FAQ: Pets and the Pet Market: General Statistics

There is limited amount of data on pets and the pet market that is available on the Internet. However, you may find the following statistics useful:

Canadians and their Pets

10 Hugs a Day? Your Dog or Cat is the Happy Recipient:
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/April2001/11/c3600.html

American pet owner demographics are available off-line. The description is available at:

American Veterinary Medical Association: U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook:
http://www.avma.org/membshp/marketstats/sourcebook.asp

Other U.S. sources of interest include:

Fun Pet Statistics, American Pet Association:
http://www.apapets.com/petstats2.htm

State of the American Pet Survey: a study among pet owners - Purina (Adobe Acrobat File)

The key to a successful small business in the pet sector is understanding your local market and competition. The best way to do this is to use off-line sources.

For further research assistance on finding out the opportunities in your particular market, you may want to consider purchasing our research guide: Researching a Small Business Canada - 2002.