How proposed tariffs could drive up the price of pet care for owners across the country
Mar 24, 2025
INDIANAPOLIS Owning a pet comes with major responsibilities, but now pet owners are raising concerns about rising costs and how President Trump's proposed tariffs will impact their wallets."I own a King Charles Cavalier. His na
me's Winston," Ellie Cornett said. "I have a Pembroke Welsh corgi," Steven Howes said.The cost of being a pet owner is skyrocketing."He's under a year right now. You have to buy the specific pet food for a puppy, that's usually like $50 a bag, and he goes through that in like a month. So that's a big expense as a college student for sure," Cornett said."He is AKC registered, so it's always naturally expensive, but I think just even vaccinations have almost doubled for me," Howes said. According to USA Today, Rover's latest "True Cost of Pet Parenthood Report" shows dog owners can expect costs to increase as much as 7% and cat owners could see a 10% increase this year."As a dog owner of multiple dogs, I strongly disagree that pet food is cheap," Professor Andreas Hauskrecht, who teaches business economics at the IU Kelley School of Business, said.Most pet owners have concerns about proposed tariffs and how they will raise the price of pet products even higher. "Soft food is sold in cans, so obviously cans are getting more expensive because of the tariffs on steel and aluminum," Hauskrecht said. "In the supply chain, not necessarily in the processing, but in the ingredients of dog food, we also have a significant supply chain with Mexico, to a certain degree with Canada, but certainly with Mexico."A reality, one pet owner tells me won't discourage him from giving Ollie the best life."I think if you know avid dog lovers, avid cat lovers, it's not going to stop us by any means necessary, Howes said. "It's like having children, he's my third kid.""We, as Hoosiers, should care about because Indiana as a state is deeply involved in the very complicated supply chains," Hauskrecht said.Rover predicts the average annual cost of a dog for 2025 is between $1,400 to $5,200. The annual cost of a cat is between $750 to $3,500. ...read more read less
