Last updated: Tuesday April 29, 2008, EDT 10:52 AM
Designer clothing, organic food, spas and massages -- for Fluffy and Rover?
You betcha.
Left: Fab Dog's subway vest for dogs.
Americans will spend an estimated $43.3 billion on their pets in 2008, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA). And although food accounts for nearly a third of that figure, other luxuries are quickly gaining popularity in the dog (and cat) race.
“Everybody thinks their dog is one in a million,” said Kerry Liman, spokeswoman for Nestle Purina Petcare Co.
For that reason, businesses that cater to four-legged friends have struck gold by providing ways to treat pets like royalty.
Here are some of the growing number of luxuries that are available to North Jersey pets.
Apparel
Although pet clothing has been around for some a long time, the idea of stylish luxury gear for pets is fairly new.
“It really has become a fashion market in the past five or six years,” said Alexa Cach, one of the directors of Pet Fashion Week, an event designed to rival its human namesake. (The third annual show hits New York City runways in August.)
The Bada Bone line from Lodi’s Fab Dog, a pet design company, features track suit jackets ($36), collars in the colors of the Italian flag ($20) and even tank tops paired with gold-chain bling and a dangling bone charm ($26).
“We’re across the street from the Bada Bing restaurant. We got inspired by that,” said president of design Cassie Cole of the fictional go-go bar made famous by “The Sopranos.” with a chuckle. “Our motto here is, ‘If I wouldn’t wear it, my dog’s not wearing it.’ÿ”
Fab Dog’s lines revolve around “human lifestyles,” she explained. The Delta Omega Gamma (D.O.G.) fraternity theme line has t-shirts and a chewable pledge paddle toy. The Argyle line comes in preppy sweater vests, collars and a patterned bone.
Stephanie McLoughlin, who carries Fab Dog products at her Best of Breed Pet Salon in Tenafly, says most customers still buy utilitarian sweaters and raincoats, but she has spotted a growing number of pooches sporting designer brands likes Juicy Couture and Louis Vuitton.
Care
Like the U.S. human population, dogs and cats are suffering an obesity epidemic — and are often in danger of developing diabetes, heart disease and joint problems.
“One in four pets is obese,” said Paul Mann, an Englewood native. A 2007 survey by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention estimated that as many as 45 percent of all pets are overweight.
Mann’s business, Fetch Pet Care, added the Go! Fetch Pet Fitness service as an offshoot of its usual pet-sitting and dog-walking services about six months ago. Trained professionals play with dogs or cats to keep them active, just like a professional trainer at a human gym. The California-based firm, which has three branches in North Jersey, is popular with pet owners who lead a busy lifestyle, Mann said.
Some owners are so concerned about their pet’s health that organic food has become the latest industry trend, according to Cach.
For owners who spend time away from their pets, there are options more luxe than your local traditional kennel. If the rest of your life takes you away from your pet for a few days or even a week, the options go far beyond the kennel. The Morris Animal Inn in Morristown, for example, offers an aqua massage ($49 to $79 per session) and a swimming pool for dogs. A DVD screening of moving squirrels and birds keeps cats occupied for hours.
“The public is demanding more services for their pets,” said owner Walter Morris, who has worked in the industry since 1978.
With the Inn’s premium “King and Queen” package ($89 per day, plus boarding), pets get bottled water, an orthopedic bed and a tuck-in service that includes teeooth brushing, and a bedtime story and a bedtime mint, Morris added. Pampered Pet sessions include games of Frisbee and ball or supervised pool wading ($12.95).
Even the language of pet care has changed. At Camp Bow Wow, a national boarding company with two franchises in North Jersey, dogs are referred to as “campers” and the professionals as “counselors.” Nighttime cages are “cabins.”
Pet owners, of course, are “moms and dads” — or “brothers and sisters,” if they’re kids. After they leave, anxious pet parents even can watch their dogs frolic on candid camera, thanks to a camera they can access via the Internet.
Salon
“When a dog looks good, a dog knows it looks good,” said Joey Villani, president of the Nash Academy of Animal Arts in Cliffside Park. A veteran groomer of 33 years, Villani is currently judging what’s fab and what’s not on Animal Planet’s reality show “Groomer Has It.”
Increasingly, pet owners are willing to pay for spa treatments that go beyond .basic grooming, nail clipping and ear cleaning. Services can include massage therapy, aromatherapy, facials, color airbrushing for colorful of nails and even paw treatments — the equivalent of a manicure that “nourishes and moisturizes their paw pads, keeps them soft,” Villani said.
Sometimes, the pet version of a human luxury can be a loose translation, he added. A dog facial, for example, cleans natural tear duct and mouth area stains from a canine’s face and gives it a pleasant scent, according to Villani.
Do the dogs enjoy human-style pampering?
“No. 1, it depends on the animal,” he said. “No. 2, it depends on the groomer and the atmosphere he or she creates.” Like humans, pets find a quiet and unrushed environment more soothing.
Cats have a much harder time adjusting to the good life, he added. Their spa services are generally limited to “de-shedding” treatment, bathing and brushing for long-haired cats.
“Cats don’t like the grooming,” said Villani. “Dogs that get regular treatments will come towards us happily, but that will never happen with a cat."
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