The term “family dog”

Lavish dog beds and doggy playrooms are taking the place of baby bottles and cots. This is a change from traditional to furry families. Is this change a response to the stresses of modern life or the pressures to start a family? Are people scared to have kids or feel they are not ready to. Is having a dog practice for having kids? For some, they may never have kids, so having dogs is seen as a great alternative. The family dog is like having another child. Dogs are becoming more appreciated, and more like a family member, with the term ‘furbaby’ being introduced, referring to a pet that someone treats with a lot of love and kindness, as if it were a baby.

The way our family dogs are treated has had a massive shift in the last 10 years, but more so in the last 5. Dogs are becoming more as another child than a pet. Dogs are an increasingly popular pet, with 34% of New Zealand households having at least one dog, up from 28% in 2015.”

Dogs are becoming more appreciated and more like a family member, with a term furbaby being introduced. A pet that someone treats with a lot of love and kindness, as if it were a baby.

Part of the shift in the way people own and interact with their pets can be seen in the increasing numbers of events made just for dogs. A short Google search shows a wide range of events like Dog & Grog in Auckland (Grey Lynn), Bark In The Park – Bay Of Islands, with all of them having cool catchy names.

Some of the other events there are include doggy pool parties where at the end of a pool’s swimming season they open their gates to dogs for a fun doggy pool-day. The dirty dog challenge is another great event where owners get to run with their dogs through the mud. The popularity of these events have made it possible to have a festival dedicated to dogs, Rescuepalooza, which will happen on the 10^th of December.

“I think we’ve really seen this kind of remarkable shift not only in how we treat our animals but in just what is socially acceptable in how close we can get in our relationship with our animals.”

– David Grimm, author of Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs.

The range of products that are now available for our canine friends is increasing, but the classics remain the same, including high quality foods, treats, and worm and flea treatments. Here is a top 10 list of the most popular products in 2022

Top 10

• 1.   Leads and harnesses.
• 2.   Lick mats and slow feeding bowls
• 3.   Compostable poop bags
• 4.   Long lasting chews
• 5.   Durable throw balls
• 6.   Treats
• 7.   Toys
• 8.   Puzzle toys
• 9.   Scoop Dog Ice cream
• 10. Beds & bowls

And the added extra doggy clothes and jackets.

The Barkuitire box are a small, locally-owned business based in the Waikato,  founded by Alyssa Brady. She started her small business for her love of their own fur-babies. The Barkuitire Box was started by Alyssa as she brought to life her mother’s ideas to help fundraise for DC Dog Rescue. This small business originally started as a way to fundraise for local charities in need, but now has grown due to more dog owners seeing their dogs less of an animal and more as a part of the family. 

“I would never in a million years give my dog a treat, he’s a working dog, but this is pretty cool”

Ross McConnachie- local farmer and Barkuitire Box fan

The Barkuitire Box is a business that has responded to this demand and listened to its audiences wishes of treating dogs as one of the family. The founders saw a missing gap in the market and filled it. With the growing demand for more natural or organic options for our pets, the Barkuitire Box responded to those demands and trends of its clients by creating their own unique grazing box similar to the trend of the charcuterie board. Owner Alyssa is continuing to grow her business by listening to her client’s needs and releasing new products. The newest range focuses on the new normal of buying our dogs presents, and has released a Christmas range with customizable stockings, a three course Christmas lunch, and a Christmas Eve dinner.

Many businesses are adapting to this new normal and moving with the change. More and more businesses and organisations are creating products and endorsing the idea of treating our dogs as our children as the new normal. Other products such as dog collars and leads have followed this change drastically in the last few years with more brands releasing more bright and colourful items not for the dog but the owner, while a dog collar and lead is an essential item for a dog owner it’s not always necessary to have these bright colours and styles. 

With the rising number of couples being a dual income household with no kids it’s becoming more popular for more couples to start their family by having a dog. The trend of treating our dogs as children is becoming our new normal as previously many people would think dog owners treating their dogs of all breeds and sizes with such love and care was to be odd or weird. What comes to mind is seeing a Staffordshire Bull Terrier known as a Staffy in Dog pyjamas inside instead of what is stereotyped into being the typical household guard dog.