Pets

The present study is dedicated to exploring key factors impacting US pet owners’ preferences for brand, price, country of origin, and health and nutrition claims as important extrinsic and credence attributes. Pet engagement and subjective and objective knowledge, as well as varying forms of pet humanisation behaviour, were thought to be suitable factors. The study is of an explorative and quantitative nature, rooted in an online consumer survey, descriptive statistics, and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). To strengthen the PLS-SEM model, relative preference shares derived from a best–worst analysis were integrated into the model. The results with the strongest effect sizes indicate that US pet owners’ objective knowledge is positively associated with pet non-humanisation behaviour, those who actively engage with their pet are positively associated with loving humanisation behaviour, and that health and nutritional claims on pet food are less important for those reporting non-humanisation behaviours. The analysis between the varying types of pet humanisation behaviours and the best–worst-derived relative preferences for extrinsic and credence attributes provides a diverse picture. Together, the results suggest that pet engagement and both subjective and objective knowledge are associated with pet humanisation behaviour, which are differentially linked to the importance of pet food product attributes. Best practice recommendations for marketers in the pet food industry are provided.

Beta-glucans are immunomodulatory compounds known to act as adjuvants in the beneficial regulation of various allergic conditions, particularly atopic dermatitis, as well as in the modulation of dysbiosis in patients with chronic gastrointestinal disorders. However, certain underlying conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the associated loss of oral tolerance, may alter the expected outcomes of supplementation and lead to dysregulated immune responses. This study reports cases of cutaneous allergic reactions in dogs with IBD following the oral administration of yeast-derived beta-glucan. Two dogs with controlled IBD received 9.13 ± 1.14 mg/kg of beta-glucan in a double-blind study designed to investigate its effects on the intestinal microbiota in IBD. Both animals were withdrawn from the study due to adverse effects, including cutaneous allergic manifestations and intense pruritus. These findings suggest that patients with impaired oral tolerance may develop cutaneous reactions following the ingestion of yeast-derived prebiotics.

Brachycephalic dogs commonly suffer from breathing difficulties and other chronic health problems, yet strong consumer demand is widely reported. Whether the popularity of brachycephalic breeds persists across different contexts is largely untested. Census data from 1,510,085 canine consultations conducted at a single veterinary hospital from 2004 to 2023 in Hong Kong were collected and analysed. Individual dogs (n = 96,777) were counted once, in the first year of presentation. Males (53.5% to 57.7%) and purebreds (86.2% to 91.2%) predominated each year. Neutered dogs increased from 52% to 70% annually. Poodles were the most popular breed from 2009. Brachycephalic breeds, collectively, declined progressively from 36.3% to 15.4% of the annual population. This trend was exaggerated in dogs < 1-year-old (27.4% to 11.7%). Absolute numbers of common brachycephalic breeds declined, except for French Bulldogs and Pugs. A historical cohort study was conducted with a subset of the data (2016–2023) to investigate the hypothesis that veterinary service use would be higher in brachycephalic breeds compared with other groups. The hypothesis was proven. Relative demand for brachycephalic breeds in Hong Kong is decreasing, with the exception of French Bulldogs and Pugs. Investigating drivers of these observations will inform behaviour change strategies, and facilitate comparisons across different regions.