Emotional eating in companion dogs: Owners' perception and relation with feeding habits, eating behavior, and emotional state

Abstract Emotional eating, or changes in eating behavior due to negative emotions, has been demonstrated in humans and rodents, but not in dogs. The aim of the present study was to survey owners' perceptions of the presence of emotional eating in their dogs, as a first approach to investigate this phenomenon in companion dogs. A questionnaire was administered via social media, including questions about general information, feeding habits, eating behavior and related problems, temperament, and emotional state. A specific question for assessing the perceptions of owners on emotional eating in their dogs (on a 0-4 scale) was included. The vast majority of the 1099 respondents (n = 898, 81.7%) perceived that their dog showed emotional eating at some level of intensity, with more than 40% of the surveyed owners giving a 3 or 4 score. A chi-square test showed significant associations ( P