With austerity still very much the order of the day, pet care value sales in Spain and Portugal are not expected to mount a significant recovery anytime soon. Given that many of these pets are owned by children, branding was also highly visible in this area, such as SpongeBob, Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo and Hello Kitty aquariums. Many manufacturers now provide online video tutorials to show how these products should be assembled and used. Products in this vein included Reptibreeze’s Turtletub (“Keep aquatic turtles the way the professionals do”). Meanwhile, small dogs (up to 9kg) account for close to 40% of Spain’s total dog population and just over 60% of that of Portugal in 2013.Īll-in-one habitats and aquariums aim to make the learning curve of keeping fish and small mammals or reptiles as gentle as possible. This is particularly noticeable in Spain, where the small mammal population expanded by 16% between 20, to 1.6 million. Moreover, a growing number of parents regard these types of animals as suitable “starter pets” for their children, before getting them a dog or cat. This reflects an ongoing trend towards urbanisation (smaller homes lead to smaller pets), as well as economic circumstances. Many other products showcased at Iberzoo targeted owners of small pets. It is primarily for this reason that the pet care market has significantly outperformed other FMCG markets like packaged food and home care in recent years. While the overall market environment in Iberia may be weak, a minority of affluent owners are increasingly interested in humanising their cats and dogs. Environmentally-friendly pet toys were also popular, such as Bozeman, Montana-based West Paw’s 100% recyclable Zisc (a type of Frisbee). In pet toys, high-tech products such as Knoxville, Tennessee-based PetSafe’s Frolicat BOLT (an interactive laser toy for cats) and puzzles for pets like Swedish-based Nina Ottosson’s MixMax were notable trends, reflecting the ongoing deepening of pet humanisation. H204K9, a stainless steel, insulated two-in-one water bottle and bowl for dogs made by Chatsworth, a Californian-based company, was one of many examples of this type of product. Pets on the move was also a strong theme, with many food and water bowls specifically designed for pets travelling with their owners. Products aimed at making pet ownership more convenient for the time-poor, such as Petmate’s Portion Right programmable food dispenser, were notable in this regard. Nina Ottosson Dog Worker 52.95 4.0/5.0 Give that dog a jobKeep your dogs mind and body exercised and stimulated with the Nina Ottoson Dog Worker toy. Branded products were also highly visible – everything from Batman and Superman pet beds to Hello Kitty cat carriers. This ranged from Oregon, US-based Ruffwear’s “performance” dog coats and even dog packs to cuter articles like a flamenco dancer outfit for small dogs. The expo’s most striking feature was the wide range of high-end clothing and accessories for dogs and cats on display. The array of premium pet products on display showed that although pet care sales remain below their 2010 peaks in both Spain and Portugal, there is potential for growth in some areas. It was still fun to try them out!Ĭheck out our previous blog posts on mental enrichment here, here, here, here, and here.This year’s edition of the Iberzoo pet expo took place in Barcelona between 10-12 October. * We or the dogs haven’t loved every single puzzle toy. (Hint: load up a bunch of puzzle toys at once to give your dog a bigger project.) Maybe it’s not so frivolous after all! They can double as projects to prevent boredom and keep dogs occupied, and they help to tire dogs out mentally. It’s a bit like the variety humans crave in reading books, solving puzzles or watching movies.Įnrichment activities are beneficial to our dog’s mental well-being. Make it easy to solve the problem at first, then gradually ramp up the difficulty.) The novelty of a new puzzle adds to the mental stimulation. Dogs can learn to persevere, instead of getting so frustrated that they give up. Nina ottosson mixmax crack#I find it fascinating and think the dogs are brilliant as they discover ways to crack the code. Techniques include licking, pawing, nosing, pushing, pulling, chewing, picking up, tossing or dropping a toy. Dogs develop a variety of strategies to solve the problem. Different puzzle toys work in different ways.
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