In This Issue
A Perfect Storm Hits the Garden Market
Sales pick up during Lockdown 2
Five creative ways to enhance your takeaway service during lockdown
Clipglove scores a Hat Trick in Gardeners’ World Review!
Profits up at Notcutts in year to February 2020
GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards are back!
Plant sales – a third up since re-opening
Gardenex organises webinar on ‘Beyond Transition: the steps UK exporters should take now!’
HTA calls on Government to delay implementation of plant health regulations
Further your professional development with the Ball Colegrave Scholarship
“The Smart Show must go on…line!”
Sales fall by 5.5% in Lockdown 2
EcoGro launch a range of specialist sustainable plant foods
RHS to launch rosé wine in time for Chelsea Flower Show
Tong Garden Centre wins Outstanding Employer award
APL Awards 2021 – finalists announced
GTN November issue now on-line
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
The sale of pot feet keep volumes up
Picks and Clips help to drive up Christmas sales
Lockdown hits Wild Bird Care sales
GROEN-Direkt’s Spring Showroom: February 2-3 2021
Brexit webinars to support global ornamental horticulture industry
The best of last week's
Barton Grange Christmas 2020 - Exclusive GTN Xtra Photo Tour
Homebase up for sale after recent overhaul
Little Dobbies opens in Edinburgh
Simpsons expands with purchase of Aberdeenshire garden centre
Thieves break into Dobbies Garden Centre
Garden Centre Photo Tours
Haskins Snowhill re-opens after £15m re-vamp
British Garden Centres open their 58th centre at Thatcham
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to the GTN Bestsellers printed weekly newsletter
All the latest news from the world of pet products
Laughing Dog brings innovation to Christmas with festive treat
Lockdown sparks surge in love for 'man's best friend'
Unleashing holiday cheer with Purely Pets Top Trump packs
Send us your news and great ideas

Contact us with your news.

Email trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 07973 504214


Lockdown sparks surge in love for 'man's best friend'

 

Covid Lockdown restrictions made close human friendships harder to maintain ... but love for our dogs has been boosted by the pandemic.

That’s the finding of a new snapshot survey, published today by a leading UK pet products company targeting some of Britain’s 9 million dog owners.

The poll, conducted by award-winning dog food manufacturer Beco, reveals that during Lockdown nearly two thirds of all dog owners splashed out on extra special toys and treats for their dogs.

Two thirds of dog owners also reported spending more than an extra five hours every day in the close company of their favourite canine companion.

And over half of owners believe their dog “has become more dependent” on them during lockdown, all suggesting that our bond with ‘Man’s Best Friend’ has never been stronger.

Circulated after the first UK spring Lockdown and before Lockdown 2 began, the survey also reveals that 18 per cent of owners spent more than £50 a month extra on their dogs in lockdown.

Beco’s poll found that the number of people who spent an extra £100 or more per month on their dog in lockdown amounted to 3 per cent of owners.

Projected nationally, that figure amounts to over a quarter of a million owners across the UK (270,000) forking out a massive £27 million or more per month on their dogs.

George Bramble, Founder of Beco, whose company motto is “Love your dog. Love our planet”, said: “We are a proud nation of dog lovers but it seems the pandemic has made us love and pamper our dogs even more. My Labrador Tarka would agree.

“As a company focused on sustainability, with the health of the environment at the heart of everything we do, we’re delighted our survey also found that 78 per cent of owners see sustainability as a major influence in their decision-making.

“It's heartening to know that so many of the British public share our same vision and mission. It’s also interesting that Lockdown has resulted in a massive boost for the love between us and our dogs.”

Beco, who pioneered the bamboo pet bowl and now export compostable and degradable poop bags to over 50 countries, staged their poll to gauge views on sustainability and to see how Lockdown affected human-dog relationships.

The Beco survey found that:

  • 26% of dog owners bought or acquired a new pet or dog during lockdown
  • 61% of owners admitted they’d bought special treats or toys for their dogs in lockdown
  • 10% said they’d splashed out between £50 and £70 extra per month on their dogs
  • 5% spent between £70 and £100 extra on their dogs in lockdown
  • 3% of dog owners spent more than £100 extra each month in lockdown
  • 18% of owners in total spent more than £50 a month extra on their dogs in lockdown
  • 22% said they’d spent 5-7 hours extra in the dog’s company every day
  • 38% spent more than an extra 7 hours per day with their dogs
  • 53% said they judged that their dogs had become “more dependent on them during lockdown”
  • 78% of owners now say sustainability is a major influence in their decision-making. 

 

The survey’s findings, gathered over social media and via e-shot questionnaires, come days after a scientific study in London into dog DNA showed that our “best friend” in the animal world may also be our oldest one.

The study, by The Ancient Genomics laboratory at London's Crick Institute, revealed that dog domestication can be traced back 11,000 years, to the end of the last Ice Age, confirming that dogs were domesticated before any other known species.

The current risks to our dogs during and after Lockdown were also recently highlighted by Beco after one of the UK’s leading dog trainers warned that up to 3 million dogs in the UK are now at risk of suffering from Separation Anxiety.

Bryony Cole, a Beco Ambassador and Founder / Head Trainer at her Somerset dog training company Eye2EyeDogs, said owners should be on the lookout for distress signals in their pets.

 

Ms Cole, one of the country’s most experienced dog trainers who has trained over 5,000 dogs, including many for roles in UK films and TV programmes, said signs to watch out for in your dog included prolific barking or crying when owners are out; panting, pacing and whining when alone; predicting their owner is about to leave and starting to panic; urinating, defecating or being destructive when alone and trying to break out of the area your dog is left in.

“Not every dog owner has a job that will take them away from the home, say to an office, but up to 3 million dogs will now be at risk,” she said. “Therefore, it’s very important that we keep a close look-out for any early signs that a dog is feeling distress and take appropriate action to help them without delay.”

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Del.icio.us Digg | Comment (0)
Comment
Name:*

Email Address:*

Comment:*