What influence do vets have on vaccination decision of dog owners? Results of an online survey

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to analyse the influence of veterinary advice as well as other sources of information on vaccination decision of dog owners. METHODS: A total of 1480 dog owners participated in this exclusively online conducted survey. Mean comparisons and correlation analyses were performed to check bivariate relationships between general data from the dogs, the dog owners, the vaccination decision making and risk/benefit analyses. RESULTS: The results confirm that veterinarians are the most important source of information on vaccination for dog owners. Nevertheless, the World Wide Web including social media has also to be taken into consideration as a strongly influencing factor. Additionally, the availability of serious information about vaccinations on the internet and on social media has to be reconsidered in general by the veterinarian professional sector. CONCLUSIONS: Veterinarians should be aware of their significant influence on the owner's decision about vaccination and use this knowledge in a targeted way to achieve a high vaccination rate in order to ensure effective herd immunity. Communication strategies for veterinarians to improve information transfer to dog owners are required.