PETS+ Readers Share Their Hot-Selling Products and Services for May 2018

CAITEC Oven Fresh Bites. They appeal to most birds. Paul Lewis, Birds Unlimited, Webster, NY

DOG & CAT PRODUCTS

• Bee pollen. Spring is the worst for allergies and the bee pollen helps the dogs manage it. Customers are open to any and all suggestions that would help their dogs’ symptoms. Toni Shelaske, Healthy Pet Products, Pittsburgh, PA
• Happy Howie’s treat display. Any of the Happy Howie’s Treats have become our top sellers every single month! With jerky strips, sausages, and burgers to choose from, it makes our counter area smell good & pets can’t help but steal them directly from the rack! Kara Holland, Pittsboro Pet Supply, Pittsboro, NC
• No-Hide Chews by Earth Animal have been flying of our shelves! People love them once they hear what they are and why we don’t carry traditional rawhide treats. Annabell Bivens, The Dog Store by Your Dog’s Best Friends, Alexandria, VA
• Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream dog food with salmon. Mary Ruud, Ruffin Inn Pet Lodge, Buffalo, MN
• We are doing the current Honest Kitchen BOGO Free Cups promotion. They’re flying off the shelf. It’s a great way for people to try a dehydrated raw in a convenient size. Dana Rice, Dog Wild Pet Supplies & Resort, Cooperstown, NY
• Gibson’s Jerky in all six flavors, with the bacon being the best seller, but there’s no bacon. Made with chicken and turkey. Smells great and easy to break into small pieces for training treats. Nancy Okun, Cats n Dogs, Port Charlotte, FL
• Zignature dog food is a steady growth area for us, and April was our biggest month for the line. Kris Minkle, The Whole Pet, Fort Smith, AR
• Natural flea and tick products as pet parents are becoming more fearful of the poisonous products being promoted in the media and prescribed by veterinarians. Earth Animal collars and their internal powder are two of our hottest products. Bonnie Bitondo, Maxwell & Molly’s Closet, Newton, NJ
• Blissful Dog Nose and Paw Butter. Lissa Durbin, BowWow’s Pet Laundry, Barkery and Boutique, Blue Island, IL
• We love to sell Fromm dry dog food — especially to customers who feed grocery brands. Fromm relies on retailers to sell their food — not heavy TV marketing and advertising. It’s great quality at a very reasonable price. They do their own manufacturing and packaging; I like that they want to control what goes into their products. They also have a customer loyalty program and a money-back guarantee; I often offer customers the choice of a sample or a bag — they usually take the bag! Many customers come in and tell us their dog “free feeds” or doesn’t seem interested in her food. We tell them their dog probably doesn’t like the food, and then we introduce them to Fromm. We also show them a cost per day and ingredients comparison and send them home with a sample. They come back in amazed that their dog was eating the food while they were pouring it into the bowl — and they purchase a bag of it. Marcia Cramm, Just Fur Pets, Springfield, VA
• Merrick foods were our hot seller. Our customers like both wet and dry varieties. It has increased so much that we relocated it to a better area in the store. Matthew Albright, Phillips Pet Supply Outlet, Bath, PA
• Tico the Sloth was our best seller by Fluff & Tuff. No promotions the toy sold itself. We really got people excited on Facebook and Instagram. We had a waiting list for Tico. Carol A. Andersen, Barkfield Road, East Northport, NY
• Pet Releaf hemp products. Great for pain management and stress management. Pam Alerine, Style Mutt, Cleveland, OH
• Cow ears (Best Buy Bones) and Pig Ears (Westerns) did well last month. Lisa Keppers, Sauk Centre Country Store, Sauk Centre, MN
• Every month, Answers goat milk wins. Increasing at a 25 percent rate each month. Give out those pints as samples! Especially to cat owners, that $2 to $3 cost pays dividends when they come back over and over and over. Eric Mack, Purrrfect Bark, Columbus, NC
• Go! limited ingredient dry dog food by Petcurean. Tends to be extremely palatable and helps change up the diet with it’s LID profile. Worked with our manufacturer’s rep to offer BOGO on 6-pound bags. Jack Carey, Amoskeag Pet Supply, Manchester, NH
• Dirty Dog doormats and shammies by Dog Gone Smart did really well along with Mudbuster paw cleaners from Dexas! We had a snowy, wet and muddy start to spring and people really want to keep their houses clean! We advertised the multiple ways to use the doormats and shammies (putting in your car for after the dog park, at your door and using them after their pups bath). We also promoted them on Facebook with an extra $5 off their next shopping trip on our rewards program. Nicole Olesen, Woofs & Waves, Sioux Falls, SD
• Primal frozen recreational bones. Cory Giles, The General Store, Centralia, IL

DOG SERVICES

• Midday Dog Walking, 25 minutes for one dog. My brand and high levels of customer service appeals to my customers. I use a very simple prepaid package method for helping sell this service. Julia Rohan, Rover-Time Dog Walking & Pet Sitting, Chicago, IL
• Mostly Doodle “summer cuts,” which at my shop is between 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch. My clients like that I can leave their dogs fluffy like the breeders promised, and frankly, I like fluffy dogs too! Charmaine Morris, Charmaine’s Pet Spa, Peoria, IL
• Grooming services are hot! We’ve recently added fun hair colors and stick-on rhinestones for flash and flair. The cash flow really helps as we upsell the extra bling. Terri Ellen, Nature’s Pet Market, Salem, OR

OTHER PRODUCTS

• Small aquarium kits by Hagen, Aqueon. Marvin Schaffer. J & M Aquatics & Pet Center, Grand Junction, CO
• Uccello Seed! It’s a new seed we are offering in our store. This has a buy-one-give-one promotion. For every five pound bag that we sell we donate 1 pound to a local shelter. Sal Salafia, Exotic Pet Birds, Webster, NY