arizonarepublic.com
'Parents' can baby pets
Petsmart is offering infant-style toys
By Hal Mattern
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 30, 2001
As pet owners know, puppies and kittens are a lot like babies.
They are playful and inquisitive when they are happy, and they whine and cry
when they aren't.
They experience such baby behavior as teething, and they even can suffer from
separation anxiety when their "parents" leave them alone.
So why wouldn't they also enjoy playing with baby toys?
Phoenix-based Petsmart Inc. is betting they would.
The pet supply and services retailer has joined with Hasbro Inc. of Pawtucket,
R.I., to develop a line of pet toys patterned after some of Hasbro's popular
human baby toys, including teething keys, stackers, Koosh balls, mobiles and
activity mats.
"We think this will revolutionize the pet toy business," predicted Tony Truesdale,
Petsmart's senior vice president for merchandizing. "It's a very interesting twist for
Hasbro."
The Paws 'N More line of 20 toys is available at Petsmart's 535 stores, and half
the toys will be sold on its Web site, www.petsmart.com, beginning Thursday.
They eventually will be sold by other retailers as well.
The toys are aimed at an emerging consumer trend in America: Pet parents.
A recent Petsmart poll found that 68 percent of Americans consider pets
members of the family and make life choices to accommodate them. An
additional 47 percent speak "baby talk" to their pets, while 37 percent carry a
picture of their pet in their wallets.
"Many people treat their pets like they do their children," said Dr. Sheldon Rubin,
a Chicago veterinarian who studies pet behavior. "And there are many similarities
between the two. They both learn through play and by exploring the world
around them. They both need physical activity to stay healthy."
Rubin said that kittens and puppies, just like human babies, suffer from such
behavior problems as separation anxiety "if we don't spend a lot of quality time
with them. It's important for their socialization that they interact with their family
over the first four months of their lives."
He said the Hasbro toys, which he has inspected, are more than pet pacifiers.
"They aren't just something you throw to them and they play with alone," he said.
"They require you to interact with your pets."
Reach the reporter at hal.mattern@arizonarepublic.com or (602)
444-8652.
KJC |
