We’ve all heard of the Baby Boomers generation, but who are the Dog Boomers and what are they doing with their dogs?
Did you know that there are more dogs in the US than children? The number of dogs and dog owners in the West has been on the rise for tens of years. Dog ownership has become a global megatrend with no end in sight.
OneMind Dogs recently organised a first of its kind panel discussion with leading pet and dog experts PhD Professor, Leader of dog genetics research group Hannes Lohi, Head of Category and Sourcing at Musti Group, the top pet supplies retail chain in the Nordics Annika Lundström and CEO, Co-founder of OneMind Dogs Noora Keskievari in Helsinki, Finland.
OneMind Dogs was very proud to bring together remarkable people and enthusiastic audience (we had a full house!) to discuss the Dog Boomers and the different varieties of dog businesses, especially the service sector. This feedback really sums up the whole event: “Thank you for the chance to attend. The event was beyond all my expectations, absolutely fabulous. Discussions, panelists and topcs were all interesting. All in all very good, efficient and compact.” We intend to continue similar efforts of bringing the dog people together on a global level! Photos from the event are available in our gallery.
Millennials are the largest demographic of US consumers and they are obsessed with their pets - especially dogs. Many of them are choosing to have dogs before or even instead of kids. They’re a generation that can called Dog Boomers for a reason.
Millennials also spend money on their dogs as they would on their kids. Owning a dog is now part of an aspirational, desired lifestyle for many people. Annika Lundström told us at the panel discussion that especially spending on services for dogs is on the rise. Dog boomers are ready to give their all to their “fur babies” and are eager to purchase quality services like grooming, dog sitting and training.
Noora Keskievari who spent a decade professionally training dogs and their owners knows that people desperately need help with achieving this lifestyle. According to OneMind Dogs’ research and the focus groups we’ve run in the US, people don’t want to be embarrassed by a dog that behaves badly. It reflects poorly on them, and it’s really important for them to be seen as a great dog owner in the eyes of others.
Unfortunately, only 7% of dogs in the US currently get any kind of obedience training. As a result, 3.3 million dogs enter US animal shelters every year. Millenials are more aware of modern training methods and require science-based, positive training for their dogs. But they’re also used to easily and always accessible mobile services which haven’t been available for new dog owners so far. OneMind Dogs Puppy Training is about to change that.
Hannes Lohi has been founding and successfully developing many dog businesses including Genoscoper, Petbiomics and Petsofi - services that are proof of people’s growing interest in their dogs well-being starting from their genes!
Thank you all panelists for the interesting discussions and sharing insights rarely available for outside the business and research world! Thank you everyone who attended the event and showed your interest in dogs and dog people! What would you like to hear next?
OneMind Dogs is looking for new owners!