The validation of Thai version of Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) and the exploration of dog ownership in Thailand

Abstract

C-BARQ (Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire) is one of the effective and well-known tools to evaluate dog behavior by owners through a questionnaire. The C-BARQ has been translated into several languages and is used in many countries. The present study aimed to translate and adapt the English version of C-BARQ to the Thai version and validate it regarding the guidelines of cross-cultural adaptation. The C-BARQ was translated into the Thai language and translated back to English. The validation of the Thai C-BARQ was done by 40 dog owner volunteers before releasing the Thai C-BARQ online version via social media advertising for 3 months. According to demographic data, women were the majority of dog owners in Thailand (88.34%), and one-third of respondents (30.16%) lived in Bangkok, the capital city. Thai dogs mostly lived in detached houses (79.93%) and were fed conventional diet (66.83%). The majority (37.99%) of the dog owners were in the adult age group (31–40 years old). Male and female dog populations were almost equal (54.13%: 45.87%) and half of the dogs were neutered (50.63%). By factor analysis, 12 factors with 63 items were identified from the C-BARQ data of 1,827 dog owners. All factors of the Thai version of C-BARQ have acceptable reliability with the coefficient of Cronbach's alpha values ranged between 0.697 and 0.938. Thus, the validation of Thai version of C-BARQ in the present study could be a dependable and applicable tool for assessing dog behavior in Thailand.