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Obesity is one of the great health challenges in the Western world. So it is perhaps not too shocking that people who overeat and don’t exercise tend to overfeed their dogs and don’t give them enough exercise.

Sad news coming out of the UK today says that half of British dogs will die of obesity. That’s a claim made by The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals and while there are no similar stats available for America right now, we can only assume that there is some correlation. Sadly, like people, dogs are getting fatter.

Now, franchising is helping to pioneer one solution to the epidemic of dog obesity: the dog fitness center. It may come at a cost, but across the country, franchises like Zoom Room and The Dog Room have popped up to offer an opportunity to re-invent the dog walk. As a former dog owner myself, my first instinct was to cringe at the popularity of such places. I find there are few things better than experiencing the quietude of nature with man’s best friend. That said, these days, people don’t have the time to spend in parks, especially after a hard day of work, and a dog fitness centre is the ideal compromise. It gets exercise for the dog while the owner can chat with a few other dog owners.

Will these dog fitness franchises cure the problem of dog obesity? Maybe so, maybe not. But the spread of these businesses shows the scale of the problem of the country. We know how much people will spend on their pets. Hopefully news stories like this will make those who overfeed their pets realize that, in line with dietary changes, dogs need to be walked. For those who don’t like to walk through their local neighborhood, dog fitness franchises offer a great exercise alternative.

How will the pet franchise sector fare in the changing business waters of the new decade? It’s a question on many minds, as pet franchises have rapidly grown in the past decade.

Laura Bennett has written a very detailed forecast of the 11 trends that will shape the pet franchise sector in 2010 over at the Small Business Trends website. The prognosis seems to be that economy will still, of course, play a major role in the development of the sector. As a result, franchisors and franchisees will have to be more self-critical of how their business operates.

But just because times are hard, it doesn’t mean that people will abandon their pets entirely. In fact, as America’s pet population ages, Ms Bennett predicts that there will more money spent on supplies and medicine and that pet insurance will become more common. Ms Benett also suggests an interesting phenomenon called ‘pet health care’ that might be the next pet big franchising sector.

She also predicts social media outlets like blogs and Twitter to play a greater role in defining the pet services and businesses that will survive this hard economic moment.

These are interesting times for pet lovers. We’ll be watching how the industry fares in the coming months.

Pet franchises are a franchise sector that confounds many people. It’s remarkable to see all of the franchised businesses that have grown around our love for our pets. But given the situation that the economy is in, many people are unsure if there will be new restrictions on Americans love for their pets.

With statistics on the industry pending, we are reliant primarily on the first-person experiences of franchisees.

But thanks to the magic of media, we have just learned of a heartening experience on the industry from one pet franchisor in particular.

The Wall Street Journal has one of the most exciting franchise success stories we’ve read in a long time. It’s a profile of Amy Nichols. Ms Nichols, like most Americans loves animals, but she never thought she would make a living working with them. A great saleswoman, Nichols was successful with a number of companies but she found that the work itself didn’t fulfill her. And she wanted a job where her dog Griffin could accompany her. So she started Happy Trails Dog Spa.

Not that it was easy. Banks were skeptical, to say the least, and doggie day care businesses were hardly mainstream back at the beginnning of the decade. But Nichols eventually got a break, and with a small team and a brilliant concept, her business took off.

I take a few key lessons from this exciting article. Firstly, there is still huge potential in the pet franchise sector. The challenge is discovering, or even creating, the next growth industry.

People not interested in working with pets will also find much inspiration in this story. Ms Nichols was driven to opening Happy Tails, which later became Dogtopia, by the simple desire to work on her own terms. Even franchising was something of a second thought, but once the business took off, it was inevitable that it would spread. There are now 18 Dogtopia’s in 10 states and a number of competitors, such as Preppy Pet Suites. Franchising has helped Amy realize her business dreams and it can do the same for you.

Here at the Franchise Blog, we like to take a lighter look at things every now again. Examining the difficulties in the global economy can be a grind, so it’s nice to highlight a positive story, and they don’t get quirkier than this: a retired Memphis mailman has opened a dog day care business.

That’s right. Dennis Diffie and his wife Terrie opened a Camp Bow Wow franchise two weeks ago. Dennis obviously has buried the hatchet with man’s best friend, who certainly terrorized him during his career as a postman. It’s nice to see that franchising has provided him with a way to make peace with canine race.

“We looked for buildings to rent and possibly renovate,” Diffee told the Memphis Daily News. “The cost was anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 to put it in somebody else’s building so we just decided to build our own.”

Diffie, who was considering buying a pizza franchise. has made a big investment in Camp Bow Wow and is already reaping the rewards. Customers have been enjoying Camp Bow Wow’s technological innovations, which include laptops that allow them to check on their pets from long distances.

If a former mailman can start a second career with Camp Bow Wow, then almost anyone can enjoy success through franchising in this dog-eat-dog world.

One franchise sector we’re watching with great interest during the economic downturn is pet franchises. In many ways, the extensive boom of pet franchises over the last decade was one of the clearest indicators that we were all flush with cash. Not only were we pampering ourselves, but the explosion of niche pet businesses showed how willing to pamper the animals we love as well.

Polls of consumer attitudes across the board show that people are spending much less than they were in the past and trying to make their money go further. And so perhaps consumers are not buying that new car, but where do they draw the line where their pets are concerned? There are so many different pet franchises now, with everything from pet food courier services to mobile pet cleaners on offer. But can they survive?

Over on the Small Business Trends blog, which is one of our favorite small biz blogs, Joel Libava has an interesting breakdown of the industry and lends his own opinion on a variety of pet franchise concepts. Joel doesn’t offer any direct advice about whether or not to buy a pet franchise, and instead provides analysis as a pet-lover with a grasp of the business world. Readers considering buying a pet franchise will come away with some common-sense wisdom.

“If you are a pet owner, you know the costs involved in keeping your pet happy and in tip-top shape.  Franchises can delivery the quality and consistency you crave,” he says.

Many of these new pet franchises take the work out of owning a pet. Yet some of these statistics from the American Pets Production Association are staggering:

• 62% of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to 71.4 millions homes
• $45.4 billion will be spent on our pets in the U.S.
• $3.4 billion of that figure will be spent on grooming & boarding

The fascinating thing is that even when the economy is down, America’s love affair with their pets goes on and on.