Pets will shape travel plans for 68% of owners, Subaru survey finds
A Subaru-commissioned Talker Research survey of 2,000 pet-owning drivers, released October 13th, 2026, says 68% expect their pet to affect travel plans this year and 73% would drive instead of fly to bring the pet. New in this release, 10% may host, 10% may shorten a trip and 8% may skip gatherings. In our view, the trip-length and planning numbers are the ones sitters and kennels can use.
Subaru of America released a Talker Research survey of 2,000 U.S. drivers who own cats or dogs on October 13th, 2026, and found that 73% would choose a road trip over flying so their pet can come along and 68% say their pet will affect their travel plans this year. The holiday split is the new part, with 10% who may host instead of travel, 10% who may shorten or simplify a trip and 8% who may skip gatherings the pet cannot join. Respondents could pick only one answer, so that sums to 28%.
The holiday split is new, the 73% is not
Talker fielded the online survey from July 13th to July 17th, 2026, among adults 18 and older who drive and own a cat or dog. Subaru commissioned it. Talker says it samples from a non-probability frame and does not weight the data, so these figures are self-reported answers from a sponsor-run survey, not a market measure.
The 73% comes from a question put to all 2,000 respondents with two possible answers, yes or no, and no option for unsure. Of the same 2,000, 45% said they have turned down a trip that could not accommodate their pet.
Those two numbers are not new this week. Talker published the core findings on September 2nd, 2026, citing the same July fielding, and Subaru used the 73% and 45% in its October 1st, 2026 release, where it and its retailers committed nearly $3.2M in ASPCA-administered grants to local shelters. We did not find the 68%, the holiday split, the 24% who plan more than a month ahead or the vehicle feature percentages in either earlier publication.
Short trips are the signal for sitters and kennels
The new release spends its detail on vehicle features, with 32% naming room between pets, passengers and luggage and 26% naming cargo space for crates and gear. Those are a carmaker's questions.
The operator numbers are in Talker's September write-up. It reports that 31% limit trips to a day or two because of the pet and 37% can be away a few days but feel uneasy beyond that, and calls the group "pet owners." The questionnaire only put that question to respondents who did not answer that they never travel without their pet, and no base size is published for that group. Among owners who have road-tripped with a pet in the past five years, 41% named finding pet-friendly lodging as a challenge, the top answer.
If we had to guess, those short-trip answers matter more to a kennel's holiday calendar than the road-trip headline does. They describe stays of a few nights, not week-long boardings.
The planning question gives a timing signal. 45% start planning a pet-friendly long weekend at least three weeks ahead and 24% more than a month ahead, so 21% plan three to four weeks out, by our math. Thanksgiving falls on November 26th, 2026, which puts the three-week mark at November 5th.
The care answers went unreported, and most travelers already drive
The published questionnaire also asked how owners usually arrange overnight care: family or friends, a sitter, a kennel or a neighbor. Neither Subaru release nor Talker's write-up reports those answers. Talker offers the full data set to media on request. The holiday question also folds family, friends, sitters, daycare and boarding into a single choice.
Rover's May survey of 1,000 U.S. pet parents, which we covered as a pet care premium story, found 78% would stay in a lower-rated, less expensive hotel to keep their pet with a 5-star sitter. That was also a sponsor-run survey, from a company that sells the care.
The drive-instead-of-fly finding fits what holiday travel forecasts already show. For Thanksgiving 2025, AAA projected at least 73 million travelers by car out of 81.8 million in total, against about 6 million on domestic flights. Delta's pet travel page lists a $150 domestic in-cabin pet fee each way for tickets issued on or after April 8th, 2025, up from $95.
The car was already the default. Fielding ended 132 days before Thanksgiving, by our math, so these answers measure July intent, not holiday bookings.
Other News
More stories shaping the pet industry this week. From funding rounds and product launches to regulatory shifts and retail strategy, stay ahead of what's driving the market.
Fera Pets launches a $49.95 weight and muscle chew for dogs
Fera Pets launched Healthy Weight & Muscles, a $49.95 soft chew for dogs sold in 90-count tubs, on October 13th, 2026. Each chew pairs myHMB, Betafin betaine and L-carnitine with ADM's PRIOME Metabolic Health postbiotic, and Fera's product page cites a study for each ingredient.
Rare Breed and Stray Project tie $4 per item to shelter dog meals
Link Snacks' Rare Breed treat brand and Denver apparel startup Stray Project launched Impossible to Ignore for National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. The official rules commit $4.00 per item and $0.50 per email signup to Greater Good Charities through November 30th, paid by Stray Project, with signups shared by both brands.
Purina marks 25 years of its 48-Labrador Life Span Study
The Purina Institute marked the 25th anniversary of its Life Span Study on October 12th, 2026, repeating the 1.8-year median life span gain lean-fed Labradors showed in 2002. The trial used one breed, 24 littermate pairs and one sponsor, and the largest outside check we found also came from Mars researchers.