Connie the Container Dog is looking for a new home!

This poor pup was found locked in a shipping container in Houston by the U.S. Coast Guard.

THIS WEEK'S TOPICS:

• 📈 Trending: Canine fitness & conditioning

• 🍲 What are dogs eating in 2024?

• 🫀 Health monitoring chip for you dog

📈 TRENDING: CANINE FITNESS & CONDITIONING

A look into the canine fitness industry:

Dog agility competitions have been big since the 70s, and in recent years dog yoga became a thing, and now a new (more practical) niche is emerging: canine fitness.

Canine Conditioning Coach, a website dedicated to improving the well-being of our furry friends through exercise programs, is a prime example of this trend.

But is it all just wishful marketing, or is there a real bone to be had in this business?

Leash on the science

Canine Conditioning Coach's approach hinges on "form-based exercise methodology," which, as the name suggests, focuses on proper form during exercise.

This might sound like overkill for a playful pup, but the website argues that targeted exercise can improve a dog's functionality, recovery time, and overall health. Think of it as doggy physical therapy, minus the tiny weights and existential dread.

A lucrative market?

So, is this just a niche market destined to remain on the fringes of the pet industry?

Not quite. Outside of the general dog population, groups such as, agility, sporting, and perhaps most importantly senior dogs, are all prime targets for mobility and conditioning work.

The proportion of dogs categorized as "senior" (age 7+) is rising. In the US, for example, 52% of dog-owning households have senior dogs as of 2022. This growing segment suggests increasing demand for senior-specific care.

Also, with the rise of supplements one of the most sought after products is for joint and hip care. Which typically targets aging dogs, dogs with arthritis, and dogs that experience high-impact activity.

Canine conditioning and mobility exercises could make for a great 1-2 combo alongside supplements.

With more pet owners treating their companions like family, the demand for premium services like dog walking, pet sitting, and, yes, even canine fitness, is on the rise.

But can Canine Conditioning Coach fetch a piece of that pie?

Analyzing their website, we see testimonials from satisfied clients, but hard numbers are scarce. It's difficult to estimate their exact earnings, but considering their niche focus and the growing market, it's safe to say they're not just chasing squirrels.

The bottom line

Canine Conditioning Coach taps into a growing trend in the pet industry, offering a science-backed approach to canine fitness. While their financial prospects are unclear, the overall market for pet-related services is promising.

Just like humans, all dogs could benefit greatly from moving their bodies intentionally and increasing range of motion and shortening recovery time.

🍲 WHAT ARE DOGS EATING IN 2024?

As an owner, what can you expect to be the new food fads in 2024?

We put in some time snooping around the web and came up with a few ideas that we expect to become more prevalent.

More options than ever

We're not really going out on the limb with this prediction because this basically happens every year, but 2024 will be no different.

We think you will see this in a few ways:

1. More options within food formats - So there are already plenty of kibble and canned options, but we expect a lot more raw options, freezedried options, toppers, etc.

2. More dietary options - Not that we are promoting some of these, but we think there will be more vegetarian or vegans options, along with more allergy specific foods.

3. More "simple" eating options - Expect to see more and more single ingredient, or 2 or 3 ingredient foods without all the filler.

Alternative Proteins

While chicken and beef still reign supreme, we will see more options for protein in dog food. This will be driven by more and more owners considering alternative proteins due to environmental impact and allergies. And when we say alternative proteins (great band name btw), we mean things like:

• 🐛 Insects

• 🐟 Fish, duck, turkey, etc

• 🍃 Plant based proteins

• 🔬 Lab grown meat

From Alan Snyder, CEO of Frankly Pet —

Ingredients that pack an extra punch.

Food doesn't always have to be about calories. It can provide additional benefits like a richer coat, stronger joints, and healthier skin.

These products already exist, but we think you will see more call outs on packaging about ingredients and their purported health benefits. Ingredients like:

• Collagen

• Tumeric

• Flaxseed

• Berries

As usual, we think these shifts are signs of good things to come.

A lot of the changes will just be how brands market to us as owners, but overall, the trend is toward more healthy options for our pups, and we wag our tails to that.

 🫀 HEALTH MONITORING CHIP FOR YOUR DOG

Who doesn't love chips? Bbq, salt & vinegar, ranch, nacho cheese.....wait, wait, wait. Sorry, wrong kind of chips.

Today, we are talking about micro chips.

Specifically, our final Purina Petcare Innovation winner VetChip, and their implanted tracker that gathers data and alerts pet owners via an app if potential issues or signs of illness or injury are detected, allowing for faster diagnosis and treatment.

Founded in 2019 by vet Dr. Garnett Hall, the company aims to bring the type of personal health data that humans have started to see to canines.

In the dog "tracking" space, you already have a number of product types:

• 📍 GPS tracking - get location of your dog via a smart collar

• 🩻 Microchip - dogs can be manually scanned to provide ID, but doesn't track location

• ❤️ Health tracker - typically a smart collar that provides things like steps, heart rate, and can include GPS

VetChip is looking to impact all three areas.

While smart collars are not a new thing and claim to do a lot of what VetChip does, experts question the accuracy of wearables.

The trackers that most people wear like Apples watches or Fitbits have sensors that require skin contact to get readings.

The problem with dogs is most owners aren't going to be shaving them for a smart collar. The collars instead rely on sensors based on radar and acoustic technology.

To be fair, the radar and acoustic technology is improving, but what VetChip brings to the table is more confident accuracy along with AI analysis to spot problems like fever, stress, and illness:

The chip is about the size of a grain of rice, and needs to be charged once a month with some sort of handheld charger (we're interested to know how this works.....).

VetChip also provides a lot of value to vets, who can get readings on temperature, tissue oxygenation, and historical data to better analyze a pet's health.

The founder references the fun challenge of trying to get temperature for an angry cat as a spark to start to design the chip 🤣.

The company plans to also market and sell to farms to use with livestock, which frankly may provide even more impact since farmers are typically managing large herds and getting ahead of health directly impacts their bottom line.

Price is something we couldn't find any info on, and is probably the biggest determinant of whether we'd use VetChip.

Standard microchipping usually is around $50, but is really only for ID’ing your pet if it were to be picked up and taken to a shelter.

Something within that range to a few hundred dollars seems like a good deal in exchange for knowing your dogs location and health stats.

DOGGYDEX™

Winner 🏆: BITCOIN

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

List of tickers used can be found at the very bottom of the newsletter.

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.

• 🏞️ German Shepherd lost in Adirondacks: A German Shepherd puppy was lost in the Adirondacks for 3 days and was finally rescued thanks to a thermal drone that spotted him!

• ☔ Dog has its’ own tiny umbrella: Minion, a pug-dachshund mix, hates the rain and only will venture out in to potty if he has his mini umbrella that he holds in his mouth.

• 🤳 Young cowboy teaches his dog to slide and take a selfie: Watch this young boy tell his cattle dog, Blue, to go down a slide and then hop onto his shoulder for a selfie, then feeds him a fat carrot.

DOGGY B-DAY

• $CHWY - Chewy: E-commerce platform for pet supplies

• $IDXX - Idexx Labs: Vet point of care instruments and vet software

• $FRPT - Fresh Pet: Pet food company

• $PETQ - PetIQ: Pet health products and medicines

• $PETS - PetMeds: Online pet pharmacy

• $ZTS - Zoetis: World's largest producer of meds and vaccines for pets and livestock

• $TRUP - Trupanion: Pet insurance company

• $WOOF - Petco Health & Wellness co.: Pet health & wellness company

• $BARK - BarkBox: Subscription service providing dog products, services, and experiences

• $PET - Wag! Group Co.: Tech platform that allows pet owners to connect with industry professionals for services such as, walking, training, etc.