HOW TO PREVENT YOUR PET FROM CHEWING ON ELECTRICAL CORDS.

P r i m a r y  q u a n t i t a t i v e  d a t a

In order to gather my own statistical data, I generated a number of closed questions that could be put into a questionnaire format. There wasn't really much I was going to be able to get from this, apart from a general overview of how many of the people asked owned pets and had experienced the problem given to me. 

I came up with a series of five questions, all of which gave no scope for further discussion, the replies were to be categorical. Each response would either produce a figure or a yes/no answer. The questions were as follows:

1. Do you own any pets? If so, how many?

2. What type of pets do you own (if any)?

3.  Have you ever had any sort of experience where your pet has attempted to chew through the power cords in your house, or do you know anyone that has?

4. Would you know how to prevent an animal from doing so?

5. Have you ever heard about the types of sprays that you can buy in order to deter an animal from licking or chewing electrical cords?

After sending the survey out to a large group of people, and waiting quite a while, I have received 11 responses. Unfortunately, a low response rate is one of the major disadvantages with questionnaires and surveys, as many people just can't really be bothered to fill them in. 

Responses included 

fish

27/11/2011 15:58View Responses

cat

27/11/2011 14:53View Responses

dogs

27/11/2011 14:51View Responses

cats, dogs

27/11/2011 14:34View Responses

Dogs, hens

27/11/2011 14:02View Responses

Dog

27/11/2011 13:34View Responses

Dog

27/11/2011 13:24View Responses

Dogs

27/11/2011 13:22

P r i m a r y  q u a l i t a t i v e  d a t a

Fortunately (?), one of flatmates had actually had first hand experience of a pet chewing on electrical cords. I was able to construct a little questionnaire/interview situation where the questions were open-ended, leaving room for depth and further explanation, making the research qualitative. Mainly what I wanted to find out from her was how she coped with the situation, and what methods were used, as this is something that I couldn't really came from statistical, quantitative data. 

I came up with a number of questions:

1. What type of pet(s) do you own?

2. Have you caught your pet trying to chew on electrical cords more than once before?

3. What were your initial thoughts/initial reactions when your pet started chewing on the electrical cords in your home?

4. Has it ever got the point where the situation could have become quite dangerous? If so, please explain.

5. How have you prevented your pet from chewing on electrical cords? Please describe in detail.

6. Were the above methods effective? If not, why not?

7 . Please feel free to offer any additional information that was not covered in this questionnaire.

Anna Jakobson's response:

1. Dog

2. I have, only about twice, the second time we think she got a bit electrocuted so was scared after that.
3. It was scary because she was only a puppy and could of easily been hurt, and we felt silly for leaving cords out like that when puppies chew everything they see.

4.See question 2... we weren't entirely sure if she was electrocuted but we believe so as she never chewed them again and the wire we found had been quite badly chewed.

5.We hide the cords better or put them out of reach.

6. They were definitely effective, if your pet cannot reach the cords then they will not chew them. Plus i have never seen any kind of prevention equipment before to stop dogs or pets chewing on them. I think you can get a spray which stops pets chewing on things but dogs don't really care about the flavour i don't think.

Bitter apple spray

Bitter Apple Spray can be sprayed on wounds and dressings to deter your pet from licking or chewing.
Also great to stop teething puppies from chewing things they shouldn't, such as furniture or shoes.
The spray does not harm the finish on real wood furniture.
Can be used with cats, dogs and even ferrets.

http://www.medicanimal.com/product/~product_id=129?gclid=CIuI95GW16wCFQMPfAodqnfy6g

S e c o n d a r y  q u a n t i t a t i v e  d a t a

Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to find any sort of statistical data that directly related to my 'how to'. There aren't many figures that can realistically come from pets chewing on electrical cords, and if there is, then no one has recorded them or there has been no need to.

From this, I decided to make my research a bit broader. It's obviously a lot easier and more general just to look into pet statistics within the UK. This could then show a sort of overall idea of how many people could be experience the problem of bad pet behaviour. 

Research undertaken by National Pet Month has given me an overall look at pet ownership in the UK. National Pet Month's aims are to: 

• promote responsible pet ownership
• make people aware of the benefits of pets for people and people for pets
• increase public awareness of services available from professionals who work with animals
• raise awareness of the role, value and contribution to society of working companion animals

http://nationalpetmonth.org.uk/

The following research was carried out by industry experts the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) on behalf of National Pet Month.

- There are 27 million pets in the country

- 43% of households contain at least one pet

- There are 27 million pets in the UK with dogs and cats being the animal of choice for pet lovers with over 7.3 and 7.2 million across the UK respectively

- 39% of London’s pet owners purchase their pet for companionship, despite living in the UK’s highest populated city

-  60% of single people in the UK buy a pet for companionship – 39% of whom have replaced their partner with a pet

- 21% of pet owners have wanted a pet since childhood, and almost of half of people living in the North East have wanted a pet since their early years

- he East Midlands has the most pet lovers, with 14% of the pet population living in the heart of the UK, compared to only 4% of the population residing in Wales

- 21% of owners bought their pet for companionship, compared to only 5% who have their pet for security

- Over a quarter (27%) of the UK’s pets were bought or acquired from an animal welfare or rescue centre compared to 20% from a pet shop

http://www.dognews.co.uk/uk-pet-owner-statistics/

Further statistics collected from the Pet Census, a national survey carried out annually on behalf of The Blue Cross pet charity (2007).

- we spend an average of £406 per year on our dogs, a 20% increase from last year and £128 more than the average expenditure on pets

- 1 in 10 people would choose their pets over close family, while only 9% of people would rather spend time with friends and 8% with other family members

- Dogs and cats are the number one pet of choice, each owned by 39% of people in Great Britain

-  69% of pet owners admit to not having insured their pets against injury or ill health

-  The Blue Cross charity has re-homed 5,188 animals through through its 11 adoption centres, of which 1936 were dogs

-Men spend more on their pets in a year (£282) than women (£275)

-  People aged 16 to 24 are the most likely to own a pet

http://www.pfma.org.uk/_assets/images/general/file/Reason%20for%20choice%20of%20pet%2008.pdf

S e c o n d a r y  q u a l i t a t i v e  d a t a 


Sources: 
http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/stop-dog-chewing.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070127053948AANTh7Y
http://www.ehow.com/how_7683417_prevent-chewing-through-power-cords.html