A Successful Pet Product Industry

The 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey found that 63% of American households own a pet, which is equal to about 71 million homes. It's no surprise, then, that pet owners spent $43.2 billion on their furry family members last year.

This year that number is expected to grow to $45.4 billion, despite an otherwise floundering economy. The growth of the pet product industry, which includes pet care products, services, live animal purchases and pet medicines, is astounding to many industry analysts.

The pet product industry has increased its supply of healthy pet food products and specialty brands, as consumers generally lean more toward environmental/nutritious purchases. Food niches for babies, active pets and seniors all ensure optimal nutrition for our pets.

Natural pet products offer organic, chemical-free options for health-conscious consumers and pet medications, like hairball remedy or tartar control products, are being packed right into pet treats. Premium foods may cost a few dollars more, but after a few tainted pet food scares or reports of harmful ingredients, people are more willing to shell out the extra dollars to ensure their pets' health.

So what pet product offerings are exciting judges of pet care products awards? In February, the Global Pet Expo awarded the following new products for their excellence: Lasso (www.dogmaticproducts.com), a security-locking leash; FroliCat BOLT (www.frolicat.com), which is a fun laser toy; the Polly Wanna Pinata Bird Toy (www.amazon.com), which is a straw, chewable bird pinata filled with treats.

The R2 Fish School (www.supercoolpets.com/archives/2008/09/r2_fish_school.php), which is a complete fish training system. These are just a few of the many new toys and pet supplies on the market that have consumers grabbing for their wallets.

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Loving Your Pet With Health Care Pet Supplies

While you're pet shopping, you'll probably notice there is an endless supply of products on the market. Does your dog really need a toothbrush? Will your cat need a hairball remedy? It can be difficult to discern the essentials from frivolous expenses, so here is a guide to purchasing the necessary health care pet supplies.

Fleas, ticks and mosquitoes are harbingers of disease for outdoor animals. As a general rule, pet owners should never use cat supplies on dogs or dog supplies on cats. They should also not use tick or flea care pet supplies on animals under 4 months of age.

Veterinarians can often recommend the best products, but Dr. Phillip Raclyn of the Riverside Animal Hospital in Manhattan recommends using prescription products, the Preventick Collar or topical products made by Frontline, Vectra or Revolution.

There are many pet care products on the market that promote pet health. However, the most important health care pet supplies you can purchase are quality food and veterinary care.

Immunized animals are much more capable of fighting off disease and surviving to old age. Animals that are brushed and bathed regularly are also better at fighting off disease. Food should contain limited fillers and be mostly comprised of meat.

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Pet Supply Store With Many Products And Services

Owning a pet supply store franchise is big business and is part of an $8 billion industry. There are approximately 7,500 retail pet supply stores in the United States, with the vast majority of them falling under the PetsMart, PetCo, Pet Supplies Plus or Petland banners.

The fifty largest companies account for 60% of sales and the industry is growing as the number of pet owners grows. If you are looking for a pet store to do business with, then here are some of the most popular.

PetCo is another popular pet supply store, with nearly 1,000 stores in all 50 U.S. states. As a company that began with just five employees in La Mesa, California, this seller of pet products now employs 22,000 people and is continuously growing. Like PetSmart, PetCo offers services like pet grooming, obedience classes and animal adoption.

Some stores offer vaccinations, pet photography, self-service dog washing stations and DNA breed testing. PetCo not only sells a wide variety of natural pet products, but they carry reusable shopping bags in all their stores, transport pets using recycled cardboard pet carriers, make their gift cards out of recycled products and work to conserve fuel efficiency by opening new distribution centers.

No matter which pet supply store a consumer chooses, there are many available products and services. Another great thing about these stores is that they both have a "pets allowed" policy, so dogs and cats can walk right into the store to pick out their own favorite toys or treats.

Some people may head online to find deeper discounts, better store hours and hassle-free shipping right to their front doors. Both PetCo and PetSmart offer convenient online shopping for their customers at www.petco.com and www.petsmart.com, respectively.

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Pets Animals Surviving The Economic Crisis

Last year, of the pets animals that shelters took in, most were due to owners who had "no time" to care for them or from "accidental pet pregnancies." This year, the overwhelming majority of pets arriving at shelters simply cannot be afforded by their owners during this rocky economic time.

In Chicago, there has been an 11% increase in donations, including pets that have had chips implanted and who had been loved their whole lives. Shelter workers say some pets arrive in need of expensive pet meds or surgery, but twice as many animals arrive appearing well-cared-for.

"People are making very hard choices," explained Rochelle Michalek, executive director of PAWS Chicago, a no-kill shelter. "Do I put food on the table? Do I feed my kids? It's heartbreaking."

It is a common myth that pets animals in shelters exhibit behavioral problems that cannot be fixed. In fact, being in a shelter with so many other animals is a stressful environment for any cat or dog for sale. It's sort of like a person who is loved and cared for their whole life being thrown in jail for no reason at all.

Most likely that person would also not act like him or herself while in jail! Once in a typical, nurturing environment again, many people and pets would then perk up and start acting normally again.

Additionally, many people avoid shelters because they prefer purebreds to mixed breeds. Yet 35 to 40% of the animals in shelters are purebred animals now. Moreover, there is no evidence to support that purebred pets live longer, are smarter or behave better.

While pets animals investments certainly aren't cheap, especially with all the tempting dog and cat supply products available, there are many more rewards to owning an animal. Studies show that owning pets lowers blood pressure, results in fewer visits to the doctor, relaxes the mind and improves the quality of life for people.

In fact, many people feel that pets are members of the family that make it easier to cope with loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress. By purchasing a shelter animal this month, owners can make the difference between life and death for a pre-loved pet.

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Shopping With Better Online Pet Supply Stores

Find pet products wholesale is easy if you find the right online pet supply shop. Whether you need pet crates, cat beds, horse supplies or reptile supplies, there are a number of websites that cater to the pet owner who'd rather not carry hefty items around the store and wait in line. With all the special online discounts and exclusive promotions, you'll wonder why you had ever shopped at an actual store.

Another ideal place to search online pet supply deals is at the Amazon marketplace (www.amazon.com), which has over 176,000 pet supplies online. By typing in "Pet supplies" on the homepage, pet owners will reach a landing page where they can narrow down the search to dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles or small animals.

Amazon pools together a number of other sellers, like PetCo, www.entirelypets.com, www.petfooddirect.com and others. Additionally, shoppers can search pet products by brand, such as Frontline Plus, Canidae, Wellness, Drinkwell and Advantage. While perusing cat or dog goods, consumers can also read product reviews, check ratings and get the guaranteed lowest prices for their items.

No matter where you decide to shop for your online pet supply goods, you'll enjoy the no-hassle approach. There are many different purchase options, including credit card, Paypal, Bill Me Later and Google Checkout. Purchasing pet supplies online is safe and secure, which is why over half of all pet owners have purchased something online.

In 1999, pet supply retailers were predicted to be one of the largest areas of growth online. At first there were a number of small pet store start-ups, but many of those sites (like www.pets.com, for instance) have since been usurped by giants like PetSmart and turned into pet owner social networks with blogs, photos, stories, forums and videos.

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Avoiding Chemicals When Controlling Weeds

Controlling weeds without chemicals is essential, if you wish to keep your organic garden free of chemicals, including herbicides and pesticides. By keeping your eyes open, you can see when weeds are starting to sprout and you can pull them out, before they grow too big. Another option is to purchase weed control fabric and mulch from your local nursery. This method will prevent many weeds from sprouting.

Weeds are a pest and if you let them take over your garden, then your garden plants will have to compete against them for nutrients in order to grow. Some weeds may even be poisonous against your plants. This is why you need to make efforts to control the weeds in your garden, without the use of toxic chemicals.

When you work in your garden, you should always wear garden gloves, especially when you are making efforts to control weeds, as some of the weeds may be poisonous to your skin and to other plants in your garden. Just like a doctor wears surgical gloves before he performs a medical procedure, you should always wear garden gloves every time you are in the garden.

By using these steps to control weeds, you are making it easier to grow plants in your garden and flower beds. Helping your plants retain the nutrients, rather than being stolen by intruders like weeds. You are then rewarded for your efforts, with pesticide and chemical free vegetables, fruit and herbs, helping to enrich your meals in the family home.

If you have been eating fruit and vegetable bought from the food store, you may start to realise all the taste and flavours you have been missing once you start eating organic produce grown in your garden. You may have not realised what these fruit really taste like, as many fruit and vegetables are treated with chemicals in farms.

Although you can buy certified organic fruit and vegetables in many food stores, you will feel you have made the effort to control the weeds in your garden, and therefore you do not need to buy as much organic produce, by growing your own organic produce in your garden.

After all, when you are taking your time to ensure everything grows chemical free, then you do not need to use chemicals for controlling weeds.

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Your Fish Pond With Live Water Plants

Water plants in a fish pond in the backyard, are quite common these days. Although many people place plastic plants, which require less maintenance, I choose to use live water plants, as I have plenty of experience with growing plants in water. I do not mind the extra time needed to keep the plants from taking over the living conditions of the pond.

When growing plants in a fish pond, you need to ensure that the plants to do not take over the pond and make the conditions difficult for fish. Just like, you need to keep weeds out of your garden, you need to ensure the plants in your pond do not proliferate everywhere and block out the light, making it difficult for the fish to survive and move around.

I also have an organic garden nearby, where I grow much of the organic produce we use for cooking and making delicious salads. Now that I have more time to look after my garden, I use my knowledge to grow pepper, tomato, cabbage, garlic, onions and many herbs. I now even have a small greenhouse nearby, so that I can grow my vegetable, fruit and herbs all year round, free from pesticides and toxic chemicals.

I have also placed a small number of miniature fruit trees, to grow fresh fruit, and pick them, fresh off the branch, whenever we need them. As our backyard is not huge, we have just enough room for the fish pond, the organic garden and the miniature trees.

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