Living out here on the farm we are fairly isolated from the hustle and bustle of city life, and the general consumer based lifestyle common across North America. While we own pets, we don’t spend extravagant amounts of money on them, unless you count good wholesome food and regular vet visits. There are, however, millions of pet lovers out there who do spend thousands of dollars on their furry loved ones. This has come as interesting and captivating information to me.
Last week there was a Pet Expo in Orlando Florida. I am familiar with world expos, but a Pet Expo? Did each pet have a pavilion, preaching the virtues of their breed? Apparently not, although that would be quite an experience to see each animal “sell itself”, so to speak.
This Expo was the be and end all for pet owners everywhere. It had everything, some key features being new technology (think Fitness tracker for your dog).
From activity trackers to communication devices, there are plenty of high-tech options for our furry friends – like the Voyce fitness tracker with mobile app, and Petchatz, which lets you video chat with and remote treat!. Once a novelty, these items are becoming more mainstream.
And pet owners are gobbling these things up! The tracker has many of the features common in human fitness trackers, and lets you and your vet stay on top of your dog’s health. What a cool and actually very useful device to help you know how your dog is doing, and be able to act on a potential health problem much more quickly, hopefully nipping it in the bud.
Along the health side of things, Petcurean was promoting their new line of dog food, for dogs with sensitivities and food allergies. Now, I am familiar with dogs and how each dog responds differently to ingredients, we had a lab with such a sensitive system he would be itchy and dry and uncomfortable very often. That was years ago, when the industry wasn’t as advanced in pet nutrition and health and wellness as it is now. Petcurean’s new line of foods has what is called Limited Ingredient Food Options. Healthy, high quality food continues to be a focus for manufacturers and pet lovers alike. And with food allergies in pets a growing concern (42 percent of consumers are worried their pet has a food allergy or intolerance), limited ingredient products are on the rise. Petcurean showcased is its GO! Limited Ingredient Diet SENSITIVITY + SHINE food, which offers a single source of meat protein (Duck, Salmon, Venison or Turkey for dogs) and as few, high-quality, premium ingredients as possible to meet the nutritional requirements for dogs and cats.
There were other cool things there, as always just the really whacky fun items, like this doggy “grillz” bling ball – a top award winner at the show. Who could pass this up?I’m sure our dogs would love one of these balls, but I’m worried the goats might eat it!
Even though we don’t live in consumer central, these products certainly make me think about all the options out there now for pet owners and their furry companions. An entire industry devoted to pet ownership and care shows us how far we have come from the dog living outside and the cat being put out at night to fend for itself. We may not have all the gadgets, but we do appreciate that they are there for pets who need them.