Oral Presentation The International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ): 27th Annual Conference 2018

Why Diapers for dogs sell well in Japan?: Research on nursing homes for elderly dogs and cats in Japan. (#22)

Noriko Niijima 1
  1. Yamazaki Gakuen University, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan

In October 2017 in Japan, 561 elderly dogs were cared for in private nursing homes (Livmo, 2017). More and more owners in Japan have begun caring for their elderly pets at home. Some dog owners are having a hard time caring for their dogs who suffer from dementia, as they howl during the night in silent residential areas. Others have become exhausted from changing their bedridden dogs paper diapers (with a hole for the tail) 24/7 for many years, even being obliged to give up their job in some cases.Currently in Japan, not only people but also their companion pets are increasingly dying at more advanced ages. In 2016, the average mortality rates were 14.36 years for dogs and 15.04 years for cats (Japan Pet Food Association, 2016), which increases yearly. As a consequence, 59% of the domestic dogs in Japan are over 7 years old. As a result, pet related spending increases yearly, with a compound average growth rate of 2.5% in 2015 (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2016). This growth is surely caused as a result of the shortened distance between companion animals and us, both psychologically and materially. However, this causes serious problems regarding elderly pet care.  This paper analyses the current situation of elderly pet care in Japan. Its background and problems will be examined from the results of semi-structured interviews and participant observation, conducted in nursing homes for elderly pets in Japan in 2017~2018, utilizing the qualitative K-J method (Kawakita,1970). Analysis suggests that: 1) In Japan, we seldom have euthanasia, not only of humans, but also of companion animals - this arises from the influence of our views on life and death, thus 2) elderly pet care tends to last longer and cost much more than expected and so on. These findings suggest that the enormous impact of : 1) our views on life and death, 2) peer pressure, 3) the distance between owners and pets and so on, multiply the causes and problematic situations faced by owners of elderly pets. More details will be demonstrated in the presentation. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grants JP15K04043.

  1. Japan Pet Food Association, 2016. National research of the current situations of Cats and Dogs (http://www.petfood.or.jp/data/)
  2. Kawakita, Jiro.1970. Zoku Hassou-hou (Way of thinking: the sequel). Tokyo: Chukoshinsho Press.
  3. Livmo, 2017.Rouken Home Riyo Jokyo Chousa (in Japanese; the research of the use of the nursing home for the Elderly dogs). (https://www.livmo.co.jp/info/20171206/)
  4. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2016. Kakei Chousa(in Japanese; household expenditure survey )(http://www.stat.go.jp/data/kakei/)