“I Totally Get It, I Have a Dog”: How Younger Generations Are Prioritizing Pets Over Parenthood, and What This Means for Franchising

The frustration surrounding childless people who equate pet ownership with parenthood isn’t invisible. Even though the idea that someone could “totally understand what you’re going through” as a parent because they have a dog may not be spot on, the phrase does provide a peek into an important trend in the pet care space.

A dog isn’t a child, but some pet owners surely act like it. A recent Entrepreneur article reports that the pet industry is currently worth over $100 billion and still growing, and dog owners spend over $1,500 annually on their pets…“Two-thirds of which go to retailers and supply stores,” the article said.

Millennials make up 35% of pet owners in the U.S., and that percentage will likely grow as more millennials and Gen Z view pets as a substitute or complete replacement for having children.

According to Psychology Today, “72% of childless millennial women explicitly state that they prefer the company of their pet over the company of children,” and “69% of millennial women who have chosen not to become a mother say that having a pet is easier than having a child.”

In millennials across the board, 22% of those who have pets see their furry friends as a delay, or even complete replacement, to having children. While the choice is often attributed to the lower costs of pets relative to children, the pets are still part of the family.

Ali Smith, CEO of Rebarkable, an affordable puppy training concept, explained how this spike in demand for pets is impacting her business. “We’re getting more career-minded people, and people in their early 20s, too, who get dogs for companionship that sometimes the modern world doesn’t offer or make accessible.”

As more people add a pet to their family, Smith says dogs are becoming more prevalent in weddings, and there are more children likely to grow up with a pet in the house. Because of this, the demand for training, pet care and pet products is also spiking.

The amount that people spend on their pets grew by over $13 billion between 2018 and 2020, and, in a survey of 2,000 dog and cat owners, over half of respondents said they spend more on their pets than they do on themselves annually.

As more families look to pets as their “babies” and treat them as such, franchising within the pet care space is only becoming a more attractive opportunity. There are plenty of ways to franchise within the pet care space, including boarding, mobile grooming, wellness clinic, training, waste removal, boutique and full-service retail concepts.