An interesting trend brought by the pet industry. Compared to other sectors, this one is growing at a dizzy rate. Why is that? Let's take a look at the newest trends in pet acquisition and adoption, and whether shelters and breeders really are as empty as they say.
Pet as an escape from the pandemic crisis.
Boredom, loneliness, stress and an unusually long time spent at home. According to Packaged Facts, an organisation that provides pet market research, it is one of the reasons for the rapid growth in dog ownership. During 2020, it increased to 96 million. By comparison, it is 10 million more than in the pre-pandemic 2019. The number of cat owners increased to 32 million, which, compared to 2019, is 2 million more. 2021 cannot boast of such numbers but it is still showing a positive trend.
The increase in the number of cats and dogs in households isn't the only reflection of the pandemic crisis. Latest surveys show that people enriched their households also with various species of aquarium fish, reptiles, small mammals and birds. This is also supported by the results from the retail trade, showing an increase in the sales of food for these domestic companions.
Adoptions in the Czech Republic
Czech breeders and shelters can confirm this trend. During the pandemic crisis, when people couldn't go anywhere, they passed their time by acquiring pets.
Most organisations can confirm that they didn't expect as much interest as they have recorded over the past year. Many are now at half their capacity. Some have agreed that interest also increased when government regulations allowed outdoor walks solely for the purpose of walking a dog.
Representatives of the societies have declared that most people were and still are interested in puppies, small dogs and bitches. However, they are worried that once the home office boom is over and all the regulations are relaxed, the situation won't be so rosy and people will start returning the pets back to the breeders and shelters. Unfortunately, all the organisations are expecting a great increase in the number of abandoned animals.
Greater interest has also been recorded in the adoption of dogs. Currently, the societies are choosing adoptive owners very carefully and conscientiously, and allow them to take the pets for only a temporary period to start with. According to the representatives of the dog-adoption societies, a potential applicant is given a four-month trial period to learn to work with the dog. During that time, the person must agree to an inspection, for the adoption centre to find out, whether the dog is thriving in the new home.
Have you also expanded your household with another member during the pandemic?
Did you know that the domestic cat which is now kept as a pet all over the world, is probably a domesticated form of the wild cat, specifically of its subspecies the African wildcat, European wildcat and Asiatic wildcat?
Apart from regular care for the fur and dog’s teeth we should include also the inspection and cleaning of the eyes and ear inspection in the list of everyday tasks. Even though the cats are rather known for cleanliness, it’s important also for a...
Cat is a perfect tool for hunting. It owes it to the dozens of years of evolution. While in dogs, their physical signs have been emphasised or suppressed, cats got to keep, apart from several exceptions, their main anatomical features unchanged. In...
According to various statistics, the number of cats in our country is increasing. Not only dogs, but also cats belong to increasingly more common pets. So, it can happen to us more often, that we'll meet an abandoned cat in the street and we're...
Some dogs take the arrival of a new family member in a hard way. Previously, we described how to prepare them for this situation already before the baby even arrives home and today, we will take a look at the introduction itself.
It's no longer a strange thing when a municipality sets up a dog park or a dog playground. Due to frequent regulation of off-leash movement of dogs, this should, however, often be obligatory. Do you know how to behave in such places so that you...
Another possible sport at which you can play with your dog and exercise with them at the same time, is the Dog Puller. You can practice it with all the dog breeds, no matter the size or age.
Nowadays, cats are increasingly more often becoming members of our households. Cat toilets producers are adapting to this trend as well. They can provide cats with a greater comfort in their daily need. From the perspective of the owners, the producers...
Vacation time is finally here and many of us are planning where they will be headed this year. If you decide to go for an adventure by car and to take your dog friend with you as well, a bit of advice might come in handy on how to provide safety for...
Of course that we won’t talk about how to teach a dog the swimming technique. We want to talk about how to teach the dog to get used to water and how to make swimming a positive experience for it. Since not every one of them trusts water and some are...
If you’re planning to bring a new addition home and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a kitten or an adult cat, it is necessary to prepare the flat for it as well. Do you know what will the animal need and what you shouldn’t forget about or how to choose...
No matter how thorough we are with the prevention, a situation might come up when a dog or a cat will get to a poisonous thing, whether it’s by our inattention or it's somebody else’s fault. That’s why it’s not off-topic to prepare yourself for the...
