I remember a time when pet owners took their pets for walks. I still see this on rare occasions, but believe it or not I am seeing more and more people stroll their dogs. As in, pushing a stroller that has a pet inside it. When I saw this for the first time I could not believe my eyes and figured it was a short term trend, sort of like the leashed children fad of the early 2000s (I still cannot believe we as a society allowed this). But now? I see dog strollers left and right. Dog stroller mania is in full effect. I do not have any official data on this, I am not sure if there has been any official research published on the trend, but I can tell you that I witness multiple dog strollers in use seven days a week. At first, I asked myself “Why?”, because I just could not believe what this meant as far as the direction we are heading as a society, but after thinking about it for awhile I discovered that there is solid value in buying and using a good dog stroller.
The first step in my research process was looking into the actual stroller themselves. It turns out that most dog strollers are built really well. They are designed to be durable and to be able pretty rough terrain. As an easy comparison, most pet strollers in general are built with the intent to hold up as well as baby strollers. This is because dog stroller manufacturers are aware that once a dog stops growing, the dog stroller should be able to hold up for many years, whereas baby strollers usually have a limited lifespan. This comes in handy for city slickers. Picture this scenario: it is shopping day and you want your little puppy to come out, enjoy the weather and spend the day with you. You are afraid, however, that after a couple of hours the little one will tire out and you will be stuck holding it for the rest of the day. Now picture having a stroller to put the dog in that will not only be a place of rest for your pet, but will also withstand the rough sidewalks and streets you will be walking through. Not that bad, right? You can also be comforted by the comfort your dog will feel while you are pushing the stroller as the carriage areas are usually spacious and super comfortable.
The next step in my research process was looking into the market, the population of pet owners who were using the pet strollers. What I learned was that most pet owners who are not parents love to treat their pets like children. They like to spoil the animals like grandparents do their grandchildren. Following this train of thought, what could be a better way to spoil your pet than to stroll it around all day like it is royalty? Here is the best part about it: value. On balance, pet strollers are usually much cheaper than baby strollers. This frees up even more cash to shower your furry friend with.
Another interesting quality I found regarding pet strollers is the wide variety. Whether you have a small dog or a big dog, there is a stroller for you. What’s that? You have two dogs? No problem, there are multi-carriage dog strollers just as if you had two children. Most strollers also give you the option of keeping them open or closed. If you want to keep your pet in the shade or ensure that it cannot jump out of the stroller, just keep the stroller closed. If you want it to get some fresh air or you have a friendly dog and want to give other people access to come over and pet your little cutie, then just unzip it. It is really that simple.
This has been yet another “don’t judge a book by its cover” experience for me, as well as a valuable learning lesson. After my first run in with a dog stroller I was quick to judge and even quicker to make some sarcastic comments to whoever I happened to be with at the time. However, after putting in some time and effort to understand the inherent value of using a dog stroller I am totally on board with the idea. In fact, I have even purchased one for my own pooch.