Pets & Your Wallet: How Your Dog Can Influence Your Spending Habits and Lifestyle

A majority of dog owners describe their pets as family members. During the last decade, dog owners have become more involved than ever with their dogs. During stressful times people look to their dogs for comfort and unconditional love. As expected, these pet owners are often willing to spend extra money to pamper their animal companions.

In our previous post, we discussed the seven essential dimensions that characterize the dog-human relationship. In brief, the 7 dimensions are: Symbiotic dimension (reflects the mutual benefits for the owner and the dog), Dog-oriented self-concept dimension (the dog is both an extension of self and the human’s best friend), Anthropomorphism dimension (the dog is seen as more of a person), Activity/youth dimension (the dog-owner is more physically active due to dog ownership), Boundaries dimension (describes the lack of limits imposed on the dog by the owner), Specialty purchases dimension (the extent to which people are willing to make an effort to obtain products for their dogs), and Willingness to adapt dimension (readiness to change the patterns of living and consuming to accommodate their dogs). In this post, we explore how the attachment to pets and different areas in our human-dog relationship may influence our spending pattern.

🐾  Studies have demonstrated that individuals under age 35 (Millennials) have higher scores in the “Symbiotic relationship dimension” than do other groups indicating that young dog owners are significantly more beneficially bonded with their dogs. They have a mutually beneficial bond in which the human is happier and calmer, while the dog is pampered, fed, cared for, and psychologically nurtured. Also, within this group, individuals of 26–35 age group report the most significant Willingness to adapt their lifestyles to accommodate their dogs.

So, if you have changed your car to fit your dog or when choosing a house, you made sure there was enough space for Fluffy, it is likely that you are either in this age category or you have a young soul. Either way, you are willing to adapt your lifestyle to make Fluffy happy. I completely understand. Last year, my husband specifically told the car salesman “I need a car that can comfortably fit 300 pounds of Labrador retrievers”.

🐾   Individuals over 50 years old appear more likely to establish Boundaries for their dogs. Also, these group of pet owners (Baby Boomers (50s-60s) tend to spend less money on their pets than younger generations. The Boundary dimension refers to the lack of limits imposed on the dog by the owner such as allowing the dog to sleep on the bed or get on the furniture. Owners who share the bed with their dogs are more likely to be more emotionally involved with their furry friends, are more willing to take extraordinary measures to accommodate their dogs and are more willing to spend more money on their dogs.

🐾   Individuals who owned their dogs for longer than ten years have the highest scores on the Symbiotic relationship, Anthropomorphism, and Willingness to adapt. The more dedication and quality time one spends with one’s dog, the stronger the emotional attachment will be. As a consequence, this group of owners will be willing to make a greater financial and emotional investment in exchange for the joy of animal companionship. As dog owners spend more time with their dogs, so does their emotional connection grows, and consequently their desire to express that attachment through spoiling their pets.

🐾   Overwhelmingly, the gender of the dog owner makes a considerable difference in the dimensions of the human-pup relationship. Women have a higher tendency than males to embrace the dog-companionship experience across all of the seven essential dimensions of the dog-human relationship. Therefore, they are more likely to spend money on pet-related products. I will be using this result to justify my spending pattern for the puppies.

The way we view our pets today has clearly evolved from a time when dogs were relegated to the backyard. Most pet owners see dogs as part of the family. Some of us have stronger bonds with our pets than we ever imagined.

How much are you willing to spend to make your dog or yourself happy?