35% of pet owners will make a New Year’s resolution for their pets

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, pets and their human counterparts have the same goals for the New Year. Health-related commitments top the list for both UK adults and their four-legged companions in 2019, according to new research from Sainsbury’s Bank Pet Insurance.

A third of pet owners (35%) say their pet will have a New Year’s resolution in 2019, while over half (55%) of UK adults will also have at least one.

Dog and cat owners and those planning to buy these pets are even more likely to have a New Year’s resolution. For example, almost two thirds of dog owners (64%) have made a New Year’s resolution, 9% more than the national average (1).

According to dog and cat owners, the most popular resolutions for pets are to do more exercise (14%), followed by eating more healthily (11%) and losing weight (10%)(1).

The most common New Year’s resolutions for pets and UK adults(1)
Pets’ New Year’s resolutions
UK adults’ New Year’s resolutions
Do more exercise (14%)
Exercise more (26%)
Eating more healthily (11%)
Lose weight (24%)
Losing weight (10%)
Eat more healthily (22%)

Worryingly, the research also showed that a fifth (20%) of dog and cat owners say they either could not identify if their pet had become overweight or were uncertain about it. However once they establish their pet is overweight, owners are most likely to put them on a diet or feed them less (65%), take them for more walks (42%) or give them specialist pet food (38%).