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Holiday Toys, Bird Perches and Spa Treatments Among the Hot Sellers for November

Indies sold a ton of holiday products to customers eager to celebrate with their pets.

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FABDOG Christmas toys were a huge hit! With COVID-19 and the uncertainty surrounding consumer shopping behaviors, we put our Christmas display and products out extra early, and thank goodness we did! There were no promotions, just super cute, fun products that make you smile! — Johnna Devereaux, Fetch RI, Richmond RI

  • KING’S CAGES Java Perches always sell well, but near the holidays, people tend to jazz up their bird’s cage a bit. We regularly have four to six dozen to choose from, and the price is very reasonable. — Paul Lewis, Birds Unlimited, Webster, NY
  • OPEN FARM dry food. We included it in our Black Friday Sale, and the peeps cleaned us out! — Carly Patryluk, House of Paws Pet Boutique, Regina, SK, Canada
  • FARMINA N&D Lamb & Pumpkin. Up 210 percent as a single SKU. — Jennifer Larsen, Firehouse Pet Shop, Wenatchee, WA
  • We sold hundreds of advent calendars from BOSCO & ROXY and HONEY I’M HOME. — Nancy Guinn, Dog Krazy, Fredericksburg, VA
  • Beef chews by NATURAL DOG COMPANY, and beef cheek rolls by REDBARN and BARK & HARVEST. The COVID puppies are getting older!! — Annabell Bivens, The Dog Store, Alexandria, VA
  • CHARLOTTE’S WEB Calming Chews for Dogs. We were sent a few dozen samples, and the feedback was amazing! It’s a new line for us. Everything CBD sells well for us! — Karen Conell, The Bark Market, Delavan, WI
  • CANINE BUTCHER SHOP dog chews and bully sticks. Made in America. — Frank Frattini, The Hungry Puppy, Farmingdale, NJ
  • ZUKE’S Mini Natural holiday treats. The cute holiday packaging attracted customers, but the tiny size of treats was a hit. Owners of little dogs loved the size! — Sandy House, Paws N Effect, Hamden, CT
  • We offered Thanksgiving dinners for dogs! An annual tradition — people start asking about them in September. — Stephanie Rossino, GiggyBites Bakery for Dogs, Chadds Ford, PA
  • SQUARE PET Skin & Digestive is now a very good seller. Pets who’ve been on prescription food and tried this formula have seen a change in their coats and/or belly problems, and it costs less. Samples made a big difference in convincing people to try the food, and their customer service is great. — Nancy Okun, Cats n Dogs, Port Charlotte, FL
  • Holiday toys and accessories, in general, sold well. We put them out starting on Nov. 1 and got a lot of immediate traction, with sales increasing further the week of Thanksgiving. With such a crummy year, people are looking forward to celebrating the holidays! — Shane Somerville, Paddywack, Mill Creek, WA
  • Fish food. Because we had it, and all the other stores were out of stock due to COVID-19 shortages with packaging. — Liz Harris, Creatures Featured, Madison, FL
  • Our top-selling item in November was our pumpkin biscotti treats! We’ve been selling these for a while now, and we like to keep them as a grab item by our reception countertop. We weren’t running any promotions on this item, but they certainly fall in line with the season! — Natalie Bosch, Albany Pet Hotel, Albany, OR
  • We had several promotions that were popular due to Astro offers, such as the EARTH ANIMAL No Hide BOGO, HONEST KITCHEN Clusters sale, and PRIMAL freebies with purchase. Other manufacturer-sponsored sales that were popular were: FARMINA 20 percent off; $5 off ZIWI Peak food; $2, $4, $6 off ZIGNATURE, FUSSIE CAT, INCEPTION, or AMERICAN NATURAL PREMIUM. Our usual FROMM Flavor of the Month sale was also super popular. — Jodi Etienne, Razzle Dazzle Doggie Bow-tique, Bradley, IL
  • Everything! Because it finally got colder, coats, sweaters and the self-serve dog wash were super busy! Our free same-day delivery has picked up. Plus, we’ve had a weekly farmers’ and holiday market that brings in a ton of new customers! — Patricia Boden, Animal Connection, Charlottesville, VA
  • STELLA & CHEWY‘S products. It was our featured food of the month on our pet store calendar. — Paula Gorman, Pet Supplies ‘N’ More, Muskego, WI
  • Pupkin lattes and PUPPY SCOOPS pumpkin ice cream. — Krista Lofquist, Wagging Tails, Wolcott, CT
  • Christmas Stockings & La-Z Boy beds. — Ron Keller, Captivating Canines, Westerville, OH

Services

  • We had a falling leaves photoshoot for our day care dogs, and the photos turned out great. We sent a digital copy for our clients to use on social right away, and then provided an actual printed photo to be picked up the following week. The results were a hit! People posted the photos on their accounts and their pups’ accounts, and tagged @wagcentral. We got new followers and new clients. This service, which we charged $6 for, actually paid for itself. And having the photo available the following week at day care increased the numbers of our Wednesday attendees. People love good photos of their dog. — Angela Pantalone, Wag Central , Stratford, CT
  • We started offering the NAGAYU spa treatment in our grooming salon in October. It quickly became our top service and increased our client base by 22 percent within weeks of introducing it. — Wendy Megyese, Muttigans, Emerald Isle, NC
  • Retail was down due to Covid , however veterinary revenue was up 25 percent from last year. — Nancy Napoleon, Heartland Veterinary and Boarding, Cream Ridge, NJ
  • Day care continues to pick up. We have had days where it was busier than the same days in 2019, but overall down for the month. Still cautiously optimistic for growth in 2021. — Andy Wiltz, Woof’s Play & Stay, Merriam, KS
  • Basic Obedience package. A lot of people are purchasing new puppies. — Aaron Jones, AJ’S Waggin’ Train, Katy TX
  • Small business Saturday give back gift cards! The most we ever sold. Buy a $50 gift card, and we add an extra $5 to the card and donate $5 to a local rescue. Over $7000 sold!!! — Keith Miller, Bubbly paws, Minneapolis, MN
  • Grooming. We do offer a complimentary special with our Spa Day services. The month of November was a free de-shed with their groom. This is a $10 to $15 value. — Nikki Fredericksen, Fetching Frieda’s Dog & Cat Emporium, LaSalle, IL
  • Our biggest seller, once again, was our beginner obedience class. Since school is back in session, dogs are getting bored and destructive being home alone all day. The dogs we were seeing in November have not yet had any training, and their pet parents were unsure of how to set boundaries. — Lisa Kirschner, Sit, Stay, ‘N Play, Inc, Stroudsburg, PA
  • Dinner time visits so they didn’t have to rush home for a potty break and dinner for pets. — Amber Van Denzen Suarez, Atta Boy! Animal Care Pet Sitting + Dog Walking, Mulberry, FL
  • Puppy proofing and training. — William Stewart, I Will Walk Boston, Boston, MA

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