What Kind of Owner Are You?
Emory Hutchins
For thousands of years, humans have kept animals as pets. Fossils have shown that wolves were the first to be domesticated over 12,000 years ago. This creates a long, complex history of human-animal relationships that have heavily affected us as a species.
When it comes to purchases made for our pets, many can be seen as crazy. Some view herding dogs that live outside as abuse, while others think clothes for pets are pompous. While not mutually exclusive, these views are dependent on how these pets are seen by their owners.
Elizabeth Hirschmann, Marketing professor at the University of Virginia, divided how consumers perceive companion animals into six ways. These categories include animals as ornaments, status symbols, avocation, equipment, people, and as one’s self.
The way that an owner views their pet will change their behavior when it comes to purchases for the animal.
The pet can be seen as a product if viewed as ornaments or status symbols. Purchases like clothes, designer leashes, or premium food may be a necessity for these pets. If you’ve ever wondered who would purchase a diamond collar, this may be the people.
An owner with a pet used for avocation or equipment may also hold the products they purchase to a higher standard. Pets that can make money may have more expensive grooming merchandise, tools, or health products. When the animal can make money, owners aren’t sparring of expensive purchases.
When owners see their pets as people, they are typically still willing to spend substantial money, but may be more likely to exchange expensive dog treats for dinner scraps, choose simple squeakers, and utilize pet purses.
Pets that are seen by the owners as an extension of themself are more anthropomorphized, and receive more human-like products. Matching outfits, toys that look like human products, and merchandise that matched the owners’ interests.
All pets need similar purchases to survive and thrive, but depending on the owner, other purchases differ. Whether a pet has alcohol themed toys, outfits, or thousands of dollars of training is dependent on how they are seen by their owners.
There is a market for all of these products, but it’s important to understand what kind of pet owner the products are for, because not all are the same.
Nov. 10, 2025
Sources:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PNorUhG3iumkQEzFDrsR1s16azqwPLxw/view
Emory Hutchins 