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THIS WEEK'S TOPICS:

• $9K for a private jet for you and your pup 🛩️🐶

• Adorable study tests how dogs respond to wild wolf calls 🐺

• The business of Best in Show 🥇

DOGGYDEX™

Winner 🏆: Bitcoin

Proudly introducing the DoggyDex™, an index comprised of 10 publicly traded companies whose primary focus is the dog/pet industry.

The yellow line-plot in the chart represents these companies above (DoggyDex™) and their combined performance against both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin on a weekly basis.

Pawformance is measured by % gains & losses.

$9K FOR A PRIVATE JET FOR YOU AND YOUR PUP 🛩️🐶

Wish you could travel the world 🌎 with your pup in tow?

Well now you can!

K9 Jets is seeking to serve pet owners who either don’t meet the criteria to fly commercially (i.e. size constraints, breed restrictions, etc.) or simply wish to not have their pet stowed away in a cargo bay where temperature and ventilation can be a big concern.

In the last few years we’ve seen a rise in demand for dog owners looking to fly privately with their canine companions.

Many Facebook groups and subreddits have spawned in order to band together so that pet owners can charter private planes as there aren’t many existing services that directly accommodate their individual needs.

K9 Jets is a direct response to this and works in a similar fashion by only confirming a flight if and when it reaches 75% occupancy.

Currently a one-way ticket from NY to Europe will run you ~$9K.

Expect to pay more if you want your dog to have their own seat, otherwise there is ample room on the floor and in the cabin to have them fly comfortably!

So how does it work exactly?

1. Book a flight ✈️ - view their routes and available seats with destinations to LA, NY, London, Lisbon, Paris and Dubai.

2. Flight brief & pet documentation 📃  - after processing your booking and confirming your flight all passengers will receive a video call and a flight brief detailing everything needed and what to expect.

3. Arrival ⏳ - No need to sweat a TSA line, you only need to show up 60 minutes before departure. You will be met by a team that will take your luggage and have it screened for you.

4. Boarding 🧳 - 15 minutes before takeoff, the Captain will intro themselves to you, your bags will have already been loaded, and you can make your way onto the aircraft to enjoy champagne and get comfy.

5. Landing 🛬 - You will be met by their Ground Handling Team to cross reference paperwork, your luggage will be offloaded, you’ll go through customs and they can also help you book pet-friendly ground travel to get to your final destination.

At the time of this writing 8 of 17 listed flights are sold out. This will be one interesting space to watch as pet ownership and travel demand continues to grow.

ADORABLE STUDY TESTS HOW DOGS RESPOND TO WILD WOLF CALLS 🐺

The dogs we know and love (canis familiaris) are the descendants of the wolf (canis lupus).

It's easy to see most of the similarities, but howling is one seemingly important behavior that is missing for the vast majority of domesticated dogs.

Since they don't have group chats, wolves rely on howling as their method for long distance communication.

Howls help them maintain territories, keep track of each other, and share information.

So why doesn't your furry friend howl at the moon?

Researchers at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary had a similar questions and decided to find out.

They conducted a study of 68 purebred pet dogs and their reactions to wild wolf howls.

You can check out the full results below 👇

What they found was that breeds that are more closely related to wolves (shorter genetic distance, like huskies) are more likely to respond to a wild howl with one of their own, HOWEVER, they are also more likely to display signs of stress and anxiety.

The further genetic distance to the wolf, the more likely they will respond with a bark.

They also discovered that age plays a large part. Younger dogs were more likely to howl back, while older dogs were more likely to bark back.

The takeaway is that while most dogs can howl, its original function fades with age and with breeding.

THE BUSINESS OF BEST IN SHOW 🥇

This week marks the 147th running of the Westminster Dog Show, undoubtedly the most famous pet event in the world (sorry Puppy Bowl).

The best in show pooch, AKA the winner, was a Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen by the name of Buddy Holly, who beat out over 2,500 different contestants to take home the crown.

A quick overview

The show is the second longest continuously held sporting event, behind the Kentucky Derby.

Every year, thousands of dogs descend to New York for two days of judging.

The dogs are broken into groups by their general breed type (Terriers, Hounds, Toy, Sporting, Working, Non-sporting, and Herding).

Then the dogs are judged against dogs of their own breed within the group.

The best of the breed moves on to the group judging round, where they compete against the other breeds in their group.

Then, the winners move on to the final round to decide who is the best dog!

You might already know most of this. The show is famous enough to have its own satirical movie, and we’re pretty sure most owners have an idea of what it's all about.

But as we often do, we got curious about the economics of this event and did some research.

The deets on the Westminster dog show

The show itself is put on by the Westminster Kennel Club. The club was started with the first show in 1877 in New York.

A kennel club is an organization for "canine affairs" that focuses on the breeding, showing, and promotion of different dog breeds.

The club itself is actually a non profit, so you can find their tax filings online and see what kind of revenue they make. In 2020, the club did the following:

• $6,966,995 in revenue

• $936,331 in net income

• 2.1% of expenses on executive compensation and 11.4% on other wages

• 95% of revenue coming from Program Services (the show)

The club makes the majority of its money on the show itself.

Tickets to attend cost in the $100 range, and entry fees for dogs start around the same amount.

Also, as it's a non-profit with open records, you can see the salaries for the executives and key employees:

To the victor goes the spoils 💵

Well, in this case, not so much.

The prize for coming in Best in Show?

$0

That's right, winning gets you nada, zero, zip.

Not only that, while the entry fee isn't too hefty, it's estimated that many contestants easily shell out $25k and up. Here's a ballpark breakdown of what can go into that cost:

• 🐩 Buying the dog - you probably want a show quality dog, which can cost between $5k - $10k

• 🏦 Entrance fees - most owners want their dog ready for the big show and maybe spend a few grand on shows through out the year to prep

• 💁‍♀️ Handler - It's often a paid handler who shows the dog, and they can charge a few hundred dollars per event, more if your dog wins

• ✈️ Travel - NY ain't cheap, and you'll probably drop another $1k - $5k on hotels, flights, gas, etc

• 🪒 Grooming - if you're partial to breeds that require specialized styling for shows (hello, cotton-ball-puff poodle paws!) that might cost you another few hundred

• 📰 Advertising - apparently lots of owners start early and promote their dog in trade magazines to get on the judges radar. Another few thousand.

"But Dognomomist" you say, "why would anyone shell out all that money for a shot at a $0 prize?".

Well, the secondary benefits can be quite nice.

While there are potential advertising or sponsorship opportunities, the big draw is breeding. A group or best in show winner's offspring can fetch anywhere up to $25k at auction.

Now a lot of owners do it for love of the game.

They truly enjoy the training, grooming, and ongoing maintenance required for a show dog, so it's not all about the money.

KIBBLE BITS:

Every week we love to shoutout a pooch that has made another trip around the sun. Happy Birthday 🎂 to Chile, double digits look good on ya!

That's all there is to bark about this week.

If you want more, be sure to follow our Twitter (@dogonomist).