Pets are not that different from human beings. While they cannot speak, they also have ways to communicate and feel a long list of emotions, including joy, satisfaction, sadness, and pain. As human beings, we are slowly beginning to understand that.
With that in mind, let us explore five interesting trends in the pet industry.
Education
Teaching a dog how to sit, extend one of his paws, or rollover is nothing new. These are not tricks that will impress anyone. Yet, this is not the kind of education we are talking about. Currently, dog training lessons are much more than that. They are a comprehensive, all-encompassing system that considers not only the animal’s personality but also his physical characteristics, age, and even behavioral tendencies.
Modern dogs and other pets live in modern societies. As a result, they need to behave accordingly. They need to control their level of aggression based on the specific environment in which they are in and behave with obedience.
They also serve a variety of professional purposes. For instance, some dogs are there to provide a service to individuals with disabilities. Others give emotional support or help in areas of patient psychological therapy.
Nutrition
According to a 2019 study by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, an astounding 77 percent of American adults over 18 take dietary supplements daily. The most common ones are vitamins, minerals, specialty supplements, weight management supplements, and products related to sports nutrition.
Among other reasons, many people use supplementation to complement their eating habits, be more energetic either at home or the office and increase overall physical strength and endurance.
The same is true when it comes to domesticated animals. Even if major dog food brands like Royal Canin, Hill’s Science Diet, Purina, and Taste of the Wild claim to provide the essential elements for a proper animal diet, pet owners still use animal supplements to support their dog’s skin coating and digestive and immune systems.
Services
Tokyo, Japan, is one of the most crowded cities in the world. It is also one of the cleanest locales on earth, a reason being that there isn’t a single street animal.
But if animals are what you are looking for, there are several pet cafes you could visit. Along with enjoying a warm cup of coffee with one of your friends or loved ones, you can also interact with animals as diverse as rabbits, parrots, goldfish, and goats.
And these are not the only services now catering to our furry and fluffy friends. In many developed cities around the planet, you can take your beloved dog to a sophisticated hair salon for an exquisite grooming session or have him stay a couple of nights at a luxury pet hotel while you are on a business trip in another city.
Mental Health
Human beings’ most common mental health issues are depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and anxiety. Roughly one in four people currently suffer or will suffer one of these ailments at some point in their lives.
In the past, most psychology and psychiatry experts believed mental health was a matter only linked to people. Today, advancements in medical technology and a better understanding of animals have helped people realize that this is not the case.
Animals also suffer from mental well-being matters. They also get sad, lonely, and even disappointed. Thus, we have seen tremendous growth in the animal psychology industry in all types of cases of psychological trauma. Examples include dogs who refuse to bark after their owner has passed away and baby elephants who cannot eat or sleep once they’ve seen their mothers killed by poachers.
Insurance
You will be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t consider his cat or dog as a member of the family. Some even go as far as sleeping with their pets and refer to them as my son, daughter, brother, or sister. In essence, the level of love owners have for the animals they live with is only matched by the love they have for their own.
And when you love someone, you want to protect them. One way of doing this is by getting insurance in case of an emergency, an accident, or, in some situations, death.
A quarter into the 21st century, there are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to pet insurance. You can choose options ranging from physical healthcare to mental well-being, accident mitigation, and kidnapping.
As we have seen, there are many interesting trends related to pets. Five of the biggest ones are comprehensive education, adequate nutrition, extensive services, mental health, and insurance.
They will continue to define the industry for the years to come.
