This Is The Place! Woof, Utah Is Extremely Dog-Friendly

Utah is a great place to have a dog.

In a recent study by Ourfitpets.com, the Beehive State came in No. 7 out of the 50 states among best states to be a dog owner.

Ourfitpets used a number of key metrics to determine whether a state is pet-friendly or not. Metrics that were considered included access to parks and nature, dog-friendly rentals, access to veterinarians, the number of dog sitters, and the state’s crime rates.

Each state received a score based on how dog-friendly they were considered. These scores were then tallied to create a leader board.

Utah received high marks for access to parks and nature, dog-friendly rentals and dog-walking safety. Our state didn't do as well in availability of veterinarians and availability of dog-sitters, but the overall score of 30.22 was high enough to earn Utah a spot at No. 7 in the nation.

Vermont, Colorado and Wyoming, three very snowy states, took the top three spots with point totals of 39.04, 37.98 and 37.59, respectively.

Also in the top 10: Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho Maine and Arizona.

Delaware and Louisiana were rated the worst states for dogs.

Here's the full list:

Rank	State	Nature	Dog-Friendly Rentals	Veterinarian	Dog Sitters	Dog Walking Safety	Total
1	Vermont	7.20	4.51	10.00	9.40	7.93	39.04
2	Colorado	8.40	8.18	6.44	10.00	4.95	37.98
3	Wyoming	9.80	5.01	5.58	10.00	7.20	37.59
4	Oregon	8.00	5.10	5.85	10.00	6.52	35.47
5	Washington	7.80	5.72	4.25	10.00	6.49	34.27
6	Montana	9.60	4.69	8.04	4.75	4.39	31.47
7	Utah	8.80	6.82	2.61	5.10	6.89	30.22
8	Idaho	9.40	6.12	4.16	2.96	7.10	29.74
9	Maine	6.00	4.21	6.00	4.47	8.70	29.38
10	Arizona	8.40	9.48	3.28	3.85	4.21	29.22
11	Wisconsin	4.80	3.95	5.09	7.76	6.14	27.74
12	Minnesota	7.40	5.72	4.75	3.03	6.69	27.58
13	New Hampshire	6.40	3.05	6.62	3.23	8.25	27.55
14	South Dakota	8.20	6.27	6.13	2.13	4.02	26.75
15	Nevada	9.20	6.90	2.82	3.00	4.51	26.43
16	Hawaii	7.00	2.30	3.02	6.81	6.97	26.10
17	North Carolina	4.20	9.58	4.22	3.09	5.00	26.09
18	North Dakota	7.60	5.06	5.83	0.93	6.07	25.49
19	Alaska	10.00	3.92	4.85	6.47	0.00	25.24
20	Nebraska	5.60	5.79	5.67	1.36	6.01	24.43
21	New York	5.00	6.27	2.96	3.97	5.66	23.86
22	Florida	5.40	5.76	3.55	3.05	5.42	23.18
23	California	6.80	3.21	3.13	5.14	4.72	23.00
24	New Mexico	9.00	4.57	3.89	4.54	0.71	22.71
25	Virginia	2.40	4.49	4.86	3.32	7.51	22.58
26	Tennessee	5.00	9.20	3.47	2.92	1.97	22.57
27	Georgia	1.60	10.00	3.29	2.35	5.22	22.46
28	Iowa	4.40	4.93	5.91	0.81	6.38	22.43
29	Kansas	3.40	7.79	4.51	1.22	4.93	21.86
30	Missouri	3.60	8.61	4.11	1.56	3.52	21.41
31	Mississippi	2.60	8.62	3.06	0.44	6.52	21.25
32	Oklahoma	3.80	8.61	3.20	0.98	4.53	21.11
33	Alabama	3.00	9.08	3.68	0.73	4.59	21.07
34	Indiana	0.60	9.57	3.82	1.03	5.73	20.74
35	West Virginia	6.60	3.13	2.72	2.09	5.75	20.30
36	Kentucky	1.20	6.79	4.29	0.88	6.91	20.08
37	Massachusetts	2.00	2.98	4.39	4.14	6.31	19.82
38	South Carolina	0.40	8.14	4.10	2.73	3.67	19.03
39	Pennsylvania	4.00	3.92	3.35	2.08	5.35	18.70
40	Ohio	0.20	6.20	4.56	1.24	6.31	18.52
41	Arkansas	5.80	7.13	2.56	0.89	1.98	18.35
42	Connecticut	1.40	2.60	4.12	2.04	7.83	17.99
43	Texas	2.80	4.16	2.95	3.10	4.67	17.68
44	Michigan	4.60	3.53	3.66	1.56	4.29	17.65
45	Rhode Island	1.00	2.09	3.68	3.44	7.25	17.46
46	Maryland	0.80	4.40	4.56	2.23	5.23	17.22
47	Illinois	1.80	5.19	3.25	2.03	4.92	17.19
48	New Jersey	2.20	2.76	3.08	1.27	7.67	16.98
49	Delaware	3.20	2.98	4.18	1.64	4.85	16.85
50	Louisiana	6.20	2.56	3.28	1.19	2.37	15.60

While Utah ranked very well in states that are dog-friendly, the Beehive State finished just 17th among the states in another study by ourfitpets.com, one that rated states that were the most dog-loving.

The analysis took several categories into account, including certain online dog-related searches, how many residents own a dog, the number of dog parks, and the amount of dog-friendly rentals in the state.

The study found just over 36-percent of Utahns own a dog. In case you were wondering, neighbor Colorado was rated number one on that list.