mobility is good (reverse score). | 0.001 | 0.031 | 0.012 | -0.154 | -0.691 | -0.123 | -0.256 | 0.196 | -0.014 |
| External irritation (EI) | ||||||||||
| Q17: | My dog chews or scratches certain areas of skin until they become red and irritated. | 0.028 | 0.045 | 0.045 | -0.010 | 0.135 | 0.093 | 0.793 | -0.025 | 0.015 |
| Q18: | My dog has patches of fur missing. | 0.100 | 0.157 | 0.226 | -0.020 | 0.080 | 0.028 | 0.708 | 0.033 | -0.056 |
| Psychological | ||||||||||
| Anxiety when owner leaves (AL) | ||||||||||
| Q19: | My dog chews on things that he/she has been taught not to do. | -0.008 | -0.129 | 0.356 | -0.075 | 0.594 | -0.002 | 0.023 | 0.260 | -0.002 |
| Q20: | My dog whines when I leave. | -0.043 | 0.171 | 0.419 | 0.057 | 0.271 | 0.119 | -0.003 | -0.165 | -0.045 |
| Q21: | My dog makes a mess when I’m away from home. | -0.097 | 0.028 | 0.474 | -0.020 | 0.615 | -0.024 | -0.049 | -0.004 | -0.006 |
| General anxiety (GA) | ||||||||||
| Q22: | My dog is startled easily. | -0.106 | 0.176 | 0.547 | 0.037 | 0.106 | 0.123 | 0.361 | -0.154 | 0.111 |
| Q23: | My dog cowers when it meets a new person or dog. | -0.041 | 0.081 | 0.718 | 0.014 | -0.092 | 0.294 | 0.044 | -0.123 | -0.011 |
| Q24: | When my dog is in a new place, it puts its tail between its legs. | 0.045 | 0.045 | 0.759 | 0.027 | 0.038 | -0.031 | 0.130 | -0.112 | 0.002 |
| Social | ||||||||||
| Dog focused (DF) | ||||||||||
| Q25: | I play with my dog when it is ready to play. | 0.145 | 0.036 | 0.076 | 0.446 | 0.080 | -0.119 | -0.062 | 0.187 | 0.042 |
| Q26: | I pet my dog often. | -0.022 | -0.078 | 0.014 | 0.757 | 0.014 | -0.037 | -0.048 | 0.032 | -0.001 |
| Q27: | I groom my dog often. | -0.037 | -0.049 | -0.043 | 0.670 | -0.018 | 0.046 | 0.142 | 0.050 | 0.091 |
| Q28: | I often spend my free time with my dog. | -0.255 | 0.011 | 0.024 | 0.686 | 0.135 | -0.078 | -0.040 | 0.073 | -0.085 |
| Sociability (SO) | ||||||||||
| Q29: | My dog has the opportunity to play with other dogs. | -0.067 | -0.021 | -0.146 | 0.177 | 0.098 | -0.179 | -0.029 | 0.662 | -0.025 |
| Q30: | My dog shares his/her toys with other animals. | -0.049 | -0.038 | -0.194 | 0.208 | -0.096 | -0.024 | 0.074 | 0.718 | -0.072 |
| Environmental | ||||||||||
| Basic needs (BN) | ||||||||||
| Q31: | My dog has fresh water available throughout the day. | -0.056 | -0.275 | 0.087 | 0.464 | -0.140 | 0.079 | -0.055 | 0.021 | 0.511 |
| Q32: | My dog goes outside when he/she needs to. | -0.038 | 0.021 | -0.109 | 0.003 | -0.121 | 0.317 | -0.098 | 0.465 | 0.093 |
| Sleeping area (SA) | ||||||||||
| Q33: | My dog’s sleeping area is her/her own. | 0.068 | 0.013 | -0.036 | -0.055 | -0.017 | -0.249 | -0.113 | 0.009 | 0.729 |
| Q34: | My dog has his/her own place to sleep (e.g. bed of the owner). | -0.085 | 0.106 | 0.031 | 0.095 | 0.318 | 0.055 | 0.169 | -0.033 | 0.675 |
1The data from the owner reports of quality of life (n = 350) were subject to factor analysis. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure is 0.741, indicating a high sampling adequacy for the factor analysis. Bartlett’s test of sphericity indicates that the factor model is appropriate (Chi-square = 2934.523, df = 561, P < 0.0005). Factor
loadings > 0.4 are considered to be high and are indicated in bold. The nine factors account for 55.0% of the total variance
GS general sickness, IM immobility, EI external irritation, AL anxiety when owner leaves, GA general anxiety, DF dog focused, SO sociability, BN basic needs, SA sleep area