The aim of this study was to evaluate the preferences of owners of overweight dogs when buying commercial petfood. Personal interviews were conducted with 198 owners of urban household dogs; questions rated the importance of certain qualities of prepared dog food. Bivariate analyses for comparisons of absolute means between groups of owners of dogs with excess weight (n=137) and owners of normal weight dogs (n=61) were made using the Mann–Whitney U-test.
A low price and special offers for commercial dog food were more important for owners of dogs with excess weight than for owners of normal weight dogs. The quality of ingredients and the nutritional composition were more important for owners of normal weight dogs than for owners of dogs with excess weight. The veterinarian was the most important source of information on dog nutrition for both groups (83.6% for owners of normal weight dogs and 83.2% for owners of dogs with excess weight). The owners of dogs with excess weight had less interest in correct dog nutrition than owners of normal weight dogs.
Source : L. Suarez et al., 2011. Preferences of owners of overweight dogs when buying commercial pet food. JAPAN online July 2011. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2011.01193.x
