It’s no secret that the pandemic has led to a flurry of new pet adoptions, with many shelters and adoption centres running out of dogs and cats to find new homes for.
Even those who didn’t end up adopting a pet appear to have perused the world wide web to at least take a look at their options.
This International Dog Day—that’s August 26 for those who don’t know—Google Canada has released their list of trending dog-related searches in Canada over the past few months.
See also: This professional dog trainer in Victoria is offering online puppy training sessions amid pandemic
British Columbia topped the list for provinces where queries about how to adopt a dog were trending the most so far this year, according to Google Trends.
Of those searches, B.C. residents were most interested in German Shepherd dogs, much like their counterparts in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Yukon Territory—these loyal and hardy working dogs seem to be particularly popular across Canada this year!
Canadians also seem to be more interested in dogs than cats, as trends show that search interest in dogs grew two times more than cats throughout 2020.
Many queries around dogs revolved around whether dogs can contract COVID-19, or the 2020 Westminster dog show.
Those who looked up cats were also interested in whether or not their feline pets can catch the virus, but many also wanted to know more about “Hey all you cool cats and kittens”, a catchphrase featured in ‘Tiger King’, the Netflix show that quickly became a hit during the early stages of the pandemic.
But back to dogs.
Aside from dog breeds and how to adopt them, many Canadians’ search histories would also reveal an interest in dog-related items and traits.
For example, over the past month, Google trends show that searches for ‘dog bandanas’ grew by 250 per cent, while searches for ‘good dog names’ went up by 450 per cent.
In the ‘how to for dogs’ category, trends show that most people in Canada wanted to learn how to train their puppy, how to cool down their dog, and how to stop their dogs from barking.
Finally, these are the top general dog-related questions Googled in Canada over the past month:
- Why do dogs eat grass?
- Is watermelon safe for dogs?
- How long are dogs pregnant for?
No matter what you’ve Googled, we hope you found the right answers to help you learn about, bond with, and take care of your canine best friend!
