Estimation of the number and demographics of companion dogs in the UK

Abstract

Background: Current estimates of the UK dog population vary, contain potential sources of bias and are based on expensive, large scale, public surveys. Here, we evaluate the potential of a variety of sources for estimation and monitoring of the companion dog population in the UK and associated demographic information. The sources considered were: a public survey; veterinary practices; pet insurance companies; micro-chip records; Kennel Club registrations; and the Pet Travel Scheme. The public survey and subpopulation estimates from veterinary practices, pet insurance companies and Kennel Club registrations, were combined to generate distinct estimates of the UK owned dog population using a Bayesian approach.

Results: We estimated there are 9.4 (95% CI: 8.1-11.5) million companion dogs in the UK according to the public survey alone, which is similar to other recent estimates. The population was judged to be over-estimated by combining the public and veterinary surveys (16.4, 95% CI: 12.5-21.5 million) and under-estimated by combining the public survey and insured dog numbers (4.8, 95% CI: 3.6-6.9 million). An estimate based on combining the public survey and Kennel Club registered dogs was 7.1 (95% CI: 4.5-12.9) million. Based on Bayesian estimations, 77 (95% CI: 62-92)% of the UK dog population were registered at a veterinary practice; 42 (95% CI: 29-55)% of dogs were insured; and 29 (95% CI: 17-43)% of dogs were Kennel Club registered. Breed demographics suggested the Labrador was consistently the most popular breed registered in micro-chip records, with the Kennel Club and with J. Sainsbury's PLC pet insurance. A comparison of the demographics between these sources suggested that popular working breeds were under-represented and certain toy, utility and miniature breeds were over- represented in the Kennel Club registrations. Density maps were produced from micro-chip records based on the geographical distribution of dogs.

Conclusions: A list containing the breed of each insured dog was provided by J. Sainsbury's PLC pet insurance without any accompanying information about the dog or owner.

Figure 1

Geographical distribution of RCVS-listed veterinary practices in England, Scotland and Wales. Practices which responded to the survey of registered dog numbers are shown in red.

Figure 2

The observed (black) and fitted (red) distribution of the number of dogs registered at veterinary practices. Observed values are based on the survey of veterinary practices (N = 77).

Figure 3

Geographical distribution of micro-chipped dogs by county. Map produced with permission from Ordnance Survey.

Figure 4

Venn diagram and summary table of relationships between sources based on public survey (before Bayesian estimation). Vet stands for registered with a veterinary practice, KC stands for Kennel Club registered and U stands for union, e.g., 'Vet U KC' indicates dogs that are both registered with a veterinary practice and the Kennel Club.

Figure 5

Comparison of estimates from sources used in the current study, (median and 95% Credibility Intervals for the Public survey, and Public survey and Veterinary survey, Pet Insurance and Kennel Club) and other recent estimates with Confidence Intervals where available (PFMA, 2009, Murray et al., 2010 and Adams et al., unpublished).