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In every place I've ever worked in Summit County there have been dogs, sometimes just one, sometimes a pack depending on which humans were working on a given day. Years later, I'm still not completely comfortable with the idea, although its true I keep a box of treats in my desk at all times.
While there are friendly dogs, smart dogs, dogs that are pleasant to have around, there are also cranky dogs, dogs as dumb as a post, dogs so careless and out of control they're lucky to be alive. Some owners treat their dogs badly, like animals, while others dote on them like children. Sadly, the more the dog is in need of restraint or training, the less likely the owner is to be aware of the problem, and while for a time I found myself leaning on the company of a friend's dog to help me adapt to the sudden death of good friend, I tend to think that too many people depend too much on their dogs for the companionship that only another human can provide.
Regardless, dog owners are protective of their dogs, think of them as unique and as individual as they are, and take any threat to the animal's well-being as personal. So it's easy to imagine the concern bordering on panic when word reached dog owners that some pet food, ultimately quite a lot of it, was poisoned. If the contamination had been found to be the result of bad management or carelessness, the manufacturers would have been pilloried and fed, well, to the dogs. But one man's distress is another's opportunity, and the poisoning gave the manufacturers of uncontaminated dog food the opportunity to raise prices. But prices didn't go up, by and large, even though short supply and fixed demand should have made a price spike inevitable. Selling dog food is like selling cereal; neither is very profitable. The amount sold doesn't change much week to week, nor does the price paid by consumers, even though the prices of the ingredients such as beef, chicken, oils, and corn, can vary greatly every day, especially on the spot markets. A lot of dog food is bulky, oftentimes perishable and always expensive to transport, handle, and store, so the temptation to make a little extra must have been great. But pet food buyers would have recognized that they were being taken advantage of, and rebelled when normal production was restored. The brands that raised prices would only have alienated their regular customers and ultimately lost sales in the months and years to come.
Regardless, dog owners are protective of their dogs, think of them as unique and as individual as they are, and take any threat to the animal's well-being as personal. So it's easy to imagine the concern bordering on panic when word reached dog owners that some pet food, ultimately quite a lot of it, was poisoned. If the contamination had been found to be the result of bad management or carelessness, the manufacturers would have been pilloried and fed, well, to the dogs. But one man's distress is another's opportunity, and the poisoning gave the manufacturers of uncontaminated dog food the opportunity to raise prices. But prices didn't go up, by and large, even though short supply and fixed demand should have made a price spike inevitable. Selling dog food is like selling cereal; neither is very profitable. The amount sold doesn't change much week to week, nor does the price paid by consumers, even though the prices of the ingredients such as beef, chicken, oils, and corn, can vary greatly every day, especially on the spot markets. A lot of dog food is bulky, oftentimes perishable and always expensive to transport, handle, and store, so the temptation to make a little extra must have been great. But pet food buyers would have recognized that they were being taken advantage of, and rebelled when normal production was restored. The brands that raised prices would only have alienated their regular customers and ultimately lost sales in the months and years to come.
It's ironic that selling dog food isn't more lucrative. Dog owners must buy dog food, so the manufacturers could make whatever profit margin they wanted, especially if they all set the same price. When the price of beef, chicken, oils, or corn goes up, manufacturers should immediately reprice the bags and cans to reflect the spot market prices set in Chicago, instead of absorbing the higher costs of production and accepting smaller profit margins. Sure, dog owners would complain, but what choice would they have? Get rid of their dog? Get a smaller dog? Feed the dog less? And if a real crisis, like contaminated dog food, doesn't provide a reason to boost prices, then manufacturers could create a crisis by mishandling production to create the illusion of short supply to make more money.
Clearly, Ralston Purina could learn a lot from Exxon Mobil when it comes to making money. Demand for gasoline has risen by 40 percent since 1979, but not a single refinery has been built in this country in all that time, making short supply and higher prices inevitable. The oil refined into gas isn't bought on the spot market, but the spot market price for oil sets the price each day for the gasoline you buy at the pump. Ralston, like Exxon, should exploit the fact that no dog owner would swap his Labrador for a Pomeranian any more than a Yukon driver would switch to a Nova. From time to time dog food companies run contests to find owners that resemble their dogs. No oil company would run such a contest, not because there aren't overweight, well-padded, leather contoured drivers with a shiny roof and a full tank of gas like their SUV. It's because the oil companies have learned that dog owners, cat owners, or just plain folk, are all cows, willing to pay anything at the pump with no more than a moo of complaint. $3 a gallon hasn't changed the amount we use one bit; will you still be mooing at $4?
Clearly, Ralston Purina could learn a lot from Exxon Mobil when it comes to making money. Demand for gasoline has risen by 40 percent since 1979, but not a single refinery has been built in this country in all that time, making short supply and higher prices inevitable. The oil refined into gas isn't bought on the spot market, but the spot market price for oil sets the price each day for the gasoline you buy at the pump. Ralston, like Exxon, should exploit the fact that no dog owner would swap his Labrador for a Pomeranian any more than a Yukon driver would switch to a Nova. From time to time dog food companies run contests to find owners that resemble their dogs. No oil company would run such a contest, not because there aren't overweight, well-padded, leather contoured drivers with a shiny roof and a full tank of gas like their SUV. It's because the oil companies have learned that dog owners, cat owners, or just plain folk, are all cows, willing to pay anything at the pump with no more than a moo of complaint. $3 a gallon hasn't changed the amount we use one bit; will you still be mooing at $4?
