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The Pet Products You Can’t Rip Off
4 everyday pet tools that turned small tweaks into defensible, scalable brands.
Collin Armstrong
May 28, 2025
Issue #195
May 28th, 2025
Quick Hits:
The Patent Playbook: How Simple Pet Products Build Unbreakable Moats
The most defensible pet products often hide in plain sight—brilliantly simple solutions wrapped in legal armor.
Beyond the headlines of high-tech innovation, a parallel story unfolds where savvy founders discover that a well-placed patent on an everyday tool can create market dominance that lasts decades.
Military-Grade Vision Protection
Rex Specs co-founders Aiden and Jesse Emilo couldn't find quality eye protection for their adventure dogs, so they built their own.
Their 2016 patent (US 9,516,862 B1) covers a unified, interchangeable lens system with a curved design that maintains full peripheral vision while staying secure during intense activity.
The innovation leap was significant. Earlier "doggles" used two small lenses that restricted vision and fell off easily.
Rex Specs' single curved lens and adjustable strap system solved both problems, creating the gold standard for working K9 units in military, police, and search-and-rescue operations.
They also became a go-to for hikers, outdoor enthusiasts, and those who like to traverse the world on two wheels.
Veterinary ophthalmologists began prescribing Rex Specs for dogs with chronic eye conditions like pannus, where UV protection slows disease progression.
This medical validation expanded the market from tactical applications to therapeutic use, demonstrating how patent-protected innovation opens unexpected revenue streams.
The defensible position Rex Specs built through intellectual property attracted acquisition interest—Weaver Leather purchased the company in 2023, scaling distribution while maintaining the brand's premium positioning.
The Leash That Does Everything
Kerry Cooke and her daughter solved another universal pet parent pain point: juggling a leash, water bottle, and collapsible bowl during walks.
Their Spleash device integrates a 12-ounce water reservoir into a leash handle with a trigger-activated spray that reaches 14 feet.
@spleash_your_leash Make sure your four-legged friend stays hydrated during walks and hikes with our convenient 12 oz pet water bottle. It's designed to make ... See more
Two U.S. patents (including US 11,304,408 B2) protect Spleash's dual-purpose design—it hydrates dogs through a flip-open cup and serves as a gentle deterrent spray for overexcited behavior or aggressive encounters. The patented rolling cam mechanism ensures the device stays securely attached during use.
This innovation caught Amazon's attention, landing the team on "Buy It Now" where they won $20,000 and secured marketplace placement.
Pet Business magazine recognized Spleash for "solving real problems for active dog families"—validation that simple convenience, properly protected, creates genuine market value.
Editor's Note: Kerry Cooke is actively exploring strategic partnerships for Spleash's continued growth. Industry professionals interested in discussing opportunities (licensing, investment, etc.) can reach out directly to Kerry or reply to this email.
When Hunting Dogs Sparked Innovation Gold
Dave Franzel's frustration was universal among bird hunters: losing sight of his dog in tall grass. His solution was elegantly low-tech—a dog harness with a spring-loaded fluorescent flag that extends six feet high, bobbing but always snapping upright.
The EZ Safe-T Harness earned patent US 12,225,884 B1 for its integrated flag mechanism, and suddenly Franzel owned the only harness-flag combo on the market.
What started as hunting gear evolved into roadside safety for everyday walkers and even customizable messaging for service dog handlers.
"I had tears in my eyes," said co-founder Victor Arroyo about receiving their patent approval.
That legal protection transformed a common accessory into a defensible product line that competitors simply cannot replicate.
Smart Toys Meet Old-School IP
PupPod represents the intersection of hardware and software innovation.
Former Microsoft engineer Erick Eidus created an interactive gaming system—a Bluetooth-connected wobble toy that triggers treat dispensing when dogs respond correctly to lights and sounds.
The Company of Animals signed a strategic licensing deal in 2022, choosing to pay for PupPod's patented technology rather than develop competing systems.
This licensing revenue model showcases how patents transform product sales into recurring intellectual property income.
The Commodity Killer Strategy
Pet industry basics—collars, leashes, bowls, toys—represent notoriously difficult branding territories where dozens of companies offer nearly identical products.
Patents transform these commodity battles into defensible monopolies.
Legal exclusivity becomes crucial against overseas knockoffs that plague successful Amazon products.
Recently a company, Uproot, selling pet hair removal rakes on Amazon filed complaints against two Chinese companies selling alleged infringing products and had their listings taken down.
Patent holders possess enforcement tools to remove copycats and protect market share, while competitors must either license the technology or innovate around it.
Investor confidence increases dramatically when patents protect otherwise simple products. Venture capitalists view intellectual property as proof of valuable, non-replicable innovation—a critical factor in valuation and acquisition scenarios.
Patent Intelligence for Market Edge
Smart operators monitor USPTO filings under classification A01K (animal husbandry and pet accessories) to spot emerging trends and competitive threats.
Google Patents allows keyword alerts for competitor filings, while granular codes like A01K 15/00 (pet toys) reveal niche innovation patterns.
Patent activity serves as early market intelligence.
A surge in smart feeder applications might signal category momentum, while sparse filings indicate white space opportunities.
International databases through WIPO reveal global innovation trends that may enter domestic markets.
The Simple Truth About Complex Success
The pet industry's most successful patent stories share common DNA: they solve genuine problems with elegant simplicity, then protect that elegance legally.
A spring-loaded flag, an integrated water system, a curved lens design—none require breakthrough tech, but all create unassailable market positions.
These founders understood that innovation doesn't require complexity, just clarity about what makes your solution irreplaceable.
When that clarity meets patent protection, ordinary pet products become extraordinary business assets.
In markets where differentiation seems impossible, intellectual property creates the impossible—genuine competitive moats that turn simple ideas into lasting enterprises.
The question isn't whether your product is sophisticated enough to patent, but whether you can afford not to protect what makes it unique.
WINNER 🏆️ : BITCOIN
Weekly DoggyDex Performance - May 19, 2025
Proudly introducing the DoggyDex™, an index comprised of 10 publicly traded companies whose primary focus is the dog/pet industry.
List of tickers used can be found below.
The yellow line-plot in the chart represents these companies above (DoggyDex™) and their combined performance against both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin on a weekly basis.
Pawformance is measured by % gains & losses.
$CHWY - Chewy: E-commerce platform for pet supplies
$IDXX - Idexx Labs: Vet point of care instruments and vet software
$FRPT - Fresh Pet: Pet food company
$ELAN - Elanco: Manufactures pet disease prevention products
$PETS - PetMeds: Online pet pharmacy
$ZTS - Zoetis: World's largest producer of meds and vaccines for pets and livestock
$TRUP - Trupanion: Pet insurance company
$WOOF - Petco Health & Wellness co.: Pet health & wellness company
$BARK - BarkBox: Subscription service providing dog products, services, and experiences
$PET - Wag! Group Co.: Tech platform that allows pet owners to connect with industry professionals for services such as walking, training, etc.
The search volume for “cat toothpaste” is on a steady climb, with over 28,000 searches in the past month, a 12% increase from last year.
The long-term trajectory is clear: more cat parents are paying attention to feline dental hygiene.
What’s especially notable is that this isn’t some viral TikTok spike, it’s a slow, sustained rise going back to 2020. That suggests a foundational shift in pet owner behavior, not just a momentary craze. Cat toothpaste is inching toward becoming a routine household staple, not just a vet-recommended afterthought.
At the same time, Google Trends shows searches for “cat teeth cleaning” and “cat dental treats” are also climbing, suggesting consumer curiosity goes beyond toothpaste alone.
For pet brands, we know dog dental care has been in the spotlight as of late, but it’s worth paying attention to their feline counterparts, which are joining households at a faster clip than canines.
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