The best Pet Accessories Available in 2011

As an industry, we seem to have come through the recession a lot better than originally thought, with stores like the range going from strength to strength and online stores such as Pet Extraordinarium announcing improved profits, we can only assume that things are moving in the right direction, although some smaller pet shop owners may argue that the larger organisations are making their lives very difficult indeed.

There is a brilliant selection of animal products available now with a massive abundance of brands and designs to choose from. From bling cat collars to luxury leather Dog Beds, just about everything you need is available online and there are many companies that specialise in providing pet bling.

There appears to be a certain bias towards the smaller breed though, the current small pet culture dictates that the small breeds of dog such as Shih Tzuand Pekinese seem to get the best luxury pet products. Even dog beds for miniture breeds are getting a touch of bling; you can now purchase ‘leather pet furniture’ that comes covered with faux leather, lined with suede and finished with a branded motif. This sort of thing wouldn’t look out of place in a victorian house or luxury apartment.

Pet harnesses and collars again are an excellent example. Harnesses such as Puppy Angel and Dear Dog are the height of quality, but the range of sizes is tiny in every sense of the word. The harnesses made of air mesh are popular with owners because they are suitable for any time of the year thanks to the vented materials they are manufactured from; there is an amazing choice of styles to choose from with brands like Puppia offering some brilliant designs for 2011. However they only cater for the smaller breed of dog which in my opinion is a real shame, I personally know a lot of large breed owners out there that would really like to see the choice of luxury accessories for their pets increased, especially when it comes to collars and beds.

to be honest, there are some fantastic leather dog collars out there now for medium to large breeds. designers such as Puchi and Doggy Things now offer a fantasticZgreat choice of luxury styles for the dogs with big necks, with other important brands now jumping on board. Swarovski collars have always been popular, but the market is awash with poor quality imports that are of very low quality indeed with ‘fake’ Swarovski degrading the original product. A true Swarovski collar looks stunning in the sun and a definite recommendation for the summer months.

Keep an eye out for a new range of collars and leads from a manufacturer called ‘Bobby’. They are a Dutch company that produce some of the most amazing looking pet accessories in the world. They are not cheap, but the quality is beyond most designer pet products out there at the moment and like everything you get what you pay for, Bobby products will last you and your dog forever.

Looking forward, I foresee the industry continuing to grow. I think that you will see a lot of the ‘bedroom run’ businesses falling by the wayside with the strong return of online businesses that offer good customer service.