Our friends at Panasonic have been doing some research into how people in the UK treat their pets and apparently 75% of you talk to us. Now given we are a family of dogs who between us write a diary and Alfie has written several books as well, you can pretty much guess where our Mistress might fall on the spectrum. We do find it remarkable there are actually 25% of humans who don’t talk to their dogs. They are missing out on such insightful conversation. In this house it is definitely not just a one way thing we have whole conversations with our Mistress and often give her very sound advice. Our walks are the best time. She says she likes walking with Alfie and Aristotle best at the moment as they are very happy to stay by her side and have a chat. Shadow is not so much of a talker and I’m still too busy finding the world exciting, but our Mistress has said she’s hoping that come the summer she and I can go for long walks together and really talk to each other. I’ll put at the end what the Panasonic research said, because it’s quite fun. Oh yes and there is a really good competition for you to enter too.
Alfie hasn’t really felt like walking for the last three days. He says he’s aching too much and not really keen. Our Mistress hates it when he doesn’t feel so well. I’m doing my best to look after him and keep him fit. He and I had a brilliant and very long game of tug yesterday. He doesn’t really want to be around Aristotle as he finds that too stressful. It’s hard for Ari having elbow dysplasia as he’s got loads of energy and can’t do the things that would usually use it up. He does go for a walk every day, but he would like to go further than he’s allowed to. I play with him as much as I can, but it’s not the same. He really wants to play chase with me and he’s not really allowed to do that because he starts limping.
Anyway, have a good week and I’ll catch up with you soon
Love
Wilma
And here is what the research said:
We Brits might have a reputation for a stiff upper-lip, but when it comes to our pets that goes out of the window. We’re potty for our pooches, and we know it.
Recent research from Panasonic Smart Home has revealed that 75% of us talk to our pets, despite 53% acknowledging it’s futile as they can’t help us. We converse with them about everything. From 28% of us discussing personal problems to 26% who talk about their partners. 18% of us have even asked them for advice! One respondent even questioned their dog when they returned to find it ‘on the phone’. Maybe that’s because 80% of pet owners in the UK believe their pet understands what they say to it.
But our desire to pow-wow with our pooches on isn’t limited to when we are at home; 53% of us wish we could talk to our pets even when we aren’t with them. That’s why the new Panasonic Smart Home system is so perfect for pet monitoring, the two-way audio on the camera lets you check-in and chat with you furry friend from your smartphone from wherever you are.
Our power to anthropomorphise our pets knows no bounds. In fact around 60-70% of pet owners identify as humanisers, with Panasonic’s research finding that 79% of respondents see their pet as a member of the family. 56% of Brits celebrate our pets’ birthdays the same way we would our own!
77% of us admit to completely spoiling our animals with 49% of us spend at least £50 and up to £250 a year on additional luxuries for our pets such as gifts of clothes, beds and luxury treats. In fact, 9% are even spending up to £500 a year! Market research predicts that total spending on pet care is expected to rise by 2% a year until 2019.
When we’re ready to splash the cash on our moggies, pooches, bunnies and more we indulge in a range of treats.
– 69% use food as a special treat
– 42% buy gifts including toys, clothes and bedding
– 35% let our pets break the rules as a treat, by sleeping in the bed or eating from the table
– 29% of us even take them on trips to their favourite places
We might be spending a pretty penny on our furry friends, but 58% of Brits says their pets are worth it. That’s because 32% of us consider our pets our best friends, and 79% treat them as a member of the family.
Panasonic is encouraging the UK’s pet pamperers to show how Very Important their pets are, by sharing photos on social media using the #MyVIP hashtag for the chance to win the ultimate pet (and owner) pampering weekend.
If you want an idea of what that might look like, check out Dave the dog’s day out at the spa in this video.
By entering the competition, you could win:
- Luxury hotel stay at a Red Carnation Hotel
- A spa experience for the winner and their pet
- A professional photo shoot for the winner and their pet courtesy of Red Letter Days
- Panasonic Smart Home Monitoring Twin Camera Kit
- VIP Hamper of personalised treats for the winner and their pet
You can find short stories to read at www.alfiedog.com
Alfie’s Diary – the Book as well as our other books are available HERE