How to find pet YouTubers for brand deals

Updated 2 October 2026

The short version

Pet YouTubers are organised by species first and topic second: dog training, cat behaviour, aquariums, reptiles and small animals have separate audiences. Search the problems owners type, such as "puppy biting" or "nano aquarium setup", and note who answers with their own animals. Check how animals are treated on camera and how health claims are made, and send products early enough for a real trial.

Pet channels by species and topic

A dog owner and a reef-tank keeper have almost nothing in common as buyers. Pick the species your product is for, then the topic within it.

Dog training and behaviour: Recall, reactivity, puppy training and loose-lead walking. Fits treats, harnesses, enrichment toys and training apps, depending on the methods the creator teaches.
Dog care and lifestyle: Grooming, feeding, breed-specific channels and days out with dogs. Fits food, grooming products, beds, insurance and dog-friendly travel.
Cats: Behaviour, indoor enrichment, multi-cat homes and senior cats. Fits litter, scratchers, food, water fountains and climbing furniture.
Aquariums and fishkeeping: Tank builds, aquascaping, water chemistry and species care. A technical audience: fits filtration, lighting, plants, test kits and livestock suppliers.
Reptiles and exotics: Enclosure builds and husbandry for reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Fits heating, lighting, substrates and enclosures, and husbandry accuracy is watched closely.
Small animals and birds: Rabbits, guinea pigs, rats and parrots. Fits housing, bedding, food and enrichment, for viewers who care a great deal about space and welfare.
Rescue and fostering: Rehabilitation stories and adoption updates. Fits food, care and insurance brands, and works best when the sponsor supports the care rather than the drama.

Searches pet owners make

puppy biting how to stop
loose lead walking
reactive dog training
dog food for sensitive stomach
dog harness review
new puppy checklist
what I feed my dog
cat enrichment ideas
cat not using litter tray
best cat water fountain
planted tank for beginners
nano aquarium setup
leopard gecko enclosure setup
indoor rabbit setup

Problem searches surface trainers and experienced owners who explain, and "what I feed" or "setup" searches surface creators showing their real routines. Pet brands make few videos like these, so the results are mostly creators.

Sponsorship formats that work with animals

Format	Fits	Note
Trial over several weeks	Food, supplements, litter, grooming	Animals need time to adjust. Agree the trial period before asking for a verdict.
Training tutorial	Treats, harnesses, clickers, apps	The product supports the method, not the other way round.
Setup or build video	Tanks, enclosures, cat trees, crates	Watched for years by owners building their own.
"What I feed" or daily routine	Food, bowls, fountains, toys	Only works if the animal really eats or uses it.
First reaction	Toys, treats, subscription boxes	The animal can't be scripted. Accept what happens.

For food and health products the trial is worth the wait: a pet that turns its nose up on camera is honest, and viewers trust the channel more for showing it. Sponsorship formats covers how each is briefed.

Welfare and health claims

Animal welfare on camera. Look at how animals are handled, whether they look stressed in staged shots, and whether "funny" content depends on the animal's discomfort. Owners notice, and they name the sponsor in the comments.
Training methods. Dog training has strong camps, especially about aversive tools. Know which approach a creator teaches before your product appears in it.
Health and vet claims. Supplements, food and parasite treatments sit close to veterinary territory. Don't let a script claim what your product can't support, and prefer creators who send viewers to their vet over ones who replace the vet.
Husbandry accuracy. Fish, reptiles and small animals have specific needs, and the community is quick to point out an undersized tank or wrong temperature. Your product shown in a poor setup reflects on you.
Real routines. Products shown once and never again suggest a channel built around sponsorships. Look for items that recur in older videos.

Use the general vetting checklist for audience and engagement.

Timing in the pet year

Pet content is steadier through the year than most niches, but a few moments recur. Fireworks seasons bring noise-anxiety and calming content. Summer brings heat safety, travelling with pets and holiday care. The warmer months are kitten season for rescues, and November and December bring gift guides. Leave time for a trial on top of the creator's filming schedule.

How Nakodo helps

Nakodo writes its search keywords from your website, so an aquarium plant shop gets searches about planted tanks and aquascaping, not pets in general. You can edit the brief before it searches. Each channel gets a score from 0 to 100 across relevance, audience fit, engagement, comment quality and recency, with each part explained in a sentence.

It sorts sampled comments into questions, discussion, praise, spam and self-promotion, which helps on pet channels where most comments can be praise for the animal. Nakodo writes only to the business email the creator publishes, and each first email it sends on your behalf mentions a specific recent video. The method is on how it works.

Questions

How do I find pet YouTubers to sponsor?

Choose the species and topic your product fits, such as dog training or aquariums, then search YouTube for the problems owners type, like "loose lead walking" or "nano aquarium setup". Shortlist creators who answer with their own animals. Check animal welfare and how they handle health claims before you get in touch.

How much do pet influencers charge on YouTube?

It depends on the creator's views, the format and how long a trial takes. Start from median views on recent videos and a cost per thousand views you can justify, then adjust for longer formats such as a food trial. The sponsorship cost calculator shows the arithmetic.

Can pet YouTubers make health claims about a product?

Only claims your product can support, and claims about treating or preventing illness may fall under veterinary medicine rules where you sell. Brief creators with approved wording and ask them to point viewers to a vet for health questions. Take advice if your product makes any health claim.

Is gifting pet products enough, or should I pay?

Gifting suits low-cost items like toys and treats, where a creator may feature something their animal genuinely likes. A guaranteed video or a long trial is work and should be paid. Either way, a video that features it needs disclosing; see product seeding.

What should I look for in a pet channel's comments?

Look past praise for the animal to questions about care, products and setups. Comments asking where something is from, or how to solve the same problem, suggest viewers act on what they watch. A channel full of hearts and no questions may be entertaining without selling much.