The high price of turning your dog into a foodie

What this article seems to overlook is, perhaps a major causal factor for this trend - quality issues that have created health crisis related to various pet food manufacturers that have sent people in search of better quality foods. In the end it seems to have been a profitable calamity for some pet food makers. Personally, I cook my dog's food twice a week which only takes about a half hour in the pressure cooker and lasts a few days, plus it's much cheaper than canned 'gourmet' pet food.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

Weruva brand - advertised as "People Food for Pets" - serves up concoctions like Marbella Paella with mackerel ("Bring Spain to your dog!&quot , as well as Steak Frites with pumpkin and sweet potatoes ($50.64 for 12 cans at Chewy.com).

Devoted pet owners, it seems, are lapping it up. Premium dog and cat foods are slated to gobble up 51 percent of the market in 2015, or more than medium- and bargain-priced brands combined, according to market-research firm Euromonitor International.

The total food bill for America's dogs and cats amounted to $27.1 billion in 2014, with high-end fare accounting for $13.7 billion of that.

It adds up to $263 per dog, per year, and $108 per cat, just for food, according to Euromonitor.

That figure is no surprise to Jared Koerten, Euromonitor senior analyst. He owns a Shih Tzu-Maltese mix, Lilly, who is partial to freeze-dried delicacies.

"The trend is called 'pet humanization,' or treating them like your own children," says Koerten. "People don't want to give their pets anything they wouldn't eat themselves."

Indeed, the trend is especially potent with Millennials, who are 18 to 35. They are "coming into the market in a big way," Koerten says - and while they may not be having kids as early as their parents did, they are definitely "spoiling their little furbabies."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/18/us-money-pets-gourmetfood-idUSKCN0QN1GM20150818