Smart Collars: Doggos Go High-Tech

It’s no secret that in recent years, our pets have become more than just an extension of our family, but part of our actual family.

This growing bond has brought innovation and a boom in products and services catered to our four-legged family members, and we wanted to tell the stories of not only our best friends but of the people driving this industry forward.

There’s never been a better time to enter the pet market!

Our Main Story

Collars are one of the most important products you are going to purchase, pet dependent. If it’s a dog or a cat or a pet goat, pretty important, if it’s a goldfish, not so much.

How do you choose?

Just like the abundance of pet food that is available (which we covered in a previous issue) the plethora of options for collars and harnesses are not far behind.

Let’s run through some of them:

• Everyday collars

• Harnesses (back clip, front clip, step-in, dual clip)

• GPS collars

• Wireless dog fence collars

• Reflective collars

• Waterproof collars

• LED collars

• Pinch collars

• Martingale collars

• Sensitive skin collars

• Head collars

And there’s more, but you get the gist, it’s a lot!

They run the gamut, there are $1,000 dog tracking collars that come with top-of-the-line handheld tracking devices, and on the higher end $1,500 Geofencing collars, and on the lower end the flimsy $5 Amazon find that’s going to last you a few months. As we said - based on you and your dog or cat or pet goats (don’t ask us why we are obsessing with goats) lifestyle there’s anything and everything you need out there.

Don’t even get us started on leashes!!

While harnesses have gained popularity over the last few years, this post is not about the pros and cons of harnesses vs collars.

However, in recent years, “regular” collars and harnesses have had to contend with a new player in town. This one is a bit more polished, advanced, and expensive.

As our love and connection with our pets strengthen, we are constantly looking for new ways to make sure they are happy, healthy, and most importantly safe.

While it is challenging to find an exact number, we found that on average, dog owners buy on average between 3-6 collars/harnesses throughout a dog's lifetime. This is a rough range, and some dogs may require more collars while others may need fewer. Ultimately, it depends on individual circumstances and the dog owner's preferences.

Enter: Smart collars

Smart collars are increasing in popularity for good reason. It’s a high-tech accessory that tracks and monitors a dog's activity, health, and whereabouts. In a world that’s getting more connected by the minute, these smart collars could one day make the regular collars as obsolete as the fax machine.

Smart collars are essentially tracking devices that help you track your dog’s location, calories burned, distance traversed, activity, and even their sleep. Built-in sensors and accelerometers track the pet's physical activity levels, sleep patterns, and even calorie expenditure.

If you have ever lost a pet, even for a few moments, you know how deeply frightening that whole ordeal can be.

Having GPS tracking allows for real-time monitoring of the pet's location, enabling owners to locate them quickly if they wander off or get lost. This feature brings peace of mind and ensures the safety of our pets, particularly in urban environments. Not all smart collars are the same, these are the big 4 categories:

• Geo-Fencing

• Activity monitoring

• GPS location tracker

• Health monitoring

Here are a few popular brands:

• Tractive

• Garmin

• Fit Bark

• Whistle

• Halo

• Fi

Additionally, smart collar brands offer an annual subscription (every investor loves a subscription-based service/product) that can range from $10 to hundreds depending on the tier you choose, your payment plan, and how many features you choose to add.

Globally, The smart pet collar Market was valued at $411bn in 2021 and is expected to reach $800bn by 2028 with a CAGR of 10% over the forecasted period (Source). North America holds 36% of the dog collar, leash, and harness market share, which is the largest share globally. Europe accounts for around 28% of the market.

With more large players realizing the need for fundamentally essential products like sensors, GPS chips, Bluetooth chips, etc… in pet products, more large companies are pouring capital into innovation in the space.

The future of pet products will undoubtedly be more connected and sophisticated products that will cater to and enhance the well-being of our pets and offer pet parents comfort, information, and data.

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Meme of the Week

This week’s meme of the week is brought to you by New Yorker cartoonist Mark Twohy.

Business Roundup

• Out of the doghouse - Pet brands Chewy, Rover and Freshpet stocks are all bouncing back.

• Disneyland for dogs - Petco unveiled a redesigned flagship store in NYC, which includes grooming, vet stations, an indoor dog park, premium products, and more.

• The 1% - The luxury pet market is exploding (not literally). Pet parents are spending more than ever on luxury items such as designer clothing, luxury beds, toys, and even gourmet treats.

• Big Dawg - Since launching its online pet pharmacy back in 2018, Chewy has become the largest online pet pharmacy.

• UK OK - Pets At Home, A leading Uk pet retailer, revealed revenues of $1.7B in its FY 2023 concluding on March 30, 2023.

Biz 101

Working from home

While some of us might set up a store or be out and about, we are willing to bet our tails that a good chunk of us will use our home as our base of operations. Particularly in those early days and particularly when trying to preserve cash. Here are a few high-level considerations for you to think about:

• Separate home and office- If you are setting up your business from home, the lines between personal and professional could potentially start getting blurred. Try and create a physical separation. Can you designate a room (or a part of a room) to be your home office? This is where you do all your work. In addition, if, for example, you are going to do boarding, can you keep your client's pets and their stuff in a dedicated area? Doing these little things will help you ensure home is home and work is work. Here is a nifty trick: baby-gates are a great way to create dedicated spaces in your house fairly cheaply...

• Communicate and set boundaries - Got a partner? roommates? family? Make sure you manage expectations before starting things off. This is for their sake, your sake, and the animals’ sake. During high season you may have quite a bit of stock in the house or many pets to look after. Baby Jimmy needs to know he can't be eatin' all the treats you have been working on and little Isabella needs to know she can't be poking Garfield(your client's hamster, obviously). None of us can read minds (despite what my wife tells me), so make sure you are clear with other people in the house about what they can and cannot do.

• Cost Allocation - Yes yes, we have to mention costs or revenues. We can't help ourselves. But wait, hear us out. If you work from home, then surely you use water, electricity, etc to run the business right? Well, speak to your accountant and see if you can use some of the costs to offset any potential tax liability. Make sure you take advice as different countries will have different rules. Nifty trick 2 (yes we’re trying to bring nifty back) - what other costs can be offset (gas costs to pick up business-related matters, contents insurance, mortgage?)

This week is very much about the operations and day-to-day realities. Make sure you get that in order.

Trending

• Best comedy of the year? - We recently saw the trailer for the movie ‘Strays’ starring Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx which had us howling!!! We can't wait to watch it when it gets released in August.

• Hold my hand - This dad and cat love holding hands while they watch tv together.

• Cat month - June is National Adopt A Cat Month, if you have been thinking about adopting, June is the time.

• BJJ (Bulldog Jiu-Jitsu) - Wrigley is probably the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner in the (dog) world.

• Go Delaware! - Delaware to name “rescue dogs” as the state's official dog.

• Bollydrool - One of Bollywood’s biggest stars Kiara Advani has partnered up with one of India’s biggest pet food brands - Drools.

• Finland finds felines - (Say that 5 times fast) Finland wants to create a cat registry to promote responsible cat ownership and prevent the emergence of feral cat populations.

• On the brink - Christie Brinkley recently partnered up with Pet Life Unlimited to help senior dogs find homes by recreating a magazine cover she did back in 2014.

• Watch out for licks - Zoey just received the Guinness World Record for the longest tongue on a living dog.

Community Pic

If you want your pet (dogs, cats, hamsters, baby dragons, etc) featured, send us a picture with their name, age, breed, and a 1-2 sentence story to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to feature your pet.

Meet Teri: Teri is a rambunctious 1.5-year-old Australian Cattle Dog mix who loves the outdoors and will do anything for a blueberry. He was Rescued from New Mexico, he now explores the mountains of Colorado with his parents. He has earned novice, intermediate, and advanced AKC trick dog titles. Currently, he is working on deciphering between paper and plastic and improving his recycling skills.

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