Wearable tech latest must-have for China's proud pet owners

HONG KONG - Electronic device makers such as Hong Kong-listed SUGA and other start-ups are looking to cash-in on a boom in China in so-called pet wearables, like smart collars, leashes and feeders.

Pet ownership, denounced as a decadent and bourgeois habit after the Communist Party took power in China more than 60 years ago, has become popular again among the country's growing middle class.

Lia Yang Liu, 39, a lecturer in Chinese literature at a Beijing university, bought a GPS tracker that attaches to her dog's collar.

"The device really helped me once, when I loosened the collar and he just ran out of the park," said Liu. She is skeptical of other products though.

"I think the commercials just exaggerate the effects. I don't believe devices can translate a pet's language for us."

The electronic pet device market in China is still quite small but by some estimates is growing by a fifth or even a quarter every year, drawing developers and producers such as PetPace LLC, Mars Petcare's Whistle Labs Inc, i4C Innovations, Fitbark and DeLaval.

Alfred Ng, chief technology officer at Suga, estimates China is now 5 percent of a global market that US-based market intelligence firm Transparency Market Research estimates was worth $1 billion at the end of 2016.

Ng forecasts that China's share of the market will jump to more than 20 percent by 2024, by which time Transparency Market Research estimates the global market will be worth at least $2.5 billion.

SUGA produces wearable tech that monitors pets' health and food intake. It is also eyeing a device to check pet emotions.

Chen Xufeng, marketing manager of Guangzhou-based software developer Guangdong Lekong IOT Technology Co Ltd, expects the China market in pet electronic devices to grow 20 percent to 25 percent in the next two to three years.

"There are more than 10 million pieces of wearable products for pets sold in the Chinese market every year," Chen said.

IDTechEx, an independent market research firm, said there are 300 manufacturers of wearable pet gadgets globally and almost half are based in China. It predicted the number will rise to 500 as the market expands.

Ava Lui, 33, an IT professional in Hong Kong, has three cats and a dog and has fitted her pets with collars that can monitor their activity and food intake.

"I just wish that they will never get sick, they won't get hurt. The less I take them to see vets the more time I can spend playing with them. That would be ideal," she said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pet owners dress up dogs for Halloween

MANILA -- From the spooky to the adorable, pet owners and their furry companions dressed up for an annual Halloween pet show on Saturday.

Some participants donned matching costumes with their pets, from bridal gowns to vampires and goblins. Others took a unique approach and dressed their pets as their favorite dish or accessory.

Christina Jose, one of the pet show's participants, said it took weeks to prepare their matching angel warrior costumes, but the effort was worth it.

"This is important for both of us because this is the perfect time to bond with each other and with other dogs, as well as with our friends who liked attending these events," she said.

Michael Villegas, who made his dog's costume out of recycled materials, said the show can be about more than just Halloween.

"This can be a campaign for the environment because we can promote saving nature or the earth by showing that these costumes are made from recycled materials that you can find anywhere," he said.

Megaworld Lifestyle Malls senior vice president and show organizer, Tefel Pesigan-Valentino, said the annual Halloween pet show aimed to strengthen bonds between owners and their pets as well as increasing awareness of animal rights.

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society said it has documented at least 60 cases of animal cruelty in early 2015.

The Philippines has laws against torturing animals, which are punishable by imprisonment or a fine.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Do Pets Reduce Your Home’s Value?

For years, Americans’ love of pets has turned many a renter into homeowner. “No pets allowed” was a standard clause in rental contracts until recently, when many landlords realized they could attract and keep tenants happy if they were willing to put up with cats and small pooches.

A recent survey by website Apartments.com found that 72 percent of renters surveyed said they are pet owners, a big jump from 43 percent in 2012.

Ultimately, though, there’s no place like a fireplace, a back yard, a nearby dog park, and a friendly suburban street for man’s best friend. But while a house can mean big things for your furry family members, in recent years the evidence has been mounting that pets—and specifically their by-products—can cost their owners big time when the time comes to sell or refinance.

Cats vs. condos

A cat owner’s condo reportedly sold for up to $30,000 less than it should have because of damage caused by the pets, a real estate agent told a national magazine two years ago. A Boston-based real estate agent was recently quoted to effect that pet hair and pet stink can do major damage to a home’s resale value. The agent specifically mentioned another condo that sold for $20,000 or $30,000 less than it should have because of cats.

Appraisal Institute, a professional association of real estate appraisers, weighed in with a news release two years ago, suggesting that bad neighbors including homeowners with annoying pets can significantly reduce nearby property values.

Get on your knees and pray

Said one blogger on a real estate site: “Basically, if you are ever faced with trying to sell a home and own a pet or two, you should ship off Fido to a kennel, fumigate your house and then get on your knees and pray potential buyers can’t detect any stray pet scents.”

Appraisers also say that the mere fact a pet is resident is no reason to penalize the homeowner.  It’s understandable, however, that permanent scents, deep scratch marks on the floor or doors, lawns pitted with brown pee spot and buried bones, or other lasting signs of animal damage would be a bummer to buyers and thereby a reason to chop a few hundred or even a thousand off a home’s value.

Pet haters forget that 47 percent of households own at least one dog and 46 percent own at least one cat, according to the American Human Society. This means for every potential buyer turned off by Fido’s claw marks on the door, there’s another who will opt for the home with a pet door in the kitchen and a fenced backyard.

Custom-built dog runs

Just as landlords are accommodating pet owners for purely financial reasons, there’s a silver lining awaiting homeowners who have made their properties pet-friendly. A survey conducted four years ago by Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, found that many homeowners are rewarding their dogs with custom-built doghouses, deluxe dog runs, custom “doggy-doors,” pet-friendly landscaping, private patios with personal fire hydrants, and other features that add value to their master’s property with many buyers.

At the time, Realtor.com listed a Victorian dog house that matched a $10,995,000 California home, a heated doghouse with a deluxe dog run adjoining a $520,000 listing in Idaho, and a secluded cottage built just for dogs with a $524,000 house in Illinois.

“Pets have become important members of the family, and their needs are often high on the list of must-haves for many buyers, sometimes even higher than priorities of the two-legged members of the family,” says, Eileen Healy at Prudential Rocky Mountain Realtors in Colorado. “Calling out features or local pet-friendly amenities can make or break a buyer’s interest in a particular property.”

source: totalmortgage.com