The ‘JustAnswer’ Curiosity Report for 2022 Highlights The Year in Questions.
Which topic ranked the highest in questions – – far greater than all the possible topics that people from around the globe might ask about?
You guessed correctly – DOGS
After nearly two years of shutdowns, social distancing, remote work and remote learning, 2022 signaled the start of a return to normalcy, with kids back in school, many employees returning (at least part of the time) to the office and a fresh look ahead for the new year. As the world opened up, people continued to turn to JustAnswer’s online experts for help with everything from their legal matters, taxes, health and pet concerns. They fielded more than 2.8M questions on the JustAnswer platform from January 1st – December 12th, 2022!
What kept people up at night and seeking professional guidance this past year? And how did that compare to the top-trending topics from 2021? They drilled down for a deeper look at who was asking what, and the analysis reveals a lot about what America worried about last year.
Some of the more interesting highlights from the data:
- Demand for dog training advice soared in 2022
Remember the pandemic puppy adoption boom of 2020/2021? Well, now it seems all those furry “Covid fur babies” we brought home have caused booming demand for animal behavior experts to help us train them. JustAnswer saw a huge spike in the Animal Behavior category this year, with dog behavior questions skyrocketing 286% YOY and questions about cat behavior climbing by 144% compared to 2021. Overall, JustAnswer answered nearly 26,000 pet behavior questions (dogs, cats, birds – even reptiles) in 2022!
So what were some of the dog behavior concerns?
Top 5 Dog Training Questions in 2022
- Introducing a new puppy into a household that already has a dog or other pets
- “We recently introduced a new puppy into our home, and our 2.5 year-old dog is not taking it well. What can we do?” or “We adopted a new dog, but he keeps attacking our cat.”
- Potty training challenges or indoor “accidents”
- “What’s the best way to potty train my new puppy?” or “How do I get my dog to stop peeing in the house?”
- Separation anxiety
- “My dog has really bad separation anxiety. I need to go to back to work soon, and I’m not sure what to do.” For owners now spending more time out of the house, barking by pooches left at home is becoming an even more common problem, according to JustAnswer dog trainers.
- Aggression toward strangers or other dogs
- As puppies get older, behaviors can change – sometimes toward aggressive tendencies around other dogs or people. A common question on JustAnswer is, “My 9-month-old puppy is suddenly showing signs of aggression toward people coming into our home. What should we do?”
- Puppy mouthiness
- Newbie dog owners might not be expecting the sharp teeth of young puppies, and figuring out a way to stop the bleeding is a common query. For example, “My 10-week-old puppy will not stop biting our hands and feet, even after no commands, and it hurts!”
[Link to the 2022 Curiosity Report or other previous Curiosity Reports from Just Answer]