Dog walkers: who are they?
The reasons why individual people have dogs are unique; reliable assumptions about visitors’ behaviours or needs cannot be made from their background, age, type of dog, time of visit or disability. Dog-owning visitors will therefore include people who are: • From all socio-economic backgrounds, although dog ownership is highest amongst C2DE groups. • Parents – dog ownership is higher for those professionals and skilled people with families. • Seeking the companionship of other dog walkers. • Avoiding other people if they own dogs that are recovering from injury, being trained or have behavioural issues. • First-time visitors stopping off after a long car journey. • Daily visitors living nearby without access to a car. • Needing access before dawn and after dusk in winter. • Very active people involved in dog sports. • More sedentary people whose only exercise is dog walking. As with people who do not desire contact with dogs for personal or cultural reasons, dog owners cannot be assume
