Understanding Singaporean dog owners' caregiving behaviour towards enhancing dog welfare using the COM-B framework

Caregiving behaviour is critical in companion animal welfare. Using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour (COM-B) model of human behaviour change (HBC), this study investigated the influence of Capability, Opportunity and Motivation on dog owners' engagement in welfare-enhancing practices. In an online survey, a self-selected sample of 240 Singaporean dog owners rated their engagement in 20 caregiving practices, and responded to 31 statements on their Capability, Opportunity and Motivation in dog care, using a five-point Likert scale. Responses on practices were aggregated into relative Welfare Scores for each respondent, with higher scores indicating greater engagement. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to derive first principal components' (PC1) scores representing respondent's Capability, Opportunity and Motivation. To investigate the relationship between engagement in caregiving practices and their behavioural determinants, a Generalised Linear Model was performed with Welfare Score as the response variable and PC1 scores for Capability, Opportunity and Motivation as predictor variables. All three COM-B components emerged as significant positive predictors of Welfare Score, with Opportunity showing the largest effect size, followed by Capability and Motivation. Descriptive analyses indicated moderate engagement in caregiving practices, alongside high Capability, fair Opportunity and strong Motivation among respondents. As the first study to apply HBC to dog welfare in Singapore, this research highlights the collective importance of Capability, Opportunity and Motivation in shaping caregiving and suggests that Behaviour Change Wheel-informed interventions and policies should target all three components, in particular Opportunity, to effectively promote dog welfare.