Demographic data of a population of insured Swedish dogs measured in a questionnaire study

Dogs, in the age range 1-3 years old, were randomly selected from the large st animal insurance database in Sweden for inclusion in the study. The stud y was performed in 1997, and a total of 680 dog owners were selected for th e study. A total of 461 dog owners completed the survey, at an overall resp onse rate of 68%. Data was compared to a recent gallup performed on a sampl e of all dogs in Sweden. The demographic statistics of the insured dog popu lation were in many aspects similar to the total dog population of Sweden. Typical for both insured dogs and the total population of dogs were a low p roportion of neutered dogs, that many dogs were bought at an early age, tha t many dogs were in contact with a "breeder" when sold, and a similar profi le of health status. However, "dog breeders" seemed to have their dogs insu red to a higher extent than the general dog owner. It was concluded that as the populations were: alike in many respects, it is reasonable to use the insurance database for epidemiological studies on diet and exercise in Swed ish dogs.