An estimated 65.1 million households in the United States owned at least one dog according to a 2023/24 pet owners survey, making them the most widely owned type of pet across the U.S. at this time. Cats and freshwater fish ranked in second and third places, with around 46.5 million and 11.1 million households owning such pets, respectively.

Freshwater vs. salt water fish

Freshwater fish spend most or all their lives in fresh water. Fresh water’s main difference to salt water is the level of salinity. Freshwater fish have a range of physiological adaptations to enable them to live in such conditions. As the statistic makes clear, Americans keep a large number of freshwater aquatic species at home as pets.

American pet owners

In 2023, around 66 percent of all households in the United States owned a pet. This is a decrease from 2020, but still around a 10 percent increase from 1988. It is no surprise that as more and more households own pets, pet industry expenditure has also witnessed steady growth. Expenditure reached over 136 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, almost a sixfold increase from 1998. The majority of pet product sales are still made in brick-and-mortar stores , despite the rise and evolution of e-commerce in the United States.

With over 470 million dogs kept as pets worldwide, dogs came out on top as the leading type of pet in 2018. Within the same year, there were roughly 370 million pet cats in the world.

Pets in the European Union

While dogs were globally speaking the most common type of pet, cats were more common in the European Union in 2018. Roughly 75 million people within this region had a pet cat in 2018, compared to the 65 million pet dogs. That year, Germany had about nine and a half million pet dogs, making it the country with the highest number within the European Union. Other top dog-loving countries included the United Kingdom, Poland, and France.

Other pets in Germany

Besides cats and dogs, Germans had many other household pets in 2018. About five and a half million small pets, such as hamsters and rabbits, were kept by Germans that year. Additionally, about two million households in Germany owned an aquarium and roughly one and a half million households owned a garden pond.

This statistic presents the estimated number of pet dogs in Ireland in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The dog population in Ireland was measured at approximately 520,000 in 2023.

Active Dog Licenses.

All dog owners residing in NYC are required by law to license their dogs. The data is sourced from the DOHMH Dog Licensing System (https://a816-healthpsi.nyc.gov/DogLicense), where owners can apply for and renew dog licenses. Each record represents a unique dog license that was active during the year, but not necessarily a unique record per dog, since a license that is renewed during the year results in a separate record of an active license period. Each record stands as a unique license period for the dog over the course of the yearlong time frame.

How many dogs are there in the US? According to a pet owners survey, there were approximately 89.7 million dogs owned in the United States in 2017. This is an increase of over 20 million since the beginning of the survey period in 2000, when around 68 million dogs were owned in the United States.

Why has this figure increased?

The resident population of the United States has also increased significantly within this time period. It is, therefore, no surprise that the number of dogs owned in U.S. households has also increased, especially when considering that the household penetration rate for dog-ownership reached almost 50 percent in recent years.

The dog food market in the United States

The large number of dogs owned by Americans creates a lucrative market for pet food brands and retailers. Pedigree, the leading dry dog food name brand in the U.S., had sales amounting to around 550 million U.S. dollars in 2017. Pedigree also led the pack in the wet dog food category , with sales of around 240 million U.S. dollars in the same year.

This information has been collected from three sources: (1) dog, owner, registration and infringement information from the National Dogs Database (NDD) at the Department of Internal Affair; (2) dog bite related claims and their cost from the Accident Compensation Corporation; (3) prosecutions and dog destruction orders under the Dog Control Act 1996 from the Ministry of Justice.

Information about a dog including breed, colour, address, classification and registration status Column_InfoDog_Number, int : Animal record numberDog_Name, char : Dogs nameKept_At_Suburb, varchar : Suburb dog lives inKept_At_Post_Code, varchar : Hamilton City post codeKept_At_Town, varchar : Town/city dog lives inPrimary_Breed_Code, varchar : Primary breed National Dog Database codePrimary_Breed, varchar : Primary breedSecondary_Breed_Code, varchar : Secondary NDD breed codeSecondary_Breed, varchar : Secondary breedPrimary_Colour_Code, varchar : Primary colour NDD codPrimary_Colour, varchar : Primary colourSecondary_Colour_Code, varchar : Secondary colour NDD codeSecondary_Colour, varchar : secondary colourDisabled_Assist_Flag, varchar : Disability assist dogDate_Of_Birth, datetime : Dogs date of birthDate_Of_Death, datetime : Dogs date of deathDate_Of_Departure, datetime : Date dog departed from HCCAnimal_Sex, char : Dog sex/genderDesexed, varchar : Is dog de-sexedWorker, varchar : Is it a working dogExternal_Tag_Source, varchar : Dog moved to HCC from...Current_Tag_Set, char : Current registration yearCurrent_Tag_Effective_Date, datetime : Date current registration effective fromCurrent_Tag_Receipt_Date, datetime : Date current registration was receiptedCurrent_Tag_Reg_Til_Date, datetime : Current registration valid untilSpecial_Category_Code, varchar : Special category codesSpecial_Category_Description, varchar : Special category dogs e.g. guide dogs, hearing assist, police dogsClassification, varchar : Dogs classification staus (N/A, dangerous, menacing)Classification_Date, datetime : Date dog was classifiedClassification_Reason_Code, varchar : Reason for classification codeClassification_Reason_Description, varchar : Reason for classificationDeactivated, varchar : Date animal record deactivatedDeactivated_Description, varchar : Reason for deactivationAnimal_Description, varchar : Description of dogFee_Code, smallint : Fee codeFee_Description, varchar : Fee descriptionMicrochip_Flag, varchar : Microchip statusMicrochip_Brand, varchar : Microchip brandAnimal_Features, varchar : Any distinguishing features on dogOffence_Free_Flag, varchar : Offence free statusActive_Dog_Record, varchar : Dogs currently registered in HCC Relationship This table is referenced by Dog_Complaint_To_DogThis table is referenced by Dog_ImpoundingThis table is referenced by Dog_InfringementThis table is referenced by Dog_RegistrationThis table is referenced by Excess_Dog_Register_To_DogThis table is referenced by Owner_Classification_Event_To_Dog Disclaimer Hamilton City Council does not make any representation or give any warranty as to the accuracy or exhaustiveness of the data released for public download. Levels, locations and dimensions of works depicted in the data may not be accurate due to circumstances not notified to Council. A physical check should be made on all levels, locations and dimensions before starting design or works. Hamilton City Council shall not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense (whether direct or indirect) arising from reliance upon or use of any data provided, or Council's failure to provide this data. While you are free to crop, export and re-purpose the data, we ask that you attribute the Hamilton City Council and clearly state that your work is a derivative and not the authoritative data source. Please include the following statement when distributing any work derived from this data: ‘This work is derived entirely or in part from Hamilton City Council data; the provided information may be updated at any time, and may at times be out of date, inaccurate, and/or incomplete.'

NYC Reported Dog Bites. Section 11.03 of NYC Health Code requires all animals bites to be reported within 24 hours of the event. Information reported assists the Health Department to determine if the biting dog is healthy ten days after the person was bitten in order to avoid having the person bitten receive unnecessary rabies shots. Data is collected from reports received online, mail, fax or by phone to 311 or NYC DOHMH Animal Bite Unit. Each record represents a single dog bite incident. Information on breed, age, gender and Spayed or Neutered status have not been verified by DOHMH and is listed only as reported to DOHMH. A blank space in the dataset means no data was available.

This statistic presents the share of Americans who owned a dog in 2020, by age. In that year, 73 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 years owned a dog.

Data on body condition and reproduction of Utah prairie dogs at 5 colonies on the Awapa Plateau, Utah, USA, June-August 2013-2016. Utah prairie dogs were live-trapped and sampled on 5 colonies. We recorded the age (juvenile/adult) and mass (nearest 5 grams) of each prairie dog and marked its ears and body with metal tags and passive integrated transponders, respectively, for permanent identification. We measured each prairie dog's right hind foot length (nearest millimeter). We indexed each adult prairie dog's body condition as the ratio between its mass and hind-foot length. Prairie dogs were allowed to recover from anesthesia and released at their trapping locations. We indexed prairie dog reproduction, by colony and year, as the ratio of the number of juveniles per adult (juvenile:adult ratios). Funding and logistical support were provided by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and Colorado State University. Fieldwork was completed by the USGS Fort Collins Science Center, and lab work and flea identifications were completed by the USGS National Wildlife Health Center.

This dataset is a modelled dataset, describing the predicted population of dogs per postcode district (e.g. YO41). This dataset gives the upper estimate for population for each district, and was generated as part of the delivery of commissioned research. The data contained within this dataset are modelled figures, based on upper 95th percentile national estimates for pet population, and available information on Veterinary activity across GB. The data are accurate as of 01/01/2015. The data provided are summarised to the postcode district level. Further information on this research is available in a research publication by James Aegerter, David Fouracre & Graham C. Smith, discussing the structure and density of pet cat and dog populations across Great Britain.

The goal of the project is to enhance usability of Open Data and to enhance its accessibility for non-expert users. This is a sample script showing how open data datasets from the Vienna’s Open Data portal can be analysed and visualized using Jupiter Notebooks. We take the dog statistics data in Vienna as a sample use case to demonstrate common approaches to analyzing open data. This is a first part of our data story, in which we focus on data loading and pre-processing.

This dataset is a modelled dataset, describing an upper estimate of dogs per square kilometre across GB. The figures are aligned to the British national grid, with a population estimate provided for each 1km square. These data were generated as part of the delivery of commissioned research. The data contained within this dataset are modelled figures, based on upper 95th percentile national estimates for pet population, and available information on Veterinary activity across GB. The data are accurate as of 01/01/2015. The data provided are summarised to the 1km level. Further information on this research is available in a research publication by James Aegerter, David Fouracre & Graham C. Smith, discussing the structure and density of pet cat and dog populations across Great Britain. Attribution statement:

Randomised controlled trial data collected as part of an impact assessment for Responsible Dog Ownership workshops aiming to increase children's attitudes towards responsible ownership.

Graph and download economic data for Producer Price Index by Industry: Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing: Canned Dog Food (PCU31111131111111) from Dec 1998 to Jan 2025 about pets, food, manufacturing, PPI, industry, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

208 Global import shipment records of Live Pet Dogs with prices, volume & current Buyer's suppliers relationships based on actual Global export trade database.

Reasons for dog entry denials by country for the top ten countries of origin, United States, 2020.

As of 2022, nearly every fourth household in Finland owned at least one pet dog or one cat. Compared to the year 2020, household's dog ownership in Finland remained unchanged while cat ownership slightly decreased.

Rolling three year performance measures for RASKC

https://kingcounty.gov/depts/regional-animal-services/about-us/stats-at-a-glance.aspx

Dataset

This dataset was created by Mahmoud Salem

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