title: Survey of the Swedish dog population: age, gender, breed, location and enrollment in animal insurance.
abstract: A sample of the Swedish population was surveyed by interviewing households by telephone. The number interviewed was 11,762, of which 15.5% owned dogs, and of these, 77.9% had one dog. The estimated total population of dogs in Sweden was just over 800,000. Dog-owning was more common in more rural areas compared to larger cities. The numbers of male and female dogs were similar and few dogs were neutered. Mean age was 5.7 years with median 5 years. Mongrels comprised 13.3% and the most common breed was the dachshund (7.4%). Of dogs with information on insurance status, 68.4% of the dogs were insured for veterinary care and 58.3% were life insured.
authors.affiliation: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. Agneta.Egenvall@kirmed.slu.se
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Egenvall
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hedhammar
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Bonnett
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Olson
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs / Q000145:classification*; D005260:Female; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D014505:Urban Population