In a recently-released U.S survey, it was revealed that 95% of pet owners consider their pets to be family members. This is up 4 points since 2012 and 7 points in a 2007 survey. With more than 62% of American pet-owning household, pet ownership is at its highest level in two decades with ownership skewing towards millennials.
The closeness of relationship between pets and humans means that owners are directly translating their increased health awareness to their furry counterparts, digging deep into their wallets where their pets’ health is concerned.
As pet owners’ lives becoming increasingly digitised, they have also come to expect services and products to allow the same degree of digital accessibility.
The growth focus of the industry will be on convenience, time-saving, health and re-igniting human-animal bond.
Below are a few examples which are paving the way:
ProBowl is a battery-operated pet bowl with a built-in scale. It weighs the food and tracks pets’ eating consumption and produces health charts through the app. A nice-to-have product for owners who are accustomed to digital records and particularly useful for pets of seniority and with weight concerns.
The bowl is not an automatic feeder. It still requires the owner to fill the bowl. A light will alert the owner to stop filling the bowl. It can be customised to work with wet, dry and raw food.
The app will send alert once the food has been eaten .It charts graphs and also adjusts the food level as pets’ age.
At $69 per bowl, the products aim to ship starting 2016.
Friendship Collars ( ), akin to age old teenage friendship bracelets, now allows you and your pet to wear matching collar and bracelets. This bracelet trend signals the dynamic shift of animals from subordinates to peer.
FreshPatch is a pee pad alternative for dogs. Instead of the usually unsightly plastic pads, it brings a natural touch with a patch of real grass.
Depending on your subscription, the company will bring new and recycle old grass patches for your dog at your desired frequency. By introducing a bit of green in the enclosed abode, it’s the ideal guilt-free solution for apartment-living owners
All pet owners are aware of the importance of play. It sharpens pets’ minds; lowers the risk of furniture destruction and keeps pets in top notch health. However, all owners are also aware it comes at the expense of time. So it’s a struggle between the two priorities. A pet product such as iFetch is an automatic ball dispenser that solves the problem. It dispenses balls even when you’re away. The setting allows varying distances and works up to 30 hours on battery.
VetPronto is exactly as its name suggests – a house call service for vets. The platform will allow appointment booking that will bring a vet straight to your door – particularly handy for feisty felines that won’t make vet visits.
“Once I got into the veterinary industry, I noticed there were a lot of gaps in technology all the way through,” founder Hur explains. “And since getting out and practicing medicine, I’ve really focused on bridging those gaps and making sure that veterinary medicine can be upgraded for the dot-com era.”
BarkBuddy is Tinder for dogs, especially handy for canine city dweller needing a playground buddy.
By Carol Lin
Image credit: Home Business Mag AND ProBowl AND Friendship Collars AND FreshPatch AND iFetch AND VetPronto AND BarkBuddy
