Faux Mice, Snuffle Mats and Day Care Passes Top November Pet Store Sales

Fluffy Fur Mouse from WARE has been a huge seller for us. We merchandise them on our checkout counter, and they have been an amazing impulse item. — Keith Henline, Asheville Pet Supply, Asheville, NC

PRODUCTS

• Snuffle mats are doing really well this season. We brought in the INJOYA line and are pleased with their selection and pricing so far. — Jennifer Guevin, Holistic for Pets, Bradenton, FL
• November showed a sudden surge in sales of EARTH ANIMAL’s Wisdom air-fried dog food. Last month, we had a rep out with samples and coupons, which likely contributed to this growth, as well as not being able to get other foods on a regular basis has customers looking for other options. — Julie Sterling, Julz Animal Houz, Marysville, WA
• Our small animal department continues to climb. Everything OXBOW does super well. — Paige Elder, Buzz n’ B’s Pet Shop in Erie, PA
• Birthday cakes from PREPPY PUPPY were a big hit! People are celebrating all the birthday and gotcha days of the pups they got last year during the worst of the pandemic. — Wendy Megyese, Muttigans, Emerald Isle, NC
• Beef jerky (flat esophagus gullet) in 6 inches and 12 inches, from three for $2, supplied by BULLYSTICKS ORGANIC. We keep containers next to the register and show customers how to cut the jerky into small pieces with scissors. VALUE! — Nancy Okun, Cats n Dogs, Port Charlotte, FL
• We always do a Black Friday sale and a Shop Small Saturday. It is always a huge hit, and people love stocking up on products that are never on sale, such as raw. — Samantha Youngblood, Youngblood’s Natural Animal Care Center and Massage, Wilkinson, IN
• Our grab-and-go treats were a big hit — we bundled up chicken feet from BARE BITES and 2-inch HAPPY HOWIE Burgers (like bags of coal) and had them at the counter as an add-on sale and signed as stocking stuffers. They’re a quick and easy sale and customers love them. — Jeff Jensen, Four Muddy Paws, St. Louis, MO
• ZOO MED and EXO TERRA enclosures for reptiles. Along with bioactive products/insects. Our reptile department seems to be more and more popular. The interest in them and having a bioactive enclosure is growing. — Rhonda Olson, Rhonda’s Aviary, Milton, FL
• Sliced antlers. It’s one of my favorite non-food longer-lasting chews to recommend. We offer three sizes: small for $9.99, medium for $21.99 and large for $47.99. Medium is our most popular. — Erika Siegel, My Best Friend’s Barkery, Banner Elk, NC
• ALQO WASI sweaters, CANADA POOCH coats, TALK TREATS TO ME chicken treats, BOSCO & ROXY Advent Calendar. — Karen Durka, Fetch, Huntington, NY
• P.L.A.Y. holiday collection. — Pam Sine, Pet Silhouette, Hobe Sound, FL
• STEVE’S REAL FOOD raw nuggets. Really wonderful for families that have dogs and cats as both can be fed from the same bag! — Heather Campbell, Bow Wow & Woofs, Blaine, WA
• K9 GRANOLA donuts are flying off the shelves! Also SCOUT & ZOE’S makes a pork and chia donut that our pup clients love! — Angela Pantalone, Wag Central, Stratford, CT
• PUPkin Lattes, our in-house recipe for healthy all natural treats to be added daily to a dog’s boarding reservation or day care. Very inexpensive to make and dogs love them! — Krista Lofquist, Wagging Tails, Wolcott, CT
• E&S PETS ceramic pet ornaments were our bestseller in November. We took them to a booth we set up at a holiday shop local event and sold bunches of them! — Joanna Shaw, All Pet & Equine Supply, Mountain Home, AR
• RED BARN air-dried dog food was our big hit (unexpected). I thought it would sell, but I didn’t think it would sell out so fast. Good price point, great palatability and a new product. — Kris Clawson, Bridger Animal Nutrition in Bozeman, MT
• BOSCO AND ROXY’S cookies because they’re super cute and have an ingredient list similar to in-house cookies. — Pamela Modica, Lazy Creek Pet Food Center, Lexington, SC
• THE NATURAL DOG COMPANY bullies and other chews. They are always our biggest seller (by units sold and profit). — Ben Huber, Petagogy, Jeannette, PA
• The new GRANDMA MAE’S Rawternative foods are our new favorite. Easier to use than frozen raw food, customers really like it. Air-dried, great as a food or to use as a treat. — Sandy House, Paws N Effect, Hamden, CT
• TALL TAILS Infinity Tug toys have been a really great seller for us. So many people tug on them and can tell they will last with tough play! — Heather Leonard, The Well Balanced Paw, Staunton, VA
• 6-inch NATURAL FARM bully sticks. We retail them for only $4.99, and we mention how they are actually a supplier for BARKWORTHIES and JACK & PUP. So while they don’t have a frequent-buyer program, they end up being cheaper on the front end and they don’t add glycerin like a lot of other companies tend to. Our customers love them, and even the pickiest dogs tend to prefer them. It helps they offer a discount for wholesale orders over $1,000, which we pretty much ALWAYS hit. — Annabell Bivens, The Dog Store, Alexandria, VA
• VITAL ESSENTIALS Treats and 2 HOUNDS DESIGN No Pull Harnesses. — Kim Sykes, K9 Manners & More, Broken Arrow, OK
• HONEY I’M HOME Advent Calendars. We sold them for $19.99, and they sold very well for us! — Caroline Gunther, Wag! A Unique Pet Boutique, Hendersonville, NC
• Every department was up over the same period last year. Fish livestock and aquarium kits were way up, and so were reptile kits. — Marvin Schaffer, J & M Aquatics & Pet Center, Grand Junction, CO
• One of our top sellers is the PRIMAL raw bones six-pack. Especially around the Thanksgiving holiday, customers need something to keep their dogs busy. We call these “babysitter bones.” — Barbara Clemmens, Aardvark Pet Supplies, Inc., Thornwood, NY
• We did really well with YETI dog chews! When customers came in looking for a healthy, dense chew, we recommended these because they are high quality, and they last a long time. — Kristen Watson, The Hipster Hound, Savannah, GA
• A big mover last month was the 12-inch mega jumbo bully sticks from EARTH’S BEST, They’re from Angus cattle, definitely not odor free and are $23 each, but customers with heavy chewing dogs find they last way longer than skinnier bullies and keep the dogs out of trouble! We’d been unable to get these for a while and had many people waiting on them, so after they came back in we had several folks stock up! — Shane Somerville, Paddywack, Mill Creek, WA
• Two hot products came from the PETS+ Boxes! Great response to the SKOUT’S HONOR Evergreen Probiotic Shampoo and Spray, perfect for great smelling dogs during the holidays! We added to our grooming as a special for the holiday season, too! The other product was from CHASING OUR TAILS, not offered in the sample box but one of their other products. It’s the “Terrific Trainers,” which is a soft training treat in a wide variety of meat sources. — Pattie Zeller, Animal Connection, Charlottesville, VA
• BLUE RIDGE BEEF 2-pound raw chubs have been steadily increasing in sales volume the last several months. Retail prices range from $8 to $12 depending on protein and formula. My personal push for customers to include some raw and fresh in their dogs’ diets has definitely helped this trend. — Brett Foreman, EuPAWria Holistic Pet Center, Owego, NY
• PURE PHEASANT freeze-dried pheasant parts. MACFARLANE PHEASANT is a large commercial pheasant farm in the area, and they have started to sell wholesale. We can’t keep the necks or the hearts/livers in stock! — Karen Conell, The Bark Market, Delavan, WI
• One of our bestselling products was ABSORBINE Silver Honey spray. We retail it at $38.99. Customers love that it is versatile, and also they are able to see the results rather quickly from this product. — Heather Persinger, Aristopets, Lewisville, NC
• We have a VIP Thanksgiving feast for $10.99. Dogs boarding got a meal made from FROMM shredded turkey, carrot, and cranberry top with HONEST KITCHEN bone broth treats and a toy included. — Tammi Bui, Wishbone Pet Care, Missouri City, TX
• Flippin’ Fish. Ron Keller, Captivating Canines, Westerville, OH
• NORTHWEST NATURALS raw food continues to be a best seller for its nutritional properties. We do offer frequent buyer and specials discounts on this product. Lots of toys by FLUFF N TUFF, CYCLE DOG, TALL TAILS and WEST PAW. No specials on toys, but we talk about durability and safety. Chews by CHASING OUR TAILS, FRANKLY and VITAL ESSENTIALS are selling as stocking stuffers and to keep dogs distracted during the holidays. — Cheryl Larson, Healthy Pet Market, Green Bay, WI
• Frozen food is still our fastest growing segment. With the new freezers (four glass double doors), it has brought more attention to it. Plus we sampled some out. We did put PRIMAL and TUCKER’S on sale. SMALL BATCH is one of our fastest growing, our customers like everything about the company. — Ruth Sturgis, Dog Daze, North Syracuse, NY
• MY PERFECT PET lightly cooked food has really taken off. Once customers feed it, they come back for it. It also has a frequent-buyer program in Astro. Many of our rescue partners with ill or immune–compromised dogs swear by it, particularly the turkey and salmon. — Diana Farrar, Fifi & Fidos, San Antonio, TX
• Our FARMINA sales are WAY up. If I was to pick just one of the lines, I’d say the Digestion line. We have found that folks come far and wide for Farmina since it is hard to find and such a superior product. We sell the 5.5-pound dog for $31.99 and the 15.4-pound bag for $75. — Adina Silberstein, Queenie’s Pets, Philadelphia, PA
• WEST PAW toys. We recently expanded our offering because of the PETS+ box, and the toys have been flying out of here. — Jocelyn Turner, Woof Woof Pet Boutique and Biscuit Bar, Bristol, RI
• One of our bestselling products is the REDBARN Chew-A-Bulls Hydrant. We received samples from Redbarn and passed them out to customers, and they were hooked. We sell them for $2.99. — Jennifer Hall, All Things Pawssible, Charlottesville, VA
• PRIMAL antlers! Elk, moose and stag — all sizes! Antlers are super popular in New Hampshire, and these are great because having the different types of antlers cover all types of chewers! — Penny Murano, Unleashed, New London, NH
• LORD JAMESON treats, brought them in as a new treat with 20% off, and customers love them. — Jody Meerdink , Paw Licking Good, Sycamore, IL
• JW PET Comfy Perch. 12 or more different sizes and shapes that’ll work for most any bird. Prices from $7.98-$22.98. Offers a different texture for perching than the standard wooden dowel. — Paul Lewis, Birds Unlimited, Webster, NY
• Our Turkey Feast Box was a huge hit for November! It was packed full of all things turkey or Thanksgiving related (like cranberry cannolis). We had vendor sponsorship, which made the box even better with full-size products included. — Elaina Stanley, Three Happy Hounds, Fernley, NV
• UCCELLO PRODUCTS bird food. It’s a great product that gives back a portion of food to charity! — Sal Salafia, Exotic Pet Birds Inc, Webster, NY
• FRANKLY Mega Rolls. Good size for the price. — Robin Jerdee, Beast Buffet, Monroe, WI
• We got a new glass-front, double-door freezer and filled it completely with OC RAW. The entire bottom is designated to bulk boxes, and they sell out every week. We now also have an entire back–stock freezer designated to OC Raw bulk boxes to help get us through the week. We have some customers who leave with five bulk boxes at once! Dogs are eating good in our neighborhood! — Becci Scott, Fetching Dog, Scottsdale, AZ
• Our Thanksgiving bakery cookies from PREPPY PUPPY did exceptionally well this year. Retail price for most was $1.99 with no promotion. I think that after almost two years of fear and separation, everyone just wants to get back to enjoying the little things in life. — Shelly Nicastro, Essex Bird & Pet Supply, Essex, MA
• EARTH ANIMAL No Hide Holiday chews. All sizes, ranging in price from $4.99 to $12.99. These are popular in December because they are limited, and people love the No Hides year round. — Angie Scavone, Sniffany’s Pet Boutique, Albany, OR
• For dogs, moose antlers from MAINELY CHEWS (a local Maine provider). We sell them at $3.79 an ounce. For cats, DR. PUSSUMS Rabbit Fur Mice (a bummer because Pussums Cat Company is unable to get these any longer) at $1.99. — Colleen Young, The Fish and Bone, Portland, ME
• Beds. Had a big order of WEST PAW beds, and they sold very well. — George Beebe, Pawki’s, Eastsound, WA
• EVANGER’S hand-packed cans. Customers love how beautiful the product is. — Trace Menchaca, Modern Pet Foods, Houston, TX
• Filter cartridges and vacation feeders for aquariums. It’s that time of year. — Liz Harris, Creatures Featured, Madison, FL

SERVICES

• Our frozen KONG add-on for day-care dogs took off. We mix plain yogurt, peanut butter and banana baby food, and pour into Kongs and other stuffable toys, then freeze. We sell these for $4. — Katherine Ostiguy, Crossbones, Providence, RI
• Boarding was a big increase over last November. We had another COVID spike right before Thanksgiving last year, so people canceled their plans. It seems that people actually had their family trips for the holiday this year! — Andy Wiltz, Woof’s Play & Stay, Merriam, KS
• Day care passes! We did a Black Friday special for our clients, where if they purchased 30 days they would receive five days for free. It was a huge hit, and truly skyrocketed our revenue for that day and the overall month. — Natalie Bosch, Albany Pet Hotel, Albany, OR