What are the effects of COVID-19 on pet stores?

To say these times is ‘unprecedented’ is an understatement. Never in the history of retailing has such an event occurred. There have been events similar, say the Great Recession, but the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic is at a scale never seen before.

Of the primary concern, especially early into the outbreak, were questions over the availability of pet food. Given that there were severe shortages of paper products, staple food, and cleaning supplies in grocery stores, it was logical to question if the same scarcity would be seen in the pet department and pet retailers.

Fortunately, this hasn’t materialized. Manufacturers such as Purina were quick to send out emails notifying pet owners that the supply would remain steady. A quick glance in the pet food aisle of major grocery retailers shows this is true. Even walking the aisles of Pet Supplies Plus, the shelves appear at the usual stock levels.

Curb-Side Pickup Gains Momentum

With quarantine and social distancing orders put into place quickly, retailers were quick to adopt curb-side pickup options for customers. When walking the aisles no longer became feasible due to staffing issues or local regulations, call ahead and online or mobile ordering with curb-side options were quickly put into place across many chains. It is best to call your local pet store to see what contact-free options they are offering.

Online Ordering Increases Dramatically

Several big chains have been offering ‘to your doorstep’ delivery of pet essentials for several years. Pet owners have continually increased the rate at which they order pet supplies on line for home delivery. Staying home, and away from large gatherings is proving to be an effective measure to combat the spread. This has caused even the smallest pet stores to consider moving online if they currently are not. The Wall Street Journal notes on March 15 ” The retailers that are likely to fare better as Americans adjust to the current outbreak are those that invested in online logistics or have the ability to serve shoppers safely if the illness becomes widespread”. I found this interesting product, it’s a clever play on a human treat: Barkaron, a macaron for dogs!

Subscription Boxes Become The Ticket

For years, pet owners have relied on BarkBox and Chewy for a constant supply of new and exciting toys and treats. New entrants into this space include Pet Plate which is a fresh direct-to-consumer pet food subscription which was featured on Shark Tank. Giving people the ability to continue to provide food, toys, and treats during the time when it is safer inside, could revive the subscription box industry. The downside is that you may not know what fun is coming in the box each month, but isn’t that half the fun?

Veterinary Telehealth Increasingly An Option

With restrictions placed on veterinary offices, and pet owners less likely to venture out, just like Teladoc and MDLive offer health advice to humans, so too do Ask.Vet, VetNOW, and DVM360 offer ways to consult a live veterinarian. Royal Canin was offering free access for a limited time to assist pet owners.

To access the service, pet owners can connect at royalcanin.com/us/coronavirus-and-pets or can text chatnow to 67076. Pet owners will be able to ask any health-related questions ranging from ‘My dog has a wound. How do I know if it is infected?’ to ‘My cat is vomiting, is this an emergency?’

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/royal-canin-to-offer-free-247-virtual-vet-chat-to-all-pet-owners-301053875.html

Grooming At Home Becomes An Option

Pet owners are now taking matters into their own hands, literally, as they began to groom pets at home. Several Instagram feeds featured cutely disastrous first attempts at grooming. A word of caution, though. Sharp objects in untrained hands can be dangerous to your pet! Grooming supplies are readily available on Amazon and other retailers. Wahl Corporation has posted videos to YouTube with techniques and methods to keep you and your pet safe, and your pet looking great!

Check out the Barkbath Dual Use which doubles as a portable grooming system and a deep cleaning appliance for carpets.

The effects of the pandemic are only beginning to show. This could be the start of permanent changes in everyone’s lives. From shopping to grooming to healthcare, there will be a ‘new normal’ for it all. Stay safe.

The Soggy Doggy Towel Makes Bath Time A Breeze

First of all, you are probably wondering, what is the Soggy Doggy towel? It is essentially a 33″ by 14″ shammy made from chenille.

The two unique attributes of this towel are it’s shape and it’s construction.

An overview of the Soggy Doggy Towel showing hand pockets

The Soggy Doggy towel features two hand pockets to make drying easy

The Soggy Doggy towel has built-in pockets on either end for your hands. This allows you to control the towel more accurately. I was able to guide the towel down Dexter’s legs and reach all the way under his belly. This allows the towel to absorb more water than a standard bath towel.

The second interesting feature are the hundreds of little nubs that increase the surface area of the towel which allows it to absorb more water. The packaging claims it can “hold up to 7 times it’s weight in water”. After using this towel, I believe that!

I ordered this towel from Amazon but they are available at several retailers. It arrives in two days. The packaging want amazing but it did the job; a plastic bag with a fold-over cardboard hang strip. It had all the use and care instructions printed on it.

Soggy Doggy Towel information tag

I don’t have a dedicated pet sink or tub so my dogs get bathed in the bathtub. It’s a confined space which means I often get wet as they shake. The towel is light and easy to add to my collection of things.

I currently use Tropiclean to suds up, and a little plastic storage container to rinse. I have a five dollar hair dryer just for dog drying. The towel is a nice addition because it doesn’t mean I need to use a bath towel as well.

A soggy doggy ready for his Soggy Doggy Towel

Dexter was just groomed so his fur isn’t that long. Typically he would have a for length of four inches but he was much shorter this bath. After the usual wet/lather/rinse routine, it was time to try out the towel.

It was very easy to use. My adult hands had lots of extra room in the pockets. As I mentioned earlier, the towel is easy to control as you move it over the dog. I would hold Dexter’s belly in with hand and rum my other hand down his opposite leg. The towel let me fully circle his leg which maximized drying.

I can’t speak for him, but I bet he enjoyed the massage of hundreds of little towel ‘fingers’.

The amount of water removed from this dog is amazing. While I mentioned he had fairly sorry hair this bath, even before he left the tub he had mostly dried. It took only there it four minutes with the hair dryer to finish the job and fluff him up!

When finished, I hung the towel to dry. I hang most of my clothes to dry (no sense using the drier when Mother Nature will do it for free, without the shrinking), and the towel doesn’t take up much space on the rack; less than a standard towel.

The washing and drying instructions are as follows:

Machine wash cold
Wash separately
Do not bleach
Dry low
Do not dry clean
Do not iron

This towel is great for baths, but here in the Northeast we get rain often, and snow in the winter and I have no doubt that this towel will be useful during those times as well.

Soggy Doggy also makes several variations of a doormat, a slop mat for under food bowls, big and fluffy beds, and a humorously titled “Slobber Swabber” which is essentially a shammy on a stick. Check them all out on the Soggy Doggy website: https://www.soggydoggydoormat.com

Virbac Enzymatic Toothpaste From Chewy.com

Small dog breeds are more likely to develop periodontal disease than large dogs because the teeth of small dogs are often too large for their mouths, according to veterinary dentistry experts. peteducation.com

After a recent visit to the vet, Dexter was warned about the potential for requiring dental surgery to clean his teeth. This should involve sedation, x-rays, baby teeth extraction, scraping of plaque.

In an effort to prevent him from going through all that, I added this Virbac Enzymatic Toothpaste to am order from Chewy.com.

It has a great Vanilla Mint flavor that keeps his breath fresh. The consistency is a bit like mustard; all it takes is a little squeeze. I use less than a pea-sized amount on the small end of the brush. This tube will last a long time! I had a toothbrush from a visit to the vet and started a nightly brushing.

It took a few times of him tasting the toothpaste, and smelling the toothbrush and feeling it on his gums before he would let me spend time brushing with the paste. Now, he sits on the couch next to me and let’s me brush for a few minutes every night.

Even in the few weeks that we have been brushing, there has been a noticeable improvement in the plaque on this teeth, and the freshness of his breath.

We tried before with some toothpaste from the store, but he didn’t like the bacon or peanut butter flavor. I can’t blame him, however. It did taste like medicated bacon. Thankfully, Dexter took to the Virbac quickly and looks forward to his nightly cleaning.

Notes:
* I paid full price for this product at Chewy.com and was not compensated for writing this review.
* The Featured Image of this post is HUMUNGA BLING Funny Teeth Rubber Pet Dog Toy Fetch Ball from Bonanza.com

Time for a New Dog Groomer?

I’ve set my efforts on finding the best dog groomer for Dexter. He was anxious at his last appointment with all the other dogs around so I’m looking bringing him to a neighbor who has a small grooming operation.

This list was especially helpful from Alissia Wolf. On her blog, she goes into much more detail each of her points:

• Research groomers in your area.
• Groomers years and training
• Groomers shop and attitude

The most important for me is the groomers shop. A well maintained and clean shop means the groomer has passion for what they do, and they pay attention to details.

I have been going to a big box groomer for a long time and have noticed that they don’t pay attention to some details. On our way to the grooming section, quite often dogs have marked at the end of the aisles, there is lots of hair in the corners of the salon waiting area, and spot sweeping is minimal throughout the day.

The store is also full of foreign smells. Dog food, cat food, bird food, fish food, frog food, wet food, dry food, catnip, brands and brands and brands of all of the above, dog toys, lights, barking, children running, adults talking, music, announcements, constant motion. I think it might be overwhelming. A smaller groomer will have a much more relaxing environment.

Also, because they do a large volume, there are constantly other dogs around, and during peak times, there are LOTS of other dogs around. Dexter is friendly and wants attention from everyone so he wiggles and squirms making for extra work for the groomers, and it also increases the stress that he experiences.

After Dexter was house trained he never had a single problem. This past trip to the groomers, he needed relief in the waiting area, in the grooming area, and in the parking lot. He was also going through either extreme stress or excitement while we were going there (constant yawning and looking around at high alert).

i think its time to mix it up and see if he has a more enjoyable experience with a smaller groomer.

Why Do Dogs Yawn?

When bringing my dog to the groomers tonight, he yawned the entire ride there. I wasn’t sure what could be causing it? Tiredness? Stress? Excitement?

The general consensus is that nobody knows. Several blogs I skimmed tonight suggest that it could be for all three reasons above. Based on his demeanor, I would guess excitement in this case. I’m going to try another groomer next time to see if his actions are different and maybe help pinpoint his temperament about hair cuts.

This post from the blog of Bark & Clark details the physical signs of each yawn and what they could mean in human words.

http://barkandclark.blogspot.com/2011/10/why-do-dogs-yawn.html