JUNE

1 Tie into local Pride Month festivities to show your inclusivity and support for all pet parents. Some ideas from 2024: All Pets Considered in Greensboro, NC, created a “Love Is Love” display featuring Pride toys and accessories, with Pride cookies for pups also available. Yarn & Bone stores in Delaware sponsored the 1st Annual Pet Parade at Delaware Pride, handing out gift bags to the first 50 pet parents who signed up. And Lakeshore Pet Boutique in Douglas, MI, hung in front and sold Pride flags on behalf of event organizers Community Pride MI. Salons can even get in on the action with colorful rainbow grooms!

14 & 15 On Dog Dad Day and Father’s Day weekend, celebrate these special family members. We love what Three Happy Hounds in Fernley, NV, did last year: The store held a “Dads and Donuts” event, offering a free chew with purchase, donuts for the humans, and a branded “Best Dog Dad Ever” sticker.

16-20 In the pet industry, we don’t need a designated week to take our pets to work. Many of them serve as store and office pets already! But Pet Sitters International’s annual Take Your Pet to Work Week does give you an opportunity to shine a brighter light on the role they play in your business. Brag about them on your socials and promote products they use to be employee of the month every month: a fancy new bandana in line with the company dress code, treats for being very good boys and girls, and perhaps a lick mat with a calming spreadable for when they need to be extra-quiet during meetings.

24 On Cat World Domination Day, encourage your customers to meet every demand of their favorite feline, with help from your store, of course. Their cat wants a full cabinet of only the highest-quality food and treats, a new scratcher or bed, and all the catnip toys they can bat around. Partner with brands on promotions. Several offered savings tied to the “holiday” last year.

JULY

1 ID Your Pet Day kicks off Lost Pet Prevention Month, giving you the perfect opportunity to promote your collar, tag and other gear offerings. Boost those sales while helping customers prepare for the worst: their pet getting loose after being spooked by summer fireworks. Also, if you offer a microchip scanning service, promote the heck out of that, too. Customers — current and potential — will appreciate the community support.

4 Leading up to Independence Day in 2024, Petz Place in New Philadelphia, OH, sold Firework Survival Kits. Shown at top, the kits contained a bag of CBD treats, two chews, and a lick mat with two pouches of spreadables, priced at $39.99 for the small dog version and $49.99 for large dogs. The cat version had a jar of CBD treats, two catnip toys, and a lick mat with two pouches of spreadables, priced at $34.99. When store leader Holly Mason shared her promotion in the PETS+ Facebook Community the week before July 4 last year, members gratefully took her idea and ran with it, with similar kits popping up across the country in time for the holiday. Mason plans to offer the kits again this year, hoping to sell even more than last year at the 50% margin.

6-13 It’s Shark Week on Discovery Channel! Which means it’s time for your business to ride that wave of network publicity and promotions. Some inspiration from 2024: Four Leggers in Beverly, MA, offered 10% off shark-themed toys and also promoted its Nursery School for Puppies, complete with a BABYSHARK coupon code. (Apologies if you now have “Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo” stuck in your head like we do.) And The Hipster Hound in Savannah, GA, created an elaborate Shark Week display complete with ocean-themed foods, treats and toys, plus a fun Shark Week photo op.

The Hipster Hound in Savannah, GA, offered a fun Shark Week photo op to coincide with Shark Week last year.

31 Purebred pups get meetups and magnets and other breed-specific events and products, so even out the options for the many mixes in your community with a special promotion on National Mutt Day. Bend Pet Express in Bend, OR, does a National Mutt Day Giveaway each year. Customers simply share a photo on the store’s socials with a comment about how they came up with their pup’s name to enter a drawing for a prize pack. Another fun idea: Have customers share a photo of their mutt, then ask your followers to guess the breed! We’re betting there will be more than a few Doodle combos.