I visited Tokyo recently and was surprised at all the dog-related products I saw. There were clothes for dogs, costumes for dogs, even spas for dogs. Apparently this is a huge market in Japan.
Wired just ran a story about dog gadgets, entitled: Doggie Style: Cell Phones, Webcams and GPS for Hounds. Yup, seriously.
Other products include a treadmill (“made especially for little dogs who need an aerobic workout but never leave the apartment”), a pedometer that shows how many steps your dog has taken, a paw-shaped doorbell for your dog, and, of course, Doggles (pictured here), with 100% UV protection and flexible rubber frames.
Wow. What a market. The article adds that “in Japan, more households had pets than kids in 2006.” It certainly did seem that way when I was in Japan; Tokyo struck me as a very pet-friendly city. I didn’t see any pets in the subway or department stores, but most people had tiny dogs which could fit into pocketbooks and be carried to those places.
Most, if not all, of these products are available to US customers as well. The California Bay Area is also pet-friendly area. I could see many of the products and services in Japan work just as well here. Hmmm. Anyone want to start a pet spa with me?
Oops, damn, it’s already been done. (And, to be fair, I’ve seen a few clothing shops for dogs here too.)
Toys like that are cruel and unusual punishment for dogs. I would never get something like that.