Animal, Plant & Soil Science

1. Animal, Plant & Soil Science Lesson B8-1 The Companion Animal Industry

2. Interest Approach • In pairs think of as many companion animals as you can and share with the whole group.

3. Objectives • Recognize the scope and economic impact of the companion animal industry. • Analyze the history of domestication of common companion animals. • Determine the benefits of companion animals for humans.

4. Objectives • Describe the human / companion animal bond. • Identify and discuss some trends in companion animal production and care.

5. Terms • disposition • domesticated • economic impact • freshwater fish • human/animal bond • prolificacy • selective breeding • solitary

6. What is the scope and economic impact of the companion animalindustry? • It should be no surprise that companion animals are an integral part of most households today. • In fact, according to a recent survey of pet owners, more than 60 percent of homes in the United States own some sort of pet. • With tens of millions of homes keeping pets, the economic impact of the pet industry is huge.

7. What is the scope and economic impact of the companion animalindustry? • A. Economic impact refers to the amount of money a specific industry contributes to the overall economy. • Pet owners today spend more money on their pets than at any other time in history. • The entire companion animal industry is estimated to bring more than $40 billion in revenue to the American economy. • With numbers like this, it is no wonder that there are literally millions of products available for our pets, with new products entering the market each day.

8. What is the scope and economic impact of the companion animalindustry? • 1. The largest segments of the companion animal industry are dogs and cats. • Dogs are actually owned in more homes, but more cats are owned in total. • This trend indicates that, while there are fewer homes with cats, most cat owners have more than one cat. • 2. After dogs and cats, freshwater fish, or those fish that do not require a saltwater habitat, are the most popular companion animals in American homes.

9. What is the scope and economic impact of the companion animalindustry? • B. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association (APPMA), Americans spent $40.8 billion on their pets in 2007. • A breakdown of this amount is as follows: • 1. Food—$16.1 billion • 2. Supplies / OTC medicine—$9.9 billion • 3. Vet care—$9.8 billion • 4. Pet services (e.g., grooming, boarding)—$2.9 billion • 5. Live animal purchases—$2.1 billion

10. What is the scope and economic impact of the companion animalindustry? • C. Seeing this trend in pet spending, many companies that once only produced products for humans are now launching pet product lines. • Nearly everything from pet clothing and special shampoos to electronics can now be purchased with the pet in mind. • With the ease of online purchasing, many owners are now spending more on their pets than ever before.

11. What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • Humans did not just wake up one morning to find a dog licking their hands or a cat curled up in the window of their homes. • Companion animals were domesticated, or changed to become accustomed to human control and provision. • A. Dogs were domesticated at least 12,000 years ago, with canine bones being found in caves where humans lived.

12. What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • 1. It is commonly thought that dogs were domesticated through some wolves that were less frightened of humans and tended to stay closer to human villages. • 2. Whatever the case, many different kinds of dogs were known by Egyptian times, as shown in various antique paintings. • 3. Various breeds of dogs were created through selective breeding, a process in which animals possessing desired traits are kept and bred to produce the desired offspring.

13. What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • B. Cats were domesticated at least 3,000 years ago. • However, due to their solitary nature and hard-to-control breeding habits, domestic cats have kept more in common with their wild cousins than other companion animals.

14. What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • 1. Unlike dogs, cats tend to be solitary creatures, meaning they are content to live alone and do not desire the companionship of a pack or herd. • 2. Cats have always held an air of mystery about them. • The ancient Egyptians regarded them as sacred and even mummified their dead cats for passage to the afterlife.

15. What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • C. Around the time of cat domestication, horses were also being conditioned to live with humans. • Although horses were originally domesticated as workers rather than pets, their contribution to humans over the years is immeasurable. • 1. Horses were originally captured and bred to supply early humans with a food source, but the horse showed it had other uses more important than food: as a power source for pulling, as a means of transportation, and as a hunting instrument.

16. What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • 2. All breeds of horses that we now recognize are the result of human breeding efforts. • Early breeds have now become extinct and exist only in museums and bone records.

17. What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • D. Another popular companion animal, the rabbit, was domesticated during the first century B.C. • 1. Rabbits were originally kept as a reliable and quickly renewable food source. • Many ships and voyages kept a group of rabbits to provide meat during long trips. • 2. Due to their extreme prolificacy, or ability to reproduce quickly, rabbits have become a nuisance in some areas where overpopulation has occurred.

18. What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • E. Domestication has occurred in more recent times. • 1. In 1930, the hamster was domesticated in Jerusalem after a female was captured and bred to use in experimentation. • 2. Over time, scientists realized that the physical appearance and disposition, or general behavior or attitude, of the hamster would make it suitable as a pet for children.

19. Activity • Pick an companion animal product and act it out so that the other students can guess what it is.

20. What are the benefits of companion animals for humans? • Companion animals provide many benefits for humans. • From protection to friendship, each companion animal serves a purpose. • A. The most obvious benefit is companionship. Most pet owners have their pets because they enjoy spending time with them. • From children to the elderly, there are few among us who do not enjoy spending time with animals. • Having these animals depend on us for food and shelter, then repaying us with friendship, creates a strong bond between owner and pet.

21. What are the benefits of companion animals for humans? • B. Companion animals also improve the health of their owners. • 1. Many studies have shown that owning a pet helps to relieve many health problems, especially those associated with stress. • Working with animals tends to help us relax, which in turn can lower blood pressure and minimize stress-related ailments.

22. What are the benefits of companion animals for humans? • 2. Pets have also been shown to help owners deal with the effects of depression. • Scientists have studied people with depression, often finding that caring for a pet helps relieve some of the debilitating effects of depression and gives the owner a better outlook on life.

23. What are the benefits of companion animals for humans? • 3. Some companion animals, such as horses, are used in therapy sessions for people with a wide range of physical and mental conditions. • Bonding with a horse, and even the act of riding a horse, has been shown to have a positive impact on people’s health.

24. What are the benefits of companion animals for humans? • C. Some companion animals also pull double-duty as our guardians. • 1. Dogs are commonly kept in homes not only as family pets but as watchdogs for possible intruders and other potentially dangerous situations. • Dogs have been shown to be very territorial at times and, once attached to a family, are very protective of the family members, especially children. • 2. Dogs can also serve as seeing-eye dogs to assist those without sight.

25. What is the human / companion animal bond? • The human/animal bond describes the actual bond between a companion animal and its human owner. • This bond is real and powerful, as owners and pets develop relationships that can last a lifetime. • It is this bond that makes some owners treat their pets like children.

26. What is the human / companion animal bond? • It is this same bond that makes a lost animal travel for miles over unknown territory to find its way back to its owner. • Over the years, many scientists have studied the human/animal bond and have found some amazing connections.

27. What is the human / companion animal bond? • A. The human/animal bond has been shown to have numerous positive impacts on the owner’s health. • From lower cholesterol and blood pressure to fewer doctor visits and medical problems, people seem to be happier and healthier when they have a pet. • B. The bond also has positive effects on children, as they are more likely to become caring and giving adults if they have the opportunity to care for a pet when they are young.

28. What is the human / companion animal bond? • C. Families that are studied also seem to be happier and work together more when the care for a family pet is the responsibility of all family members.

29. What are some trends in companion animal production and care? • As we have discussed, the companion animal industry is an ever growing and evolving industry. • As a nation, we have embraced this industry and the changes it has brought to our way of life. • Various trends are beginning to emerge as better records are kept about the companion animal industry.

30. What are some trends in companion animal production and care? • A. Americans are spending more money on pets with each succeeding year. • From 2006 to 2007, there was an increase of more than $2 billion spent in the pet industry. • Since 1994, there has been an increase of more than $23 billion.

31. What are some trends in companion animal production and care? • B. More companies are beginning to offer pet items, including food, clothing, and toys. • Some companies, like Harley Davidson, which once only specialized in human products, now offer a line of pet accessories as well. • C. Americans are spending more money on pampering their pets than ever before. • From doggy spas to cat relaxation gyms, owners seem to be willing to spend large amounts of money to give their pets the finest treatment.

32. What are some trends in companion animal production and care? • D. Production of pets continues to grow each year. • The industry survives only on the number of pets that people own, so there is always a need for more pets. • Many new breeds of animals are being developed and marketed to give owners the perfect, and sometimes unique, pet.

33. What are some trends in companion animal production and care? • E. In some cases, pet technology rivals the technology available for humans, as owners are willing to pay whatever it costs to keep their pets healthy and safe. • From routine vet visits to state-of-the-art identification and tracking tags, technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated for a number of pet-related tasks, such as controlled feeding and digital aquarium systems.

34. Review • What is the scope and economic impact of the companion animal industry? • What is the history of domestication of common companion animals? • What are the benefits of companion animals for humans?

35. Review • What is the human / companion animal bond? • What are some trends in companion animal production and care?