STATUS ❧ Upper Middle Research
How We Treat Dogs
Our Spoiled Dogs Survey, found Upper Middle dog culture is far from monolithic. Our caring behaviors and breed choices are less correlated to wealth than to sentiment and experience. We truly have personal relationships with our pooches.
Which is not to say that those relationships don’t have a very specific context….
The Upper Middle audience skews 65% millennial with an average age of 37. The median subscriber has a net worth just short of $1M, a household income in excess of $200K, and lives close to a major city.
PUPPER MIDDLE
The clustering of caring behaviors suggests that dog owners are both responsive to the needs of specific breeds and driven by the desire to have specific kinds of relationships with their pets. Correlations in behavior suggested that there are six types of white-collar dog owners:
Practical: Daily walks. Few park visits. Limited human food. Structured treat schedule. No clothes. No dogs in bed. Prefers working dogs.
Pampering: Moderate walks. Irregular park visits. Frequent treats. Frequent human food. Lots of clothes. Dog in bed. Prefers small breeds and poodle mixes.
Energetic: Multiple daily walks. Regular park visits. Some treats. Limited human Food. Minimal clothes. Dog occasionally in bed. Prefers retrievers.
Submissive: Varied walks. Varied park visits. Lots of treats. Lots of human food. Some clothes. Dog in bed. Prefers family-friendly breeds.
Independent: Infrequent walk. No park visits. Occasional human food. Rare treats. No clothes. No dog in bed. Prefers working dogs.[3]
Social: Daily walks. Very frequent park visits. Some clothes. Some treats. Some human food. Prefers more city-friendly breeds like poodle mixes and bulldogs.
HAUTE DOGS
Poodle mixes, retrievers, and bulldogs are overrepresented in Upper Middle homes while pitbulls and pit mixes are conspicuously underrepresented. Mutts are common and most dog owners do not own breeds they associate with wealth, suggesting that breed choice is sentimental and socialized. Owners of rarer breeds were more likely to have grown up with dogs, have multiple dogs, and have larger dogs.
PAWTRIARCHY
Though net worth was not strongly correlated with pampering behaviors, it was correlated with childhood dog ownership, suggesting that wealthier dog owners are generally more experienced dog owners. This might explain wealthier dog owners’ preference for purebred dogs, which doesn’t skew toward more expensive breeds. Breed loyalty appears to be a social phenomena common to affluent metroplexes. This is typified by retrievers, which constitute 42%+ of dogs owned by respondents making $200,000-$499,999 annually and significantly over-represented in the homes of people with a net worth between $1M and $2.5M (specifically those living in New York, California, and Texas).
UPPER LEASH SIDE
Though caring behaviors were not most strongly correlated with geography, geographical trends did emerge. Dog owners on the coasts walked their dogs more frequently, spent more time in dog parks, bought more clothes, and were more likely to allow their dogs in bed. These variation was driven largely by owners of rarer breeds and spaniels – fancy dog people[4].
➺ Dogs act just like their owners. ➺ If you’re not in the kitchen, you’re on the menu. ➺ High social class is associated with higher emotional intelligence. ➺ There are Chinese spies on campus (or at least reactionaries think there are).
