Data Sheet 1_Dog-mediated active-leisure engagement and organised canine sport: a cross-sectional analysis of Hungarian dog owners.docx

Non-linearity of the engagement effect was tested, and a latent profile analysis is reported as a supplementary comparison.</p>Results<p>Engagement was approximately normally distributed (M = 2.99, SD = 0.83) and essentially unidimensional. Owners who had taken part in canine sport scored 0.79 standard deviations higher on engagement than those who had not. In the adjusted model, each standard deviation of engagement was associated with 2.27 times the odds of lifetime canine sport participation [95% CI (1.94, 2.64)]; the predicted probability rose from 26% one standard deviation below the mean to 65% one standard deviation above it, with a plateau above roughly 3.5 on the 1–5 scale.

Capital-city residence predicted participation on its own (OR = 1.89) but not once engagement was included [OR = 1.36, 95% CI (0.87, 2.10)]. Engagement was higher in the capital than elsewhere and was positively associated with prioritising the dog’s health in household spending. Among participants, the number of distinct sports undertaken was only weakly related to engagement.</p>Discussion<p>Among owners, engagement rather than ownership distinguishes the physically active from the inactive, and the association is continuous across the full range of the scale rather than confined to a distinct subgroup.

The potential for promoting active living through dogs therefore lies in shifting the large mid-range of the engagement distribution, where organised canine activity is still uncommon.</p>