Table 1.

The mean number of surprises overall, and less than or more than, when classifying 13 statements about aspects of dog ownership as more than, less than or as expected.

		Mean number of surprises
Variable	Number of respondents	Less than expected	More than expected	All surprises (both more than and less than expected)
Owner age group (years)
18–24	17,423	2.64	3.27	5.92
25–34	46,273	2.22	3.05	5.27
35–44	52,775	1.78	2.70	4.48
45–54	96,723	1.69	2.45	4.14
55–64	90,272	1.68	2.31	3.99
65–74	43,450	1.84	2.22	4.06
75 or over	8,337	2.18	2.00	4.18
Number of dogs owned
1	256,892	2.09	2.56	4.65
2	96,727	1.44	2.48	3.92
3	19,188	1.26	2.34	3.61
4	5,713	1.24	2.33	3.58
5+	3,446	1.16	2.11	3.27
Age of dog (grouped by years)
0	36,417	1.71	3.02	4.74
1	42,294	1.82	3.06	4.88
2	33,529	1.79	2.72	4.51
3	33,417	1.85	2.55	4.40
4	31,046	1.88	2.47	4.35
5	29,453	1.88	2.41	4.29
6	27,719	1.89	2.36	4.24
7	26,658	1.92	2.28	4.20
8	25,259	1.92	2.29	4.21
9+	96,257	1.90	2.26	4.16
Price paid for dog
No cost/gift	49,460	1.95	2.32	4.27
Up to £100	27,398	1.98	2.18	4.15
£100–250	75,169	1.96	2.25	4.21
£251–500	79,672	1.83	2.47	4.30
£501–1,000	87,614	1.76	2.65	4.41
£1,001–2000	45,872	1.77	2.98	4.75
£2001–3,000	14,447	1.83	3.31	5.13
Over £3,000	2,417	1.97	3.30	5.27
Source of acquisition
Local press	6,618	1.76	2.34	4.10
Rehoming website	47,172	1.95	2.14	4.10
Rehoming visit	16,763	2.13	2.15	4.29
Breed group website	10,033	1.66	2.51	4.18
Breeder visit	21,799	1.82	2.47	4.30
Breeder website	13,131	1.82	2.61	4.42
Local community	8,982	1.84	2.46	4.30
Local adverts	2,024	1.91	2.40	4.31
Kennel club website	23,885	1.72	2.60	4.32
Foreign rehoming website	10,559	1.92	2.45	4.37
Family and/or Friends	68,926	1.91	2.50	4.40
General website	31,484	1.83	2.71	4.54
Social media	17,088	1.94	2.63	4.57
Pet website	79,786	1.80	2.86	4.66