Pets at Home launches new campaign

The UK’s leading pet retailer Pets at Home has launched a new campaign, “Five Minutes More”, with broadcaster and dog lover Clare Balding to encourage pet owners across the country to avoid cutting short the dog walk this winter to help reduce the number of overweight dogs in the UK.

It comes as new research by the retailer reveals at least one million dogs in the UK are overweight, with 10 per cent of owners saying they know their dog is overweight. According to the research, the main factors owners believe are contributing to the problem of weight gain in dogs are overfeeding (59 per cent) and lack of exercise/not walking for long enough (34 per cent).

Cold weather was cited as the main reason people walk their dogs less – with 47 per cent worrying it’s too cold for their dog to be outside. The second most popular reason was that the owner does not like walking in the dark (30 per cent), followed by not liking to walk the dog when it is wet and muddy (29 per cent). Icy weather making it hard for owners to handle their dog on a lead (27 per cent) and people finding the weather too cold for them to walk in (24 per cent) complete the top five.