A 'startling' number of people in Yorkshire think it’s OK to leave a dog alone for up to 10 hours - the worst record in the country.
Many more are buying pets on a whim.
And the Yorkshire region compares badly with the rest of the UK in other areas of pet care .
In its new PAW report, vet charity the PDSA says more than a third of the region’s dog owners think it is acceptable to leave the animal alone for six to ten hours - the highest in the UK.
More than a fifth take on pets impulsively with no research beforehand. And thousands of local dogs are never given a walk.
“Some of the findings are quite startling,” said Huddersfield PDSA vet, Dan Cook.
“Trends in this region are out of kilter with the rest of the UK in a negative way.
“We must get the message across that pets are for life and must be cared for properly.”
Other findings from the report include:
1 in 8 (13 per cent) of pet owners in the region think the cost of their pet will be under £500 for its lifetime – a huge under-estimate. A cat, for example, can cost £17,000.
Around a quarter (23 per cent) would consider getting a dog from a puppy farm .
Thousands of dogs – three per cent – are never walked (on the lead for ten minutes or more), despite this being fundamental for their physical and mental well-being.
Mr Cook said: “We are among the highest for impulse-buying. It’s a big figure.
“And as for leaving dogs alone, it’s a vast amount of time and something which really concerns us. Dogs need both mental stimulation and exercise. It is vital for their health and well-being.
“The number of problems we see relating to dog aggression and dog-on-dog attacks is largely down to them being left alone for long periods.”
Animal Neglect
3%
23%
13%
Mr Cook said one reason for the bad figures is lack of owner education rather than wilful neglect or cruelty.
“This is why we have launched a campaign to get the message across about education and the importance of choosing the right kind of pet,” he said.
The PDSA has a hashtag on Twitter designed to drive traffic to the charity’s website which contains a huge amount of information on how to care for a pet.
Mr Cook said that over a lifetime, a medium-size dog can cost around the same as a cat. “But with a larger breed - how long is the piece of string?” he said. “People vastly under-estimate the cost in the course of a pet’s lifetime.
“We need to stress that pets are not an impulse buy. You should never rush in. Consider everything very carefully.”