While More Are Finding Cats Their Purr-fect Pet, for Many It’s Still a Dog’s World

When they were married, Craig Wilson bought his wife, Joyce, a dog. And darned if her wedding present to him wasn’t a dog too.

“At one point I actually had 13 dogs,” Wilson said. “I loved them all.”

Across America, dog ownership appears to be leveling off, with cats replacing dogs as the No. 1 domestic pet. Nevertheless, there are still 50 million households in the country where dogs remain supreme.

“I don’t think dogs are losing out too much in popularity, at least not with this family,” Joyce Wilson said. In addition to being the mother of two young sons, she is the feeder, exerciser and constant companion of two Labrador retrievers and a golden retriever.

‘It’s Rewarding’

“They’re just like kids to me,” said Craig Wilson, 26. “I just enjoy being with them and having fun with them. It’s rewarding having them look up to you.”

For others in the country, the willingness to own and provide decent care for a dog may be slackening. In part, this may be a result of urbanization.

There are 50 million canines in homes and barns across the country, but the number of cats has passed 56 million.

“If you dropped down from outer space and crashed through the ceiling of a typical American home, the chances are less likely now that you would find a dog than they were 20 years ago,” said Drew McLandrich, manager of marketing communications of Iams Pet Food in Dayton, Ohio.

Decrease in Proportion

McLandrich says that there are more dogs in the country now than at any other time, but there has been a decrease in the proportion of dog-owning homes to cat-owning homes.

He says research indicates that the canine population is nearly static, but that “cats are going off the scale. The whole thing has a life-style-driven edge to it.”

McLandrich notes that working couples are looking for low-maintenance pets. “In the long term, it looks like dogs are pretty flat,” he said.

Writer Herm David, in a recent article in Dog World magazine, said that changing demographics is the key to the shift.

The demographic trends include an older population; more childless households; more families living in condominiums or homes where dog ownership is inconvenient; more two-paycheck families, and the maturing of the Baby Boom generation, which is less stable socially and economically.

Relied on Puppy Appeal

“Those who have sat back and relied upon puppy and dog appeal to self-sell are going to have to learn new skills in merchandising and rethink their priorities and their budget distribution,” David said.

Roberta Vesley, a librarian at the American Kennel Club in New York, questions such warnings.

“If there’s any trend toward fewer dogs, I think it’s a little slower than what Herm David is saying,” Vesley said.

“We’ve been registering around a million dogs a year since 1972,” she said. “The number just hovers around there. Sometimes it’s a little more and sometimes it’s a little less. Our figures just don’t show dog ownership going down that drastically.”

Vesley predicts a possible boost in dog ownership by urban yuppies as they adopt a suburban life style. “We’re still not sure what direction they’ll take,” she said.