25 best pet affiliate programs in 2023

You can unlock massive earning potential with pet affiliate programs. Sure, some audiences still have the “dog outside” and “only scraps for cats” mentality. But it’s 2023, and more people than ever own a pet — especially American millennials. 

Still, we’re not just seeing more people owning pets. We’re seeing people spend more on their pets now more than ever. One recent study found that people are spending 33% more on their pets, due to a preference for higher-quality food and high-quality products. 

Case in point — the endless orthopedic memory foam dog beds on the market now. 

Another recent trend? Animal videos on social media. They used to only be on America’s Funniest Home Videos and YouTube, but now they’re on Instagram, TikTok Reels, Pinterest, and Facebook. 

What does that mean for pet brands? A massive opportunity to market their pet products via affiliate marketing. 

We’ll walk through some unique features of the pet niche, top pet affiliate programs for inspiration, and how you can launch and level-up your pet affiliate program with Tapfiliate. 

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What is a pet affiliate program?

A pet affiliate program is an affiliate program for brands that offer pet-related products or services. 

You’re a pet brand if you offer or comprise any of these sub-niches, products, or services: 

• Pet foods provider: Everything from kibble and organic raw beef to fish pellets and crickets for reptiles. 
  
• Pet sitting services: This could be individual businesses or application platforms like TrustedHouseSitters. 
  
• Gear: Carriers, harnesses, cute collars, and hair products are a few examples. 
  
• Pet grooming services or products: You could buy nail clippers from one brand, or have another take care of grooming for you.  
  
• Pet training education or services: Cesar Milan, anyone?
  
• Pet care, medical, and wellness products: Your pup can get depressed, too — CBD and Zoloft are the tip of the iceberg for wellness products. 
  
• Pet tech: GPS trackers, health monitors, and camera monitors all fall into this category. 

What’s incredible about the pet niche is that it’s moved on from simple brick-and-mortar and in-person services to the SaaS and eCommerce realms, too. 

So how do you move your marketing services to the affiliate realm?

Welcome to the age of pet influencers!

How does it work?

Affiliate marketing is a marketing tactic where affiliate publishers promote a brand’s products or services and receive a commission per sale or per successful lead they bring to the brand’s business. 

The appeal? Serious audience engagement and cost-effective marketing. That’s why affiliate marketing investment increased by nearly 47% from 2018 to 2021.

Here are a few different pet affiliate types:  

• Influencers: Remember that famous Shiba Inu you follow on Instagram? He might be an affiliate for a wide range of pet product providers. Here’s an example of another pet influencer: 

• Comparison websites: Your audience seeks a roundup of the best dog GPS trackers. If you pick a comparison website publisher as an affiliate, you might end up on their radar: 

• Content and review websites: You might recognize the New York Times as an American source of editorials and news — but they also run a subset of the site known as the Wire Cutter, which reviews products and shares results with readers. Here’s an example that they covered about pet subscription boxes: 

• Pet bloggers: A savvy blogger might run a high-traffic niche blog about traveling with pets, caring for special needs pets, or any other endless theme we could think of in the animal kingdom. This one caters to everything cats, including product reviews, roundups, comparisons, and helpful tips: 

• Coupon websites: These high-traffic sites cater to the bargain hunters online. While coupon and discount sites might demand a higher commission, it’s often worth it for the sheer traffic they can lead to your products. Even PetSmart has an affiliate partnership with famous coupon site, RetailMeNot:

PS — Tapfiliate helps you track unique discount and coupon codes. Learn more about 👉tracking coupon usage on our blog!

• Video affiliates: If your audience loves a good YouTube video, this is an affiliate type you won’t wanna miss. This niche fish influencer reviews various products while promoting his affiliate discount code in the description: 

This is the tip of the iceberg. 

You can also forge affiliate partnerships with loyalty and cashback sites, podcasters, wishlist aggregators, and pretty much anyone else with a platform that caters to your audience. 

How to create a pet affiliate program for your brand

Whether you want to launch an affiliate or referral program — Tapfiliate has you covered. Our affiliate managemen platform helps ecommerce brands build their programs from scratch. Yes, pet subscription providers are welcome, too. 

Here’s how you can create a pet affiliate program. 

1. Decide on products and services. Do you want to promote your entire inventory? Maybe you have a select few items not selling that you’d like to get out to your audience. Think about which products you’d like to sell via an affiliate.
   

2. Sign up for Tapfiliate. You’ll need somewhere to track your affiliate sales, performance, and brand assets. Tapfiliate is an all-in-one platform with endless integrations to help you create, launch, and scale your affiliate program. 
   

3. Pick pricing and commission rates. How much are you willing to shell out in exchange for a sale? Look at your competitors’ affiliate programs for inspiration. Also consider the cost of discounts and coupons. PS — Tapfiliate offers flexible commission structures for different affiliates, along with performance bonuses.
   

4. Recruit your affiliates. Tapfiliate’s brands have recruited over 1.4 million affiliates through the Admitad Partner Network. Consider what you’re looking for in an affiliate — influencers, follower types, publishing style — and with the click of a few buttons, you can have affiliates promoting your brand ASAP. 
   

5. Onboard your affiliates. Personalize your affiliate dashboard with social media assets, messaging, and colors to help your affiliates promote your brand the way you want them to. 
   

6. Send out affiliate links and coupon codes. Share affiliate links and codes through the platform with your affiliates. These will help you keep track of which products are selling and which affiliates are performing. 
   

7. Measure progress. Tapfiliate helps you track every dollar you make through your affiliate program. Our unique tracking links show you every conversion, whether their one-off purchases or batch orders. You can even set up conversion goals to help you strategize your next move. 

Now that you know the basics of starting a program, you’re ready to look at competitors for inspiration. We’ll walk you through the best pet affiliate programs in 2023. 

What are the best pet affiliate programs in 2023?

Luckily, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. While more pet affiliate programs mean more competition, they also offer an opportunity for you to learn and improve your offerings for both potential affiliates and customers. 

Let’s dive into the best pet product affiliate programs and beyond!

1. Bulletproof Pet Products

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission rate: Up to 10% 

This niche brand sells some of the world’s most durable dog toys — guaranteed! Their affiliate program offers a generous 10% maximum to affiliates that can successfully sell the brand’s non-toxic, indestructible dog toys. 

2. Chewy Affiliate Program

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission rate: 4% 

Chewy is a popular pet product ecommerce shop in the states — but they’ve recently tapped into the pet healthcare market, too. 

They sell a wide variety of pet products across 2,000 different brands, which garners them a ton of traffic. Still, their commission rate isn’t competitive compared to others on our list, — but they do reach larger audiences. 

3. Furbo Dog Camera Affiliate Program

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission rate: 10%

Did your audience hop on the puppy trend during COVID? Furbo continues the fun even when they have to go back into the office, with their interactive cameras! 

A leader in pet tech, Furbo has a generous affiliate program considering they’re high order values. If you sell pet tech, you’ll generally command higher prices, which attracts high-ticket affiliates for those commissions!

4. Hepper Cat Affiliate Program

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission rate: 12%

Hepper appeals to anyone who takes pleasure in spoiling their kitty cats. The premium cat product provider has a wide variety of products and customer-centric policies, like a two-year warranty and easy returns.

This pet brand’s average order value of $60 also makes the commission rate quite competitive. 

5. Innovet’s Pet Affiliate Program

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission rate: 20%-40%

Innovet sells a wide range of pet wellness products for cats, dogs, horses, birds, and beyond. You’ll find tooth ointments, CBD oil, and probiotics, along with a ton of food products. This brand knows the value of a strong affiliate partner — that’s why they reward them with a 40% commission, even on a $60 average order value!

Additionally, affiliates can track performance through Innovet’s link to the Awin affiliate network. 

6. Embark Vet

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission rate: 10%

We all know how much coin people pay for boutique breeds, right? Poodles, sphynxes, and English bulldogs are a few examples. 

Well, we’re going to dive into a serious sub-niche of the pet niche: breeding. Embark offers breeding kits and DNA veterinary resources, along with health tests for the average pet owner. 

7. Pet Wellbeing

• Cookie time: 60 days
• Commission rate: 10%

If your audience seeks pet supplements, tinctures, and other vet-approved aids — look to Pet Wellbeing for inspiration. This affiliate program has an impressive 60-day cookie window, which appeals to affiliates. The best affiliates want to share products with as many perks as possible, so Pet Wellbeing’s free shipping on orders over $50 is a nice add-on. 

A nice bonus? The brand invites affiliates to get in touch if they have immense traffic potential, as higher commissions and even longer cookie windows are on the table. 

If you want to incentivize affiliates for strong performance, you need a reward system in place. Tapfiliate can help with bonuses!

8. Animal Den

• Cookie time: 45 days
• Commission rate: 12-13%, tiered

Think of all your friends’ unique pets. Bernese Mountain Dog? Pet fighter fish? Tabby cat? Well, Animal Den has select gifts for pretty much every pet species. Meaning? They are top fodder for affiliate gift guides — and easy to feature. 

While products might not have as high value as the more tech pet companies on our list, Animal Den’s tiered commission structure helps affiliates feel value for their hard work. 

9. Halo Collar

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission rate: $50 per sale

Raw dog and cat food are a health trend amongst pet owners, and Halo Collar is on it! They sell raw treats with minimal food processing and high protein — plus, they offer a generous $50 per sale! 

This pet brand also offers a multitude of branded assets for affiliates to use through WooCommerce. 

10. Fitbark

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission: 12%

Fitbark sells GPS trackers for dogs that require an app download and subscription plan. Pet owners love them — over 10 hours of battery life and user-friendliness result in some pretty solid reviews. 

Affiliates can earn 12% in commission, but high-performers could receive even higher, at Fitbark’s team’s discretion. One more thing: Fitbark refuses coupon website affiliates. That’s their prerogative of course, though they might miss out on a larger audience base this way. 

11. PawHealer

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission: 15%

Merging the pet and wellness niches, PawHealer sells herbal remedies for dogs based on traditional Chinese medicine. 

From supplements and topicals to pain management and kidney support, PawHealer’s products appeal to pretty much every pet owner’s concerns. Plus, the 15% commission for new customers is substantial when average order values hit $85! 

Keep in mind, however, that existing customers only generate a 7.5% commission for affiliates. 

12.  Cherrybrook

• Cookie time: 90 days
• Commission: Not listed

This premium retailer for pet supplies has been around since 1969, with a long history of excellence for not only pet owners, but also more professional parties like dog handlers and breeders. 

Cherrybrook wins points with affiliates for its long-winded, 90-day cookie time. 

13. Barkbox

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission: $18-$20; 10%

Barkbox is a pet subscription service that caters specifically to dogs — food, treats, accessories, dental products, and more. The platform offers flat-fee commissions depending on the tier of the subscription plan purchased. Amounts range from $18 to $20 per sign-up, plus a 10% commission per food sale. 

Psssst. Are you a subscription service like Barkbox? Tapfiliate’s software sees over 👀 150,000 affiliate-driven subscription purchases each month. Try our 👉 free trial today.

14. Paw.com

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission: 10%

Lush doggie blankets and beauty products for pooches are a few of Paw.com’s offerings. But their piece de resistance has to be their orthopedic dog beds, customizable to fit any space. The platform appeals to the growing number of pet owners that crave luxury for their pets and offers a generous 10% per sale.

15. LivePeeFree

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission: 30%

This pet brand sells unique cleaning products that eliminate pet odors, including for pee. They also have daily dog and cat combo deals that could appeal to budget-oriented readers. 

Affiliates can make 30% in commission on products they sell and can appeal to audiences with an introductory 20% coupon. 

16. The Online Dog Trainer

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission: 70%

Course creators really value a high conversion rate — more than the average ecommerce shop or retailer. Why? We can see it from their consistently insane commission values. Each affiliate earns a fat 70% commission for every course they manage to sell. 

17. Holistapet

• Cookie time: Not listed
• Commission: 35%

California-based Holistapet is one of the top providers of CBD pet health products, offering a wide range of products and accessories for cats, dogs, and horses. 

The brand’s affiliate program is welcoming to all affiliates regardless of specific industry experience and presents a generous 35% commission!

18. Bark Potty

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission: 10%

Bark Potty sells a variety of dog products, with many centered around potty training. 

The affiliate program offers a 10% commission, and publishers can leverage the brand’s creative assets and sustainability focus in their marketing efforts. 

19. Pet Plan

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission: $43

Pet Plan is a pet insurance provider with over 50 years of operation under its belt. Based in London, UK, the brand offers a wide range of coverage options for cats and dogs. 

Affiliate marketers enjoy a generous $43 (35 GBP) per purchase, which is a solid return compared to others on this list. The brand also provides creative assets like social media visuals and banners. 

20. This Dog’s Life

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission: 10%

Affiliates will enjoy marketing to pet-loving audiences with This Dog’s Life’s wide range of lifestyle content and their best-selling dog dental line. The brand sells pet products from some of the most premium providers across the globe, meaning they’ll appeal to many audiences. 

Commissions are a normal 10% with a standard 30-day cookie window. 

21. PetPlate

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission: $25

USDA-organic-grade dog food? Yes, please! PetPlate’s subscription food boxes stand out for its 100% human consumption-safe qualities alongside healthy ingredients to improve dog health. The fact that both pets and humans can eat it offer up plenty of fun marketing opportunities for PetPlate’s affiliates. 

22. Whistle

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission: 10%

Whistle is another GPS provider for pets, boasting average order values above $100. Cha-ching for affiliates, with that 10% commission and performance incentives. 

Don’t underestimate the value of a bonus. They’re fabulous for attracting top affiliate talent and retaining them. If you’re interested in offering your affiliates incentives too, check out our Bonus capabilities on Tapfiliate!

23. King Kanine

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission: 15%

King Kanine’s CBD pet products have earned them US national acclaim, as they’ve been featured on news channels like CBS and ABC News. Talk about strong PR — a serious pro in the professional affiliate’s eyes, as customers are more likely to buy with a bit of media coverage and customer trust. 

As for commissions? We’d say it’s less competitive than some of the other CBD providers on our list, at 15%. 

24. Brain Training 4 Dogs

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission: 75%

A 75% commission is pretty unheard of, but Brain Training 4 Dogs offers it to every affiliate who successfully sells a course spot. Pair that with regular free giveaways? What an easy sell for affiliate audiences!

The educator has been featured on national news sources in the US and has a ton of credentials to urge niche authority and consequent purchases. Finally, the company’s sales pages have proven conversion success, which puts affiliates at ease. 

25. Yumwoof

• Cookie time: 30 days
• Commission: 5% to 10%

This Austin-based pet nutrition subscription company serves up personalized nutrition plans for your pooches. Commission payouts range from 5% to 10%, but the brand’s impressive $200 EPC is enough to catch a super affiliate’s eye!

Get started with pet affiliate programs today

The pet niche is competitive. You might have a fabulous product, but you’re competing with high-ticket affiliate programs from big names like Eddie Bauer and Walmart, companies that sell pet products as a cherry on top. 

But affiliate marketing is a fabulous way to get ahead of the competition. You can connect with your audience on a more authentic level via the people they already trust on social media. 

Still, you’ll need a strategy for partner recruitment and performance management. Of course, you could hire a dedicated affiliate manager. Or, you could cut that cost into a fraction using an affiliate tracking tool like Tapfiliate. 

Ready to get your pet affiliate marketing program off the ground? Tapfiliate gives you everything you need to launch, manage, and scale your affiliate program. Try your free 14-day trial today!