Luxurious Products to Pamper Your Pooch

Dec. 19, 2007 — -- Not only do Americans love their furry friends, they love to pamper them, especially around the holidays.

From lavender-scented cologne to eco-friendly shampoos, more companies traditionally known for their people-grooming products are reaching out to dogs and cats, and their owners.

Pets mean big business in the United States.

The American Pet Products Manufacturing Association says consumers will spend more than $40 billion on their pets this year and a whopping $3 billion on grooming and boarding products.

Hair-care giant Paul Mitchell has a whole line of grooming products for pets, including detangling spray and tooth wipes. The line also includes a tearless gentle shampoo for pups with sensitive eyes.

Daniel Marx is a consumer products analyst at Moody's Investors Services. He says as people become more accustomed to treating their pets like family members, they're more likely to drop more money on their pets, often lavishing them with high-quality food and nicer living arrangements.

And you can't ignore the fact that more American households have pets, with more households keeping more than one.

Not familiar with paw rub?

It's a soothing balm for dry, itchy paws, containing aloe, shea butter and vitamin E oil. Sounds nice, right? Smith likes it so much she uses it on her own skin. She says it works wonders for her dry skin and chapped lips — and is fully ingestible, something that is very important when marketing to animals.

She says her company has almost doubled in size every year since she started selling products in 2004. But she's seen the most growth at salons and spas for people. She attributes this to the number of hotels adding pet services to their spa menus. And the growing number of pet-friendly hotels.

Smith says she's responding to her customers' needs. Ever since the enormous pet-food scare, Smith says customers are asking more pointed questions about ingredients. "People are becoming more educated on how to take care of pets more properly."

Moody's Marx agrees. "Maybe in the past there were smaller organic brands that didn't get much attention but following [the] pet scare there is more focus."

One of the companies Marx tracks, Central Garden and Pet Co., has seen an increase in demand in its all-natural line, Breeder's Choice. "The days of dogs living outside are probably over."