National Dog Survey: Describing UK Dog and Ownership Demographics

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Abstract

With dogs being the most commonly owned companion animal in the United Kingdom, knowledge about dog demographics is important in understanding the impact of dogs on society. Furthermore, understanding the demography of dog owners is also important to better target support to dogs and their owners to achieve optimal welfare in the canine population. Combining natural fluctuations in the population and unprecedented events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for an up-to-date large-scale dataset is even more paramount. In order to address this, Dogs Trust launched the ‘National Dog Survey’ to provide a large population-level dataset that will help identify key areas of concern and needs of owners and their dogs. The online survey was completed by a total of 354,046 respondents owning dogs in the UK, providing data for 440,423 dogs. The results of this study highlight dog demographics, including acquisition and veterinary factors, as well as owner demographic and household information. Finally, general trends in ownership, and more specifically those following the COVID-19 pandemic, are described. This paper’s findings provide valuable insight into the current population of dogs and their owners in the UK, allowing for the most appropriate products, services, interventions and regulations to be developed, reducing the likelihood of negative welfare outcomes such as health and behaviour issues, relinquishment or euthanasia. Furthermore, with significant changes to the dog population following the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted, this dataset serves as an up-to-date baseline for future study comparisons to continue to monitor trends and patterns of the dog population and dog owners going forwards.

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Number and ownership profiles of cats and dogs in the UK.

T. J. Jones, A Whitmarsh, Richard W. Browne … (2010)

A random sample of 2980 households in the UK in 2007 showed that 26 per cent and 31 per cent of households owned cats and dogs, respectively. Households with gardens were more likely to own cats and dogs than households without gardens. Households in which someone was qualified to degree level were more likely to own cats and less likely to own dogs than other households. Cats were more likely to be owned by semi-urban/rural households and by female respondents. Dog ownership significantly decreased the likelihood of cat ownership, and respondents aged 65 years or more were less likely to report that their household owned a cat than younger respondents. Households with one or more dogs and children aged 11 to 15 years were more likely to own a cat than other households. The likelihood of dog ownership increased as household size increased. Dogs were more likely to be owned by rural households, and less likely to be owned by households with cats or children aged 10 years or younger. Female respondents and those aged less than 55 years were more likely to report dog ownership than other respondents. The estimated size (and 95 per cent confidence intervals) of the owned cat and dog populations in the UK in 2006 was 10,332,955 (9,395,642 to 11,270,269) cats and 10,522,186 (9,623,618 to 11,420,755) dogs.

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Prevalence, duration and risk factors for appendicular osteoarthritis in a UK dog population under primary veterinary care

Katharine L. Anderson, Dan G. O’Neill, David C. Brodbelt … (2018)

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease diagnosed in veterinary medicine and poses considerable challenges to canine welfare. This study aimed to investigate prevalence, duration and risk factors of appendicular osteoarthritis in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. The VetCompassTM programme collects clinical data on dogs attending UK primary-care veterinary practices. The study included all VetCompassTM dogs under veterinary care during 2013. Candidate osteoarthritis cases were identified using multiple search strategies. A random subset was manually evaluated against a case definition. Of 455,557 study dogs, 16,437 candidate osteoarthritis cases were identified; 6104 (37%) were manually checked and 4196 (69% of sample) were confirmed as cases. Additional data on demography, clinical signs, duration and management were extracted for confirmed cases. Estimated annual period prevalence (accounting for subsampling) of appendicular osteoarthritis was 2.5% (CI95: 2.4–2.5%) equating to around 200,000 UK affected dogs annually. Risk factors associated with osteoarthritis diagnosis included breed (e.g. Labrador, Golden Retriever), being insured, being neutered, of higher bodyweight and being older than eight years. Duration calculation trials suggest osteoarthritis affects 11.4% of affected individuals’ lifespan, providing further evidence for substantial impact of osteoarthritis on canine welfare at the individual and population level.

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Demography of the pet dog and cat population on the island of Ireland and human factors influencing pet ownership.

Martin J. Downes, Mary Canty, Simon J More (2009)

Published data on aspects of domestic pet demographics are available in many countries. Several of these studies have linked household demographics, such as the presence of children in the household, to pet ownership. There is very little published information about the demography of domestic pets on the island of Ireland (the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland). This study was conducted to describe the demography of the pet dog and cat populations on the island of Ireland and to identify human factors influencing pet ownership. A questionnaire was designed and administered to households to collect data about the demographics of households and their dogs and cats. The questions related to location, building structure, social class, nationality and family structure of the household, and the sex, age and source of each pet dog and/or cat. The survey was administered by a commercial company, using computer-assisted telephone interview techniques to 1250 households selected using random digit dialling and quota controls. In this study, a pet dog was defined as a dog that was been fed by a household and considered a pet by the participant of the study. A pet cat was defined as a cat that was both fed by the household and allowed into the house. The results show that 35.6% of households in Ireland have one or more pet dogs and 10.4% of households have one or more pet cats. In total, 47.3% of pet dogs and 76.1% of pet cats were neutered. Females of both species are more likely to be neutered than males. Factors associated with dog ownership included location, house type, household social class, household composition, the presence of school children in the house, and the presence of a cat in the house. Factors associated with pet cat ownership included the type of house structure, the presence of a dog in the house and the gender and age of the participant. Cats tend to stray into households. This study was the first to provide detailed information about the demographics of the pet dog and cat populations on the island of Ireland, and has identified areas for further research, in particular the effect of stray dogs and cats on the owned pet dog and cat population, and of future demographic trends in these populations.