PET AND COMPANION ANIMALS

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• CHAPTER 23
• PET AND COMPANION ANIMALS

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• The Place of Pet and Companion Species in
• the United States
• The common pet species in the United States are
  shown in table 23-1
• Many households own more than one type of pet
• Pet ownership has increased
• Approximately 32 of U.S. households
• Approximately 27.3 of U.S. households

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• There are generalities that can be drawn about
  pet ownership
• Families with children
• People over 65 and living alone
• Higher household income
• Homeowners
• The more people in a house

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• There are links to agriculture
• Agriculture provides most of the raw ingredients
• Cat food sales are increasing more rapidly than
  dog food sales
• Veterinary expenditures are another substantial
  source of economic activity associated with the
  pet species
• The number of veterinary visits per household

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• Additional millions are spent annually for pet
• products
• The pet industry supports several related
  industries

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• Purpose of the Pet and Companion Animals and
• Industry
• Support the animals in service and companionship
  to people
• Pet species
• However, the most common purpose for pet
  ownership is

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• Pets and Companion Animals Defined
• In the classic definition, pets are different
  from livestock because they are kept for pleasure
  rather than utility
• The modern term, companion animal
• The term companion animal is often used in a
  context to indicate that a human is frequently in
  the company of the animal

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• Some individuals from these species dont qualify
  as either pets or companion animals
• Example barn cats
• Pets and companions are not necessarily from
  domestic species
• Keeping tamed specimens of wild animals
• As a means of clarifying the ambiguity of
  terminology, pets have been classified into

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• Ornamental pets
• Ornamental pets serve the same purpose as
  houseplants
• Example

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• Status symbols
• At least part of the domestication of the wolf
  was linked to the status its presence in camp
  gave the human occupants
• Example
• More benign example
• Status

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• Playthings
• Pets as playthings
• Children given a pet before they are capable of
  appreciating it are
• Some of the people involved in sports

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• Hobbies
• The hobby animal category specifically identifies
  animals
• Frequently, the owners breed as well as exhibit
  their own animals
• Dogs and cat events are most common

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• Work, helper or server animals
• Many of these are traditional services such as
  herding, tracking and pulling sleds and carts
• Modern services include police dogs, search and
  rescue dogs, water rescue dogs, and drug dogs
• An exciting and increasingly important part of
  modern society
• In addition to the seeing-eye dogs
• Monkeys

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• Companion animals
• The companion animal is perceived and treated as
  a subject
• With a companion animals it is the relationship
  itself
• A companion pet may be treated as a member of the
  family
• Dogs, cats, small mammals, and birds
• Value of pets this section begins on p606

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• Historical perspective
• Mankinds association with animals has been
  dominated by their contributions to mans needs
  for food, power and religion

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• The gray wolf, Canis lupis is the ancestor of the
  first domestic animal, the dog. Date?? 12,000
  B.C.
• The readily accepted reason
• Domestic dogs were brought to the Western
  Hemisphere

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• Cats were not domesticated until after settled
• agriculture developed in Egypt
• Domestication of the cat was more difficult than
  the dog
• However, cats do have features that helped their
  domestication

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• The African bush cat, Felis lybica was no doubt
  attracted to the vermin any food store is likely
  to attract
• While there is evidence that the cat was
  domesticated as long as 6,000 years ago
• Priests adopted cats as objects for deification
• Unique cat ability of purring
• By 3000 years ago

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• Phoenician trading vessels brought cats into
• Europe about 900 BC
• Cats became associated with Satan worship during
  the Middle Ages
• Killing cats contributed to the spread of bubonic
  plague
• The Sabbath Day for the Norse goddess Freyer

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• European ships brought cats to the Americas
• The pilgrims
• The cat fancy dates to 1871

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• Most other species have been relatively
• recent domestications
• Many were domesticated as laboratory species
• Hedgehogs
• Hamsters
• Rats
• Guinea pigs
• Parakeets
• Many pet birds

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• Geographical location
• The AVMA provides good demographic information
  about pet ownership
• Figure 23-18
• It is important to note all regions in the country

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• Figure 23-19 shows the rate of dog ownership
• Dogs are the most popular pet in terms of
• Dogs were found in 31.6
• Total dogs in the United States are increasing at
  a very modest rate
• Thus, the average dog-owning household has
  greater numbers of dogs than in 1991 when the
  last AVMA survey was done

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• Figure 23-20 shows the distribution of households
  that own cats.
• Total cats outnumber dogs
• Total cats in the United States increased by 3.7
  from 1991 to 1996
• In a trend similar to the one observed for dogs,
  the average cat-owning household has greater
  numbers of cats than in 1991 when the last AVMA
  survey was done

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• Figure 23-21 shows the regional rates
• of ownership for bird
• Birds are owned by a much smaller percentage of
  households
• The lowest rate of bird ownership
• The number of households with birds showed a
  decline for birds just as for dogs and cats but
  total number of birds increased from 1991 to 1996
  by 7.3

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• Genetics and breeding programs
• Breeding programs such as discussed for other
  species
• The pet species are selected for breeding
• This approach has allowed undesirable genetic
  diseases
• The majority of breeders have only rudimentary
  knowledge
• For those that do have knowledge

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• Perhaps with the rapidly advancing state of DNA
  technology knowledge about genetics will improve
• The dog genome project
• The genomes of rodent species

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• The canine genetic map is projected to be
  complete by 2005 or sooner
• Inexpensive technology is already available to
  positively identify the parentage of all dogs
• In the future, it will be possible to compare the
  genetic similarity between the individuals of a
  proposed mating
• Dogs will be able to be screened for all genetic
  diseases

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• The Board of Directors of the American Kennel
  Club approved a voluntary DNA Certification
  Program at its January 1998 meeting.
• The program offers Certificates of DNA Analysis
• The voluntary DNA Certification Program
• It also provides a means of identification for
  individual animals

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• Breeds of dogs
• Since dogs have been domesticated for so long
  they have been developed into numerous types and
  breeds
• It is estimated to be between 400 to 450 breeds
• The primary dog registry of the U.S., The
  American Kennel Club, (AKC), classifies purebred
  dogs in seven categories
• Breeds of dogs classified by category are shown
  in table 23-2
• The ten most popular breeds of purebred dogs are
  shown in table 23-3

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• Breeds of cats
• Cat breeds are less numerous than dogs
• This is because there have been fewer uses
  overall for cats
• There are approximately 50 breeds of cats
• A compiled list from various breed associations
  is shown in Table 23-4
• The ten most popular cat breeds are in Table 23-5

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• Natural breeds breeds of cats were selected by
  human preference or regional diversity
• Examples Abyssinian, Birman, Burmese, and Maine
  Coon.
• Human-developed breeds created by crossbreeding
  and subsequent selection to fix type
• Examples Bombay and the Himalayan
• Spontaneous mutations new breeds that showcase a
  mutation.
• Examples American Curl (ears curled back),
  American Bobtail (short tailed), Munchkin (short
  legs).

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• Feline studbook organizations several different
  ones in the U.S.
• The associations goals and rules of registration
  are different
• Some associations register all breeds
• The breed standards differ from one association
  to the next

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• Breeds of Other Pet Species
• The other pet species are not as breed oriented
  as the dog and cat
• If breeds exist theyre largely based on
  coat-type and color variations
• The bird fancy is divided along species lines
• Interesting color variations
• The budgerigar breeders have also developed the
  exhibition of the animals to the greatest degree.

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• Reproductive Management
• Table 23-6 gives some of the basic features of
  the reproductive cycles of selected mammalian
  species
• Table 23-7 gives basic data on some avian species

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• The basic structures in the reproductive
• tract of the bitch are shown in Figure 23-6
• Puberty in most dogs
• The ovarian cycle of the bitch
• The interval from cycle to cycle
• The time between cycles varies from 4 to 13
  months (ave. of 7 months)

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• Heat in the bitch is under the influence of
• LH, progesterone, and estrogen (Figure 23-23)
• Prior to the time of a LH hormonal surge
• After the LH surge
• The ova are released from the follicles
• The ovulated eggs are not ready for fertilization
• The greatest number of ovulations occur 24 to 72
  hours after the LH peak

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• Plasma progesterone concentrations rise prior to
  ovulation in the bitch
• Now that the techniques and breed association
  rules are in place to allow AI
• In addition, valuable stud dogs can be in much
  demand
• A mating that is done on the wrong day
• Some owners of valuable stud dogs are insisting
  on hormone monitoring

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• The basic structures of the female reproductive
• tract of the queen are shown in Figure 23-8
• The average age of puberty is 10 months
• The queen is seasonally polyestrus breeder
• Photoperiod controls
• Breeding season varies according to day length
• Queens living indoors may cycle in the winter
• The queen displays uniqueness in her reproductive
  function
• Mating of the queen induces the LH surge required
  for ovulation (Figure 23-25)
• The average length of the estrus cycle is 14 to
  21 days

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• Nutrition of the Pet Species
• Good nutrition for a pet is a responsibility of
  pet ownership
• Most people who keep pets do so in limited
  numbers that makes mixing rations on an
  individual animal basis impractical
• In addition, most people do not have the
  knowledge
• Thus, most people will (and should) purchase
  premixed feeds
• This makes the ability to choose a pet food based
  on the feed label an important common denominator
  for all pet owners
• Figure 23-26 shows a representative pet food
  label
• Please read and be responsible for the
  information found on p 625-627 of your text

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• Trends in the pet industry
• Pet population. The U.S. population is expected
  to grow 1.3 annually for the next decade and
  reflect the trends apparent in Table 23-1 p. 570
• Dog numbers are expected to grow
• Dogs grew less than 1 total from 1987 to 1996
• Some of the specialty and exotic pets may
  continue to grow as they did between 1991 and
  1996.

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• From 1991 to 1996, livestock species as pets
  nearly doubled
• This is consistent with the growing trend
• More hobby farms are expected
• Increases in the rodent species are expected

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• The factors driving the overall increased pet
• population include
• The move of the baby boom generation into the
  most common pet owning years
• Increased resources for pet ownership due to
  smaller family size
• Security and companionship of a pet against
  factors of modern life
• Surrogate bonding with the natural world through
  pets
• Increases ecological awareness
• The dogs traditional role as protector

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• Registered animals. The number of annual
• registrations for cats and dogs is declining
• (Figure 23-31 and Figure 23-32). One would
• expect this to continue

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• Concentration of ownership
• According to AVMA surveys, the percentage of pet
  owning households has been declining since 1987
  for dogs, cats, and birds
• However, during the same period
• This has driven an overall increase in pet
  numbers
• The reasons for the reduction in rates of
  ownership by households is unclear
• Until new data become available

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• Pet foods
• Trends in the US pet food industry are truly
  worldwide trends
• A major focus of the industry is the production
  of specialized products
• The industry is expanding to include more sales
  of dog and cat foods by veterinarians because
  demand appears to be growing for higher quality,
  higher priced brands typically sold in this way
• Life stage concept feed formulations and
  marketing
• Diets marketed for specific types of performance

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• Veterinary expenditures. The total costs of
• veterinary care are rising
• The total average annual visits per dog
• However, the number of visits per cat is
  increasing substantially
• Specialty and exotic pet owners are increasing
  their use of veterinary services as well
• In addition, the cost of each visit for all
  groups is increasing
• As more medical technology becomes available to
  pet owners