Pet Business Ideas

“When all the receipts are tallied, Americans will have spent $13.64 billion on their pets in 2004. And that number is climbing each and every year.” If you want to start a business of your own and you are also a pet lover – there are many different pet business ideas to choose from. It is definitely worth it to take some time and do your research!

Pet Business Ideas and profit margins are plentiful - but first you have to find which pet business is right for you. There are many different pet business ideas you can choose from, you just have to find one that will work for “you”.

Below are the most popular pet business ideas to give you just a glimpse of what is possible. We didn’t even list all of them! Which pet business would make a perfect match for you?

A dog bakery business is by far the most popular of new pet businesses popping up all around the world. If you love pets and you also love baking, this would be a perfect match. The profit margins are incredible as the treats can be made for pennies and sold for twice that and more! One of the great things about a dog bakery business is you can do business online, offline or both leaving you will many options!

A pet sitting business ranks in as the second most popular pet business idea. Just imagine spending your day with your favorite four legged friends and making money too! Pet Sitting is a pet lovers dream.

Pooper Scooping might not sound pretty but it’s a viable option. Pooper scooping is one of the fast growing trends in the past two years. With just a few accounts to attend to weekly you can find yourself making a nice paycheck for you and your pet business.

Pet grooming is yet another popular pet business to start! I know I bring my dog to get groomed every fourth week of the month, imagine if you had just a few regular dog lovers that brought their dog in for grooming sessions!

Many of these pet business ideas can be started right from the comfort of your own home and on a shoe string budget! We suggest before picking your business and jumping in that you first find out the laws and regulations in your county and state for such a business. For instance, some states will not allow you to bake dog treats from your own home kitchen. It is important to find out your laws before starting your business to avoid any mishaps later.

To read more pet business ideas and articles, come visit us on Indulge Your Pet.com where we also have pet lover forums where you can interact with other pet lovers and pet business owners!

About the Author

Chrissie Cole specializes in Pet Business Ideas, starting a dog bakery business and much more! Stop by the IYP pet lover forums and meet fellow pet business owners!

“CORRECTING YOUR CAT’S BAD BEHAVIOUR - HOW TO DISCIPLINE YOU

At some time or another even the sweetest cat “misbehaves.” Ironically, a cat’s bad act is usually quite normal behavior for her, but may have a result humans don’t like or want. Screaming at the cat or physically punishing her won’t alter negative behavior. The best way to change undesirable behavior is to eliminate the opportunity and/or distract the cat to an acceptable alternative.

Immediacy is vital: even seconds late may be ineffective. You must do it as soon as the cat starts misbehaving.

Distracting a cat away from an act is not very difficult. A loud, unfamiliar noise will quickly get her attention. Some cat owners use a low growling sound, others imitate the grating sound of a game show buzzer. Keeping the sound low-toned and harsh is important, because you want to save high-pitched sounds for praise and reinforcement of positive behaviors.

One well-known way to distract a misbehaving cat is to give her a blast with a spray bottle. While this works, it has some drawbacks. First, you must have the bottle in your hand at the exact moment the cat is about to act in a way you want to discourage. Unless you follow your cat around all day with a spray bottle in your hand, this is unlikely to happen. The second problem is that this technique seems to lose effectiveness after a while with some cats.

The best way to extinguish negative behaviors is to remove the opportunity. If your cat obsessively scratches the side of your couch, place a loose blanket or hard acrylic panel against it. Both techniques remove her access to the satisfying feel of the fabric. If she climbs your curtains, shredding them as she goes, fold or pin them out of her reach unless you are around to stop her. If she has accidents only when you are not home, only give her free run of the house when you are there. When you go out, close her in a room with food, water, litter box, scratching post and a couple of toys.

Avoid, at all times, any form of physical punishment. It doesn’t matter if your vet or the “cat expert” down the street suggests it; physically punishing your cat will do more harm than good. Some people feel that a “little” tap on the cat’s nose with your finger is an acceptable form of punishment because you are only using one finger. Humane group experts point out, however, that if you look at that finger in proportion to a cat’s nose - a very sensitive body part - it would be like someone hitting you on the nose with a rolling pin.

You can try gently pushing the palm of your hand into the face of the cat. This is best used when discouraging something like biting. Don’t hit the cat, simply push its face back gently.

Inflicting pain has a negative affect on your relationship with your cat. Even the most outgoing cat will back away from your hands, even if they are only reaching out to pet her. If your cat is shy to begin with, physical punishment can have even more deeply negative results.

Keep in mind, too, what you are communicating when you swat your cat. Swatting is one of the main ways cats fight with one another. When you swing your hand at your cat, she very well may take it as a challenge to fight. Constantly provoking her can create a serious aggression problem.

About the Author

Pet Medication Supplies http://www.pet-medication-supplies.net can help you get the best possible pet health supplies. Advantix, Arthramine, Cosequin, Frontline, Heartgard - find the best deals in pet medication for flea and tick control, arthritis and lyme disease. Upto 50% discount everyday on brand names.

Meet My 4-Legged Family

If you’ve been reading this ezine for very long, you probably
already know a good bit about my wife, Ann, who is also my
business partner and soul mate, and my soon-to-be 13-year-old
daughter, Amber. Today I want to introduce you to the rest of
the family — our 4-legged members:

LUCKY: Lucky is a black and tan Gordon Setter-looking type mutt
but without the Gordon Setter legs. She literally walked into
our home one day when one of the sliding glass doors was open
and took up residence. While she’s getting up there in age and
her muzzle is turning gray, she continues to have a very
independent spirit and reminds me of Tramp in the Walt Disney
movie, Lady and the Tramp. She’s very much her own dog.

LADY: We rescued Lady from the local animal shelter about a year
after I lost Maggie McGee to cancer. Lady is a mixture of
Australian Sheepdog (like Maggie was) and Border Collie. We
renamed her Lady because she is so much a Lady. She even eats
her dog food in a dainty sort of way. She came from the shelter
already trained and has been my companion on many miles of walks
around Bonclarken Lake and at Carl Sandburg’s Home.

LINDY: The newest member of our 4-legged family, Lindy snuck
into our home by first bonding with Amber at the heart level.
She was supposed to come just for a few days until we found a
permanent home for her. Well, we did find her that home — our
own. She looks like she could be Lady’s daughter although
they’re not related. I personally feel her name should be Rascal
’cause she has that kind of disposition in a loving sort of way,
but Amber is holding on to the Lindy name since it was her
grandfather’s middle name.

PRETTY HEART: At this time Pretty Heart is our only feline
friend, having lost Princess Lera on Christmas Eve. (Ann had
Princess Lera and Luke Catwalker when we first met. We lost Luke
several years ago. Lera ruled the roost in our house ever since
Ann and I set up house. She’s definitely missed by all of us.)
Pretty Heart, named by Amber, was the typical barnyard orange
tabby cat. He grew immensely in his early years getting up to
around 22 pounds. We think he was an emotional eater, but then
he suddenly started losing weight, and was eventually diagnosed
as diabetic. He’s been quite stable and happy on a holistic
medication that Ann found on the Internet and that he receives
twice a day in capsule form. (Thank goodness I still have some
of my vet skills left.) He definitely lives up to his name.

And that’s the 4-legged members of my family. Like the 2-legged
members, they share their lives and their love with me and I’m
so very grateful to have them all as part of my life on purpose.

©2005 Brad Swift of Life On Purpose Institute, Inc. This article
can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article
and this resource box are included.

Pet Loss: Should You Clone Your Cat?

Clone a Cat, Go To Jail

…or at least pay a fine. That’s the goal of animal welfare activists who announced recently that they are seeking state and federal restrictions on the small but growing pet-cloning industry.

The effort has been spearheaded by the American Anti-Vivisection Society [AAVS] (in suburban Philadelphia), and takes aim at companies such as Genetic Savings and Clone Inc., the California company that began to fill orders for cloned cats last year. The clones - which have sold for $50,000 each - are genetic duplicates of a customer’s deceased pet and represent the leading edge of an emerging sector that advocates predict could eventually reap billions of dollars for corporate cloners. The movie, the 6th Day , starring the erstwhile governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, features pet cloning businesses in a shopping mall during its opening sequences. It may soon be the case that life imitates art in this respect and pet cloning franchises may start popping up in common shopping venues. But not if the AAVS have their way.

Should Cloning Be Allowed?

Several companies are racing to compete with Genetic Savings and Clone, the current industry leader, which has produced about a half-dozen cloned cats and aims to achieve the more difficult goal of cloning a dog this year. Some companies are already selling fish genetically engineered to glow in the dark, while one has said it will soon produce cats engineered to not cause reactions in people allergic to them.

The AAVS petitioned the Department of Agriculture to regulate pet-cloning companies as it does other animal research labs under the Animal Welfare Act. The act demands minimum standards of animal care and detailed reporting of the fates of laboratory animals. They have also been working with a California lawmaker to introduce state legislation that would ban the sale of cloned or genetically engineered pets.

Are Grieving Pet Owners Being Taken Advantage Of?

“Pet cloning companies offer false hope of never having to let go of a pet and are causing harm to animals in the process,” the AAVS concluded in a report, “Pet Cloning: Separating Facts From Fluff.”

Managers of Genetics Savings and Clone denied emphatically that their enterprise takes advantage of grieving pet owners or harms animals. “We bend over backwards to make sure people are doing this for the right reasons,” said company president Lou Hawthorne. Nonetheless, he said, “we’re open to additional oversight, provided it makes sense.”

The Risks Involved For Cloned Animals

Previously cloned animals have suffered high rates of biological abnormalities and unexpected deaths during gestation and in the first days of life. Hawthorne said that has not been the case with cats. But critics said the process raises other concerns, including the welfare of egg donor and surrogate-mother animals that must undergo multiple surgeries as part of the process of making clones.

The Risks To Owners

The potential for consumer fraud is also an issue. Clones tend to be ordered by people who are grieving the loss of a much-loved pet and who may have unrealistically high expectations of their clones. Although they share identical genetic profiles, clones do not always resemble originals because coat patterns are not strictly genetically determined. Personalities and behavior patterns are even less predictable on the basis of genetics alone. All personalities are products of some basic genetics, and the environment in which the animal is raised and, since a particular environment can never be perfectly recreated (there’s always a random element) personalities will, most likely, be different as well in any clone. “Consumers are likely under the impression that a clone is a carbon copy. We believe they are being misled,” AAVS policy analyst Crystal Miller-Spiegel said.

David Magnus, director of Stanford University’s Center for Biomedical Ethics, spoke more bluntly. “People are not getting what they think they’re getting,” Magnus said. “This is a $50,000 rip-off.”

There is certainly a war of words beginning between the cloning businesses and the AAVS. It’s likely to become a more contentious issue as there’s potentially a lot of money to be made (at $50,000 per kitten) and companies may see the AAVS’s concerns as hurting those potential profits. It’s going to be a case of “Watch This Space”.

Conclusion

Personally, however, cloning is one option I’m not in favor of but it might be for you if you’re looking at replacing a pet that’s died. As I mentioned above, the clone may look identical to your lost companion but the personality will likely be different. That’s not to say the personality will be better or worse, just different. Look at it this way - how many sets of identical twins have the same personalities despite having the same genetic make-up and being raised in the same environment? There are always random factors involved. Every personality is unique and passes by this way only once.

If you find yourself in a position where you would consider cloning to be an option that will help you cope with the death of your cat, you should do some background reading first. The National Geographic have a news item on pet cloning and some people’s reaction to it.

About the Author

Gary Nugent, a software engineer by profession, has been a life-long animal lover, especially of cats and is the webmaster of http://www.cat-oholics.com - a site that helps you make the best choices to keep your cat healthy, happy and long-lived. Why not sign up for the Moggy Morsels newsletter and keep up to date with feline happenings?

All Dogs Go To Heaven - And So Do The People That Love Them

“Sacrifice is a part of life. It is supposed to be. It’s not something to regret - it’s something to aspire to.”

This quote comes from a conversation between an old soldier and his former captain in Mitch Album’s book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

Now deceased, they meet in “heaven” which, strangely enough, looks identical to the foreign soil on which they fought together. As the two souls talk, the soldier, who died some 60 years after the war, learns that his captain sacrificed his own life to save those of his men during a battle. The former soldier learns from the captain, as well as the four other individuals he meets in heaven, just how much his existence affected those around him.

Very few of us will ever experience the ultimate sacrifice of giving our lives for another person. Yet, this part of the book stuck out so much due to some recent events.

We all make sacrifices every day. Some are big, some aren’t, but each decision means turning away from another possibility. Maybe it is something as small as giving up a fun activity with friends in order to fulfill an obligation to a job, or maybe its something much, much larger. Perhaps you or someone you know has given up a portion of their life to help care for an aged relative in the twilight of life. Privacy and freedom are moved to the back burner in order to assist a loved one nearing the end. The trade-off comes in the knowledge that someone is benefiting from that sacrifice.

From its inception, The Marcus Engel Newsletter has been a forum where each month I share a positive experience from which everyone can learn. If there’s a little humor thrown in or you have an “ah-ha!” moment, all the better! This month, for the first time, I’m not sure that’s going to happen.

If we’ve been acquainted for less than two years, you probably never had the pleasure of meeting my first Seeing Eye dog, Dasher, other than as a character in my autobiography.

I want to share a little history on the black lab that helped change my life…Dasher and I were paired together when I was 19, less than a year and a half after losing my sight. Still fumbling through darkness and insecurity, Dasher helped reclaim more of the life I had prior to blindness than any other single element of my recovery. Through our seven years together, Dasher was the introduction to nearly every friend I met and every social interaction I had. As I began speaking professionally, Dasher shared the platform and broke down the barriers between the audience and me - something that is easier for a dog than any human!

In August of 2002 Dasher retired his leather harness and was lovingly adopted into “the good life” by my friends, Tempe and David. Knowing full well their new family member was in his golden years, Tempe and David still took on Dasher with all the enthusiasm and affection one would shower onto a new puppy. Handing over Dasher’s leash was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but my heart and mind were put at ease with the knowledge that Dasher was going to a family he loved and who loved him.

Six weeks ago, Tempe and David lost a member of their family when Dasher breathed his last breath. Those of you who’ve experienced the death of a pet know how traumatic that loss can be. The inevitable passing of a pet is always unique and tragic in its own way.

Dasher’s adoptive family made a HUGE sacrifice when they welcomed him into their home. After all, how many people really want to take on an animal in its later years knowing their time with that pet is governed by the laws of life expectancy? Practically no one. This is why I am so humbled and grateful for the sacrifice made by Tempe and David. Friends, I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to have Dasher’s final years spent under loving care and watchful eyes. That, faithful reader, is one of the truest definitions of sacrifice.

As I read the story of the captain’s voluntary loss of life for his men, and especially the lessons he taught his former soldier, I couldn’t help but think of what my friends gave up by adopting an old dog, and what they lost when Dasher died. Yet, what the captain said next helped ease that pain:

“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not losing it, you’re just passing it on to someone else.”

I’m not sure truer words have ever been spoken.

If you are one of the thousands whose life was touched by Dasher, thank you. Your acceptance and love gave him one of the best lives a dog could ever ask for. I’m sorry if this newsletter is a bit of an emotional downer, but I wanted to acknowledge the sacrifices of Tempe and David. Plus, after giving the majority of his life to my needs, Dasher deserves a fitting epitaph. In my humble notions of heaven, all things are perfect and all things are possible - including the presence of animals. So, to Dasher… Thanks buddy, for seven great years. You helped me more than you’ll ever know.

Foxtail Grass Dangerous to Dogs

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If you have dogs, keep the foxtail out of your lawn!

Foxtail is a common annual grass usually considered a weed.
It grows one to three feet tall, with branching and some
spreading at ground level. Leaf blades are 4 to 15 inches
long. Flower heads are dense spikes with yellow to reddish,
green or purplish bristles. As foxtail matures, seeds are
formed at the top of the stalk. The bushy seeds are what
gives the plant the name of “foxtail”.

When mature, the seeds detach easily from the plant. This
is natures way of making sure that the plant reproduces.
The seeds easily cling to clothing, fur, and hair. The
seeds always move forward thus penetrating the skin.

The seeds found in the ears, eyes and nose are very serious
and can become life threatening. But no body part is
immune. The seeds have been found in the urethra, vagina,
anal glands, brain, and spinal cord. In one case a
veterinarian found the seed in the lung but the original
site of entry was the paw. The seeds also gain entry
through open wounds.

Foxtail seeds are very tiny so veterinarians usually go by
symptoms.

If in the nasal cavity, the dog sneezes repeatedly and
violently often hitting the nose on the floor. If a bloody
discharge is noticed assume it’s a foxtail seed.

If in the eye, the dog paws at the eye and the eye waters.
If an eye is glued shut it is most likely a foxtail seed.

If the seed is in the ear the dog shakes its head violently
from side to side. Sometimes the dog paws a the eyes or
ear, shaking the head and squints.

In the mouth foxtail seeds can cause gagging or difficulty
swallowing. If the seed gets caught between the teeth, in
the gums, back of throat, or tongue problems can result.

If the seed lodges in the paw or under the coat a lump will
form that is painful to the touch. Other symptoms include
rubbing the head on the ground and going round in circles,
licking or biting at the rectum or other body parts, or
yelping or shining for no obvious reason.

Foxtail seeds can cause fatalities when they reach internal
organs.

In any case, do not attempt to treat the animal yourself.
Get professional help.

Get rid of all foxtail in your lawn or yard. If foxtail
grows in your yard mow the grass often, especially in late
spring when the plant grows most rapidly. This prevents the
plant from ever setting seed.

Avoid parks, or other recreational areas where you know
foxtail grows.

Always brush and inspect your dogs coat after being in
grassy areas. Dogs with long hair are even more likely to
attract the seeds than shorthaired breeds.

Examine your dogs eyes and ears.

For more information on how to control foxtail:

http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/foxtails.htm

About the Author

Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net

Responsible Dog Ownership

With all the companionship and love that our dogs give so freely, it’s hard to imagine that some owners just don’t take responsibility for their dogs. But it’s true. Millions of dogs—healthy dogs—are euthanized every year. Whether through owner neglect or owner ignorance, millions of healthy dogs will endure the same fate this year. So what’s a responsible dog owner to do? The best thing you can do, as a dog owner, is to ensure that your dog doesn’t become a statistic, and you do that through responsible pet ownership.

Welcoming a new dog into your house means taking on additional long-term responsibility. Many new dog owners find something cute or romantic about bringing that puppy in the window home until they realize that there’s a modicum of work involved in caring for that cute, adorable little face, and a price to pay for those wet, slobbering kisses. You wouldn’t expect to return a baby. Its’ no less wrong to return a dog when the novelty wears off, and it ought to be criminal to leave a dog somewhere on its own. In many ways, dogs are as vulnerable as newborn infants are, but dogs are dependent upon their owners for their entire lives.

Listed below you’ll find basic steps to responsible dog ownership, and many of them are just common-sense rules of the road.

1. Selecting Your Dog – Turn to a local animal shelter or rescue operation to select a puppy or dog. Remember that older dogs need loving owners too. Refuse to purchase a puppy or dog that started life in a puppy mill.

2. Test Your Dog – Contact a veterinarian and ask him to run the usual series of tests on your new companion.

3. Spay or Neuter Your Dog – Responsible pet owners always spay and neuter their dogs and cats. There are far more dogs waiting for adoption than there are owners to adopt them.

4. Provide Medical Care – Aside from the annual physical examination and vaccinations, protect your dog from heartworm, ticks and fleas. Talk with your vet about the many options available today. Contact your vet at the first sign that something is wrong with your dog.

5. Provide Adequate Food and Water – Provide food suited to your dog’s age, size and condition.

6. Walk Your Dog – Your dog will let you know when it needs to be walked.

7. Provide Exercise and Recreation – Provide ample space, dog toys and opportunity for your pet to exercise. If you haven’t thrown a Frisbee in twenty years, you’ll be surprised at how much fun it is to try to outsmart your dog—unlikely!

8. Protect Your Dog from Abuse – Animal cruelty is serious business, and in some states, it’s a felony. Even the FBI acknowledged that animal cruelty is a known marker (future indicator) of violence against humans. If anyone in your house intentionally mistreats your dog, seek help immediately. You could thwart the next school shooting.

9. Discourage Aggressive Behavior – You’ll know the difference between hearty play and aggressive behavior. Contact your vet at the first sign of aggressive behavior to discuss your options.

10. Coping with Serious Illness and Geriatric Dogs –Geriatric dogs are prone to many of the same illnesses that plague geriatric humans. You’ll want to do everything in your power to keep your dog comfortable at the end, but at some point, it may become necessary to end the suffering. If you’ve been a responsible dog owner throughout the dog’s life, you’ll want to end that life just as responsibly as you cared for it.

About the Author

M J Plaster is a successful author who provides information on shopping online for http://www.dogs-n-u.com/dog-food.htm and more http://www.dogs-n-u.com/. M J Plaster has been a commercial freelance writer for almost two decades, most recently specializing in home and garden, the low-carb lifestyle, investing, and anything that defines la dolce vita.

Shih Tzu Show Dog Judging: The Head, Body, and Hindquarters

The Head:

The show dog judge will ask you to place your Shih Tzu show dog on the table. The Shih Tzu show dog judge will then get the first close look at your Shih Tzu’s expression. He will be looking for proper shape and dark eyes. He will check the length of your Shih Tzu’s nose. He will look for the “correct” slightly-undershot bite. The Shih Tzu show dog judge will evaluate the shape of the top of your Shih Tzu’s head. He will check to see that the hair pulled up in the topknot does not alter the set and placement of the ears (all these things must be exact to the AKC standard for a Shih Tzu show dog to pass). One thing in particular the Shih Tzu show dog judge will not want to see in your Shih Tzu is any sign of fear, or if your Shih Tzu turns its head away. The expressions of fear or turning the head away would indicate “shyness.” “Shyness” would be considered a fault of the AKC show Dog Shih Tzu standard.

The Shih Tzu show dog judge will look at the ear leather. He may raise the ears to check the length and thickness of the neck and to see if the neck is well placed on the shoulders. These are areas also that must be in compliance with the AKC standards of a Shih Tzu show dog. The Shih Tzu show dog judge may trace the angulation of the shoulders with his hands and the placement of the front legs beneath the body is checked. A Shih Tzu show dog judge may lift the dog up gently and let it down to see how well the Shih Tzu lands on its feet. He may check the thickness of the pads of the feet as well.

The Body:

The Shih Tzu show dog judge will check to see if the Shih Tzu is in good weight, not to thin or too fat. The weight is measured on a scale of 9 to 16 pounds as being appropriate for the Shih Tzu show dog. Under or over this weight would be a fault.

The Hindquarters:

The Shih Txu show dog judge will check your Shih Tzu’s tail to see if it is set properly according to the AKC standard for tail set. The tail must be carried over the body to the correct degree. Angulation of hind legs is checked and a check for the strength of the hindquarters is also made at this time. An indication of weakness when the hocks are lightly “twanged” or evidence of cow hocks would be noted as a fault in your Shih Tzu. The hocks should be strong when moved gently back and forth. If your Shih Tzu is a male, this is the point in which the judge will count testicles. There must be two testicles present or the male Shih Tzu will be disqualified.

There are strict standards of correct conformation of the head, body and hindquarters, as well as other aspects of the Shih Tzu that must be met during the Shih Tzu show dog judge’s evaluation. Further information regarding these requirements can be obtained from the American Kennel Club either by writing to them directly or from the AKC official website.

Connie Limon is a Shih Tzu breeder. She publishes a FREE weekly newsletter. A professional newsletter with a focus upon health and wellness for you and your pets. Discounts are offered to subscribers. Sign up at: http://www.stainglassshihtzus.com