As argued in my last column, it would be difficult to overstate the link between housing affordability and current pet (especially dog) population trends in the U.S. Several other national population and macroeconomic factors will frame pet population growth, which Packaged Facts projects at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.2% for dogs and 2.5% for cats for the 2025 through 2029 period.
Driving growth will be pet parent psychographics. Pet owners depend on their pets intensely for companionship, affection, fun and mental and physical health benefits, all of which underpin the “pets as family” mindset. On the other hand, a challenging macro context is disproportionately curbing the adoption of dogs — as pets that involve higher levels of pet care spending, and for which the affordability of single-family homes weighs in significantly to ownership levels.
