10 Hugs a Day? Your Dog or Cat is the Happy Recipient

[petnews]

10 Hugs a Day? Your Dog or Cat is the Happy Recipient

LONDON, ON, April 11 /CNW/ - Want a hug? Your dog or cat is a likely partner according to a recent Ipsos-Reid survey of 700 Canadian women. Results showed that most women pet owners (82%) hug or pet their dog/cat at least four times per day. Almost 40% indicate that they hug their pet more than 10 times per day.

The telephone survey was conducted with Ipsos-Reid's Canadian Consumer Panel with women between the ages of 25 and 54 who own a dog or cat. The interviews were conducted between February 22 and March 2, 2001 in all regions of the country.

"The objective of this survey was to gain insight into female Canadian consumers and their relationships towards their pets," says Keith McGriskin, Associate Product Manager, Pfizer Animal Health which is introducing Revolution(*), a new one-touch parasite control for dogs and cats. "The results confirm the strong bond and the frequency with which female pet owners have contact with their dogs and cats. Previous research shows that the bond is broken when consumers discover their pet has parasites such as fleas. Nobody wants to touch a parasite-infested pet and worse, they don't want to touch their pet after applying a pesticide. Revolution, a topically-applied product which is a medicine, protects the touch relationship, in a safe, efficacious and convenient way," says McGriskin.

Key findings of the survey:
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• The large majority of female pet owners (70%) spend one hour or more per day of "quality" time with their pets. Almost one-third (30%) spend three hours or more with their pets.
  
• A sizeable proportion of female pet owners (19%) spend more time with their pet than with friends and family.
  
• Almost two-thirds of all respondents (64%) have a special nickname or term of endearment for their pets. Six out of 10 say that their pet sleeps in their bedroom with them at night.
  
• Just under a third (31%) celebrate their pet's birthday. Female dog owners are more likely to celebrate their dog's birthday than cat owners are to celebrate their cat's (39% vs. 25%).
  
• About one-quarter (26%) take their pet on vacation with them. Dogs are more likely to be taken on vacation than cats. (47% vs 9%)
  
• The vast majority of respondents (94%) feel that their pet understands at least some of what they say to it. Female dog owners are more likely than female cat owners to say that their pet understands most of what they say (54% vs 34%).
  
• Most respondents (82%) hug or pet their dog/cat at least 4 times per day. Almost 40% indicate that they hug their pet more than 10 times a day.
  
• Most female respondents (69%) feel that their veterinarian plays a somewhat important role in maintaining their own relationship with their pet.
  
• A similar proportion of respondents (67%) is concerned that their pet could contract parasites. One quarter (26%) are "very concerned" while 41% are only "somewhat concerned."
  

Pfizer Animal Health is a division of Pfizer Inc., with Canadian offices headquartered in London, Ontario. A research-based health care company, Pfizer is committed to developing products to improve the quality of life for both animals and people. Pfizer's Companion Animal Division includes such products as Rimadyl(*), Anipryl(R), Zeniquin(*), vaccines and antibiotics. Pfizer products are available only through veterinarians coast to coast in Canada.

Note: The maximum margin of error is +/-3.7%, 19 times out of 20, for a sample of 700 interviews. Subsets of the total sample will be associated with a higher margin of error.