Survey: Travelling with pets can cause family strife

Washington, DC, December 19, 2018 – Holiday time means gathering friends and family and increasingly that includes the family pets. But that can mean drama for both the pet owners and their hosts if rules and responsibilities aren’t clearly laid out. Ipsos polled 1,003 Americans on their attitudes about whether they allow friends and family to bring pets to their homes, how they’ll travel or not with pets and how pet owners accommodate their pet needs in other people’s houses.

Among the top results, nearly two in five pet owners say traveling with their pets sometimes cause conflict with friends or family they’re visiting and 40% of people say if a guest’s pet misbehaves, they will ask them to leave. One in five pet owners will decline an invitation if they can't bring their pet.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted December 13 and 14, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 1,003 adults age 18+ frm the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. The sample includes 296 respondents aged 18-34, 346 respondents aged 35-54, 361 respondents aged 55+. 652 respondents have pets.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted December 13 and 14, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 1,003 adults age 18+ frm the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. The sample includes 296 respondents aged 18-34, 346 respondents aged 35-54, 361 respondents aged 55+. 652 respondents have pets.

Do you have any pets?

Do you generally let friends and family bring pets to your house...

Please indicate if each of the following are True or Not true, when friends and family members bring pets to your house:

Total true

If friends or family bring pets to my house they must stay outside
 

If friends or family bring pets to my house they must stay crated or caged
 

If friends or family bring pets to my house they must follow my rules
 

My friends or family must take responsibility for their pets' actions
 

If friends or family's pet misbehaves I will ask them to leave
 

Please indicate if each of the following are True or Not true, thinking about traveling and pets:

Total true

I try to always travel with my pets
 

Traveling with my pets sometimes cause conflict with friends or family I'm visiting
 

I will stay in a hotel to be able to bring my pet
 

I will decline an invitation if I can't bring my pet
 

I will board or get a sitter for my pet if it's not welcome or I can't travel with it
 

I have called an animal a support animal to get it on a plane.
 

And thinking about taking your pets to other people’s houses, please indicate if each of the following are True or Not true.

Total true

I always make sure my host is comfortable beforehand if I bring my pet
 

I bring my own pet food and supplies
 

I make sure my pet gets walked/taken care of
 

I supervise my pet when it's around others to make sure it behaves

If my pet breaks something or damages something (chews on, soils) I will fix it or pay for repairs

About the Study

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted December 13-14, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 1,003 adults 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii were interviewed online in English.

The sample for this study was randomly drawn from Ipsos’s online panel (see link below for more info on “Access Panels and Recruitment”), partner online panel sources, and “river” sampling (see link below for more info on the Ipsos “Ampario Overview” sample method) and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sense. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to each study, in drawing sample. After a sample has been obtained from the Ipsos panel, Ipsos calibrates respondent characteristics to be representative of the U.S. Population using standard procedures such as raking-ratio adjustments. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2016 American Community Survey data. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on demographics. Post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, and education.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online nonprobability sampling polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for all respondents. Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (n=2,010, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=2.5).

For more information about conducting research intended for public release or Ipsos’ online polling methodology, please visit our Public Opinion Polling and Communication page where you can  download our brochure, see our public release protocol, or contact us.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Vice President, US, Ipsos
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]