Inflation changes everything: Today, “going to the dogs” is closer in meaning to “putting on the Ritz” amid skyrocketing costs for dog food.
Prices for popular dog food brands on Amazon.com have risen 45.5% since 2020, from $27.91 per product to $39.56 per product, according to a recent study by Veterinarians.org.
Cases of wet dog food that cost $19.92 in 2020 now sell for $28.65 on average. And the price of a bag of dry dog food has increased from $35.91 to $50.54 today.
Discounts are hard to find. Among the 100 dry and 100 wet products analyzed, 62% of dry dog food bags and 44% of wet dog food cans hit historic price highs this year.
For example, a 12-pack of 13.2-ounce cans of Pedigree chicken and rice jumped by 206.86%, from $7 in 2020 to $21.48 this year. A 16.5-pound bag of Purina ONE Plus Healthy Puppy rose by 143.11%, from $12.99 to $31.58.
“These unprecedented spikes demonstrate just how much pet owners are feeling the pinch of inflation,” Lily Velez, author of the study and head of special reports at Veterinarians.org, told The Washington Times. “Coupled with rent increases and stagnant wages across the nation, many pet-owning households are finding themselves in difficult financial situations.”
The study comes as a pandemic-era boom in pet ownership has increased the demand for dog food, rising food prices have made premium meat ingredients more expensive and pet care expenses from chew toys to veterinary care have soared.
About 23 million Americans adopted pets during COVID-19 quarantines in April and May 2020 — nearly 1 in every 5 households, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
In March, the Consumer Price Index for pet food rose by 14.4% over the previous year. That was higher than the cost of human food, which rose year-over-year by 8.5%.
“Higher pet food prices are correlated with increased prices for consumer goods across the board, with inflation contributing to these price surges,” Dr. Annie Harvilicz, president of the nonprofit Animal Wellness Foundation, told The Times. “Even rabies vaccines went from $15 to $35 before COVID-19 to $40 to $90 now.”
Dr. Harvilicz, a veterinarian who also runs two for-profit animal hospitals in Los Angeles, blamed a lack of price competition among pet food companies and backorders on Chinese imports for the increases.
A handful of major corporations produce and distribute most dog food brands, including Mars Petcare, a subsidiary of the candy giant Mars that sells Pedigree, Iams, Whiskas and Royal Canin pet foods.
Another leading producer is Nestle Purina, a subsidiary of the food company Nestle that makes Purina, Friskies, Beneful, Fancy Feast and other cat and dog food brands.
“A substantial number of pet products, food, and medications are sourced from China, and it has become more difficult to import supplies,” Dr. Harvilicz said. “Some people may not be able to afford higher-priced pet foods, or it will take up more of their costs and they will have to forego veterinary care. Others may feel compelled to relinquish their animals to shelters.”
The Veterinarians.org study found Hill’s Science Diet products dominated the top 10 price increases for wet dog food, recording an average price increase of $19.36 for cans featuring everything from “tender turkey and rice” to “savory stew.”
Meanwhile, Purina ONE dominated the top 10 price increases for dry dog food, with bags of chow containing everything from probiotics to real steak flavoring increasing by an average of 86% over the past three years.
Royal Canin had the sharpest dollar increase for dry dog food products from 2020 to 2023, with a 30-pound bag of medium-breed adult pellets spiking by $43.99 from $56 to $99.99.
And the price of one 24-pound bag of organic Canidae Pure dry dog food with real salmon and sweet potatoes increased from $51 to $74.99 over the same period.
Most of the dog food companies cited in the study did not respond to a request for comment.
In an email to The Times, Connecticut-based Canidae said that “pet food is seeing significant cost increases” similar to those of “many industries across the nation.”
“Our commodity prices have risen more than 30% due to consumer demand and the cost of producing our food has also increased due to labor, transportation costs and packaging,” Canidae said in the email. “Unfortunately, we have had to take a price increase as well to continue to provide our continual standard of high quality, nutrient dense food made from whole, premium ingredients that you and your pet deserve.”
With rising veterinary costs, dog food price increases are proving too much for some families to handle.
Last year, pet shelters nationwide reported a surge in people surrendering pandemic puppies and COVID kittens that they could no longer afford due to rising grocery and housing prices.
Over the past year, many nonprofits have offered pet food pantries and financial assistance programs at the national and state level to help cash-strapped families keep their pets.
A Veterinarians.org survey of 1,000 pet owners released last year found 50% of respondents were already shopping for cheaper pet food alternatives. That poll found that 33% of owners had canceled their pet’s prescription medication, 46% delayed or skipped veterinary procedures and 24% said they considered surrendering their pet to a shelter due to rising pet care costs.
Ms. Velez of Veterinarians.org said there has been a “significant increase” in recent years for “grain-free, organic, high-protein and other special-diet dog food products” as dog owners pay more attention to ingredient labels.
“Due to the costs of the premium ingredients used in these formulas and growing demand for them, these products are seeing higher price increases year-over-year,” Ms. Velez said.
According to economists, it’s impossible to say when it will again be cheaper to buy dinner for Rover than for his human owner to dine out at a moderately-priced restaurant.
“We economists are up the creek without a paddle in determining whether dog food prices will rise more or less quickly than cat food and/or thousands of other items such as prices of rubber bands, peanut butter, shoes, cars, turnips, etc.,” said Walter Block, an economist who teaches at Loyola University New Orleans.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated some quantities of wet dog food.
