MG&A Veterinary Research: Honestly, how often do you pick up after your dog in the countryside?
With this gorgeous weather, we all want to be out and about with our dogs but are we unwittingly endangering livestock?
We all know that we should pick up after our dogs in public places, but how many dog owners are aware that Neospora, a major issue for the UK dairy industry, can be picked up by naive cows grazing on pastures contaminated by faeces from infected dogs? When infected with Neospora, a pregnant cow may show no outward signs but when the parasite passes to the unborn calf, it can cause abortion. Some calves survive the gestation period and are born with neurological signs or still born, whilst others may look healthy but are infected with the parasite. An ‘abortion storm’ can happen when a farm is affected for the first time and has lots of susceptible animals. Once in a herd, Neospora is very difficult to irradiate as there is no treatment or vaccine available. Having an effective bio-security plan can help to reduce the risk.
To this end, we asked dog owners, the following question…
“This survey is completely anonymous so please be as honest as possible. None of us is perfect. Honestly, how often do you pick up your dog’s poo when it poos….”
Results
Two thirds (68%) of those that walk their dogs in fields / countryside, claimed that they mostly or always picked up after their dog when in a field / in the countryside.
Does this show that most owners are responsible (I am not sure this fits with my view of the world) or is there some “over-claiming” going on here….you decide!
If you would like to know how many claimed to pick up after their dog in the following locations:
-In a park / green council-owned space in a town / city etc
-On the pavement
-In the garden
-By a river
-In a wood
…please contact MG&A.
Of course, if you would like to discuss the possibility of conducting your own bespoke survey, we’d also love to hear from you.
We can be contacted at: mo@mogannonassociates.com or contact Mo through LinkedIn
Who is MG&A?
Based near London in UK, Mo Gannon & Associates (MG&A) provides B2B and B2C marketing consultancy and marketing research, specialising in agriculture, animal health and veterinary markets, both in UK and internationally.
MG&A utilises a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including several different online approaches, in order to help clients achieve their objectives.
Typical challenges our clients ask us to help them with include…
• Identifying and satisfying market opportunities
• Generating, refining and evaluating marketing activities
• Monitoring market performance
These objectives often include techniques such as Gabor Granger or Van Westendorp pricing models, market segmentation, providing Net Promoter Scores etc.
MG&A also facilitates large group Stakeholder Engagement / Co-Creation Workshops for clients and their customers (this may or may not include de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats). MG&A also facilitates Customer Journey Mapping Workshops. More information can be found at www.mogannonassociates.com or on LinkedIn