Your Healthy Pets Online

Introducing the Family Dog to the New Baby

Renske — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:50:00 GMT

After welcoming a baby in to the world you are probably concerned about how your dog is going to react to him or her. Many people surrender their pets to shelters because of exhibited jealousy from their dog after a new baby’s arrival and fear of the infant being harmed by the animal. Yet many families have been successful in introducing their dogs to the new baby. Introducing your dog to you baby is a process that needs time and the utmost of care to ensure a happy and safe welcoming process! The steps to ensuring your dog acts appropriately around the baby when he or she is finally taken back to your home are twofold usually – preparing your dog for the infants arrival and introducing your dog to your infant. Preparing your dog: Preparing your dog for the baby’s arrival in advance is one of the best ways to help avoid friction and jealousy between your baby and your dog. Your dog is used to your attention and pampering, some jealousy will naturally surface when your new baby becomes the center of attention. Taking some precautions, a few minutes of quality time and some extra treats can go a long way! Be sure to: • Take your dog to your local Veterinarian for a complete checkup a few months before the baby arrives. • Worms and parasites can be harmful to your baby so be sure to worm your dog before the baby arrives and at the normal intervals to keep on top of this problem. If your dog is not spayed or neutered, this is also the time to get it done. • Encourage friends with infants to visit your home to accustom your pet to babies. Supervise all pet and infant interactions. • Allow your dog to explore the baby’s sleeping, diaper changing areas, and related items such as baby powder, lotions, and diapers to become familiar with the new smells and objects. Apply baby lotion or powder to your hands, for example, and allow your dog to sniff the new smell. Dogs rely on their sense of smell, so familiarity with the new baby smells will help him or her recognize the baby as a part of the family. If possible, allow your dog to smell clothing that your baby has used before you bring the baby home. • Accustom your pet to baby-related noises months before the baby is expected. For example, play recordings of a baby crying (there are CDs out now for this exact training purpose – (see www.soundtherapy4pets.com/ for CDs with baby noises), turn on the mechanical infant swing, and use the rocking chair. Make these positive experiences for your pet by offering a treat or playtime. • Do not allow your dog to sleep on the baby’s furniture or play with the baby’s toys. Your dog should know that the furniture is not for him or her and should treat it as such. Provide toys for the dog that do not resemble baby toys. A dog may take the toy from the baby’s hand and unintentionally injure the infant. • If the baby's room will be off-limits to your pet, install a sturdy barrier such as a removable gate (available at pet or baby supply stores) or, for jumpers, even a screen door. Because these barriers still allow your dog to see and hear what's happening in the room, your dog will feel less isolated from the family and more comfortable with the new baby noises. • Use a baby doll to help your pet get used to the real thing. Carry around a swaddled baby doll, take the doll in the stroller when you walk your dog, and use the doll to get your pet used to routine baby activities, such as bathing and diaper changing. • Finally and very importantly, be sure that your dog knows that you and your family are alpha over him or her – this is crucial to ensure you can reprimand your dog should any jealous signs show when the baby is brought home. Introducing your dog to your infant: The actual introduction of your dog to your newborn baby is of utmost importance and the first few meetings can often dictate how your dog responds to your baby in an ongoing basis. For this reason, it is crucial to undertake the introduction process slowly and properly. Tips for the first meeting include: • When the baby comes home, another person should hold the baby while you greet your dog. Your dog has missed you and it is important to pay attention to him or her when you first get home. • Greet your dog happily and bring him or her a new toy as a gift to associate the baby with something positive. After your dog’s excitement about your homecoming has dissipated you should start introducing your baby to the dog. • If you are unsure of you dog’s behavior, leash or restrain him or her during the introduction. Talk to your dog, pet and encourage him or her to get a good look and sniff the baby’s hands and feet. Do not force a reluctant dog by pushing the infant in front of the pet. Allow the pet to explore the new smells at their own pace. Never leave your baby unsupervised with your pet. An infant is incapable of pushing the animal away and your dog may inadvertently smother the child. The actions of a baby may scare your dog and cause it to bite in self-defense. If your dog reacts aggressively, put him or her in another room until it is calm and try the introduction again. • After the initial greeting, you can bring your pet with you to sit next to the baby; reward your pet with treats for appropriate behavior. Remember, you want your pet to view associating with the baby as a positive experience. Again, to prevent anxiety or injury, never force your pet to get near the baby, and always supervise any interaction. • Life will no doubt be hectic caring for your new baby, but try to maintain regular routines as much as possible to help your pet adjust. And be sure to spend one-on-one quality time with your pet each day—it may help relax you, too. With proper training, supervision, and adjustments, you, your new baby, and your pet should be able to live together safely and happily as one (now larger) family. For more information on dog training techniques and how to deal with problem dog behavior (like accustoming your dog to children), check out Secrets to Dog Training. It’s the complete manual for dog ownership and is designed to fast-track your dog’s learning. You can visit the Secrets to Dog Training site by clicking right here

Can Cat Fleas bite Humans? Learn More About Cat Fleas

Renske — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:03:28 GMT

The answer to that question is yes. During the winter cats will not get the fleas from outside (depending of course where your live) so usually they will still have them because of what is left inside the house. Our vet suggested we use Advantage for about 8-10 months and then we would be flea free so to speak.

What do they look like? Well, you' have probably seen them - tiny, quick creatures that scurry through your cat's fur, feasting on her blood, and causing painful itching - so bad that kitty may scratch herself raw in seeking relief. If you have a bad flea infestation in a multiple-cat household, you've probably been bitten yourself by these voracious feeders, and you may even have seen them hopping through your carpeting. (Did you know a flea can jump 33 cm. in one leap - over a foot?) . Nevertheless, cat flea control is not only possible, it is actually quite easy. The most common flea which feeds off cats, dogs, and humans, is the Ctenocephalides felis. If you observe your cat scratching and aren't sure if fleas are the cause, use a flea comb on your cat and observe the tiny black dots that emerge on the comb - we commonly call it "flea dirt," but in reality, it is the excrement the flea leaves. Smash some with a damp paper towel, and it will turn red - that's the residue from your cat's blood - and a warning that cat flea control is indicated.
As if the itching and stinging weren't enough, fleas also transmit other conditions which can even have a more deleterious effect on your cat's health.

If your cat does have a problem with fleas then it is best to go directly to your veterinarian. He will have a choice of products for you to choose from. These flea treatment products may come in the form of soaps, sprays, sticks, powders, and dips. Your veterinarian will also lay out a treatment procedure for your cat to follow as well as a worm check.

Is the Excessive Barking of your Dog Getting Out of Control?

Renske — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:32:00 GMT

The first thing you should realize is that barking is really a natural and normal behavior in all dogs. However, this does not mean it is an explanation that will do for a lot of angry neighbors and relatives but it will make it easier for you to get your dog to stop barking. It really is not fair and not realistic to expect your dog to become completely quiet. Fortunately, we have the following action bullets to get you started in your helping your dog to behave better and remain healthy as well.

Finding out why the barking of your dog eliminating the cause will increase your chances of success.
Make sure you have the favourite treat of your dog within reach.
Praise the dog for barking once he starts barking by saying 'Good job' followed by asking 'What is the matter?'
Then tell the dog to, 'Be quiet.'
Start waving the treat in front of your dog's nose. Almost every dog will instantly quiet down, because they prefer to concentrate on smelling and attempting to lick the treat, rather than barking.
Do not stop praising the dog. Tell the dog that he is doing a great job for being quiet.
Wait 3 seconds of quiet time and then give the dog the treat.
If he starts to bark again wave another treat in front of your dog. Now, try to wait 5 seconds of quiet time before giving your dog the treat. Your dog should learn that after each successful quiet-time interval, he will be rewarded.
Warn your dog every time he makes a mistake. If the dog starts to bark, even for just an instant, as you are waving the treat in front of his nose, do tell him to 'Be quiet,' in a louder voice. In other words it is enough barking. After he stops barking reward the dog again.
Try to increase the quiet-time intervals by 3 seconds each time: from 3 seconds to 6 seconds to 9 seconds and so forth. During the first session is possible to continue to a couple of minutes of quiet time, which would mean a huge success in trying what you wanted to accomplish namely stop the excessive barking of your dog!

It goes without saying that if you feel that another command instead of 'Be Quiet' or 'Good Job' appears to be a better trigger to get the same result, you should just do it. Always bear in mind that the dogs usually bark for a reason which is not always clear to us. Sometimes they are just trying to get your attention or they are warning you because of danger.

For FREE Secrets to Dog Training 6 Day Course! Click Here! Stay informed or inform us on all pets Right Here!

Looking for a Pet Snake? Step into the Pet Snake World

Renske — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:00:00 GMT

Most people, when they hear the word snake, have feelings of fear. While most snakes are actually quite gentle creatures, their features in horror books and film have given us an unreasonable view of these reptiles.

If you put aside the reputation they've gained and take a look at them with an open mind, you will see that many snakes can make wonderful pets. Though they aren't the right pets for everyone. Snakes have some very specific requirements with food, shelter, temperature and handling and commitment. Before purchasing a snake for a pet, it's a good idea to do research on the type of pet snake you're looking for and what care and commitment requirements they may have. If you are worried about getting a pet snake because of having to handle the snake itself, many snakes are quite tame with proper handling.

Out of the diverse variety of snakes, however, there are only a few that will make good pets. These excellent types of pet snake range from garter snakes to more exotic snakes like the ball python.

Each species has its own unique needs and care instructions. When deciding on the type of snake you want, you need to consider these needs before getting your snake as a pet. The things you might want to consider are things like life span. How large the snake that you choose will get. Some snakes can get very large, so if you don't have a lot of room, you may want to choose a pet snake that will stay smaller in size. Not matter what type or size of snake you choose for your pet, make sure you get a secure enclosure. Snakes have an uncanny way of getting out cages. If you don't want to have to chase your snake around, make sure you get a cage that latches securely.

When choosing your snake, choose a reputable breeder and choose captive breeds over wild. Captive-bred snakes are tamer, easier to handle, and usually better eaters. They are also not prone to some of the illnesses you'll find a wild snake prone to. Another consideration is feeding. Wild snakes will be used to live prey, making it harder to get them to eat already killed prey. Captive-bred are usually started on already killed prey so are less likely to refuse to eat. Also, already killed prey means less chance of injury to your snake and can be bought frozen. So you don't have to raise and kill your snake's food yourself.

Of the snakes to choose from for pets, look at king snakes, corn snakes and ball pythons. The king snakes and corn snakes usually live about 20 years. So be ready for a commitment. They are also smaller in size. Ball pythons are small but live up to 40 years – again, be ready for a commitment. Larger snakes, such as constrictors, should be avoided as pets. Some forms of python will eventually require two people to handle. Having a pet snake represents a serious commitment to time and resources. Be sure to research the type you want before purchasing.

Children & Cats: Vital Safety Lessons You Need To Know

Renske — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 14:42:00 GMT

Children and cats are made for each other. However, there are of course some rules that you should lay down with your kids so that both them and the cat can remain safe as they play and have fun together.

Children, have a tendency to hurt cats (particularly small kittens) while playing with them. Although it is not done on purpose, kids lack physical discretion and usually get out of control during play. It is very common for them to bruise or injure any small house pet, especially if left unattended.

Your Cat May Bite Back!

There are more than 500,000 cat bites that go reported every year in the United States. As you can tell, cats will defend themselves if they feel threatened, even if it's against your loving children. But although 500,000 bites seems like a large number, it is very small compared to the more than 3 million bites that go reported in the United States each year from dogs. But even though cats are shown to bite less often, strong discretion and proper training of your children is a must to prevent this incident from occurring.

One very important discretion that you must make is to ensure that your cat has had his rabies shot. If your child gets bit for some reason, even if it is a small bite, be sure to treat it as serious as possible. Contact your doctor immediately because cats (although very clean animals) do harbor some very harmful bacteria inside their mouths.

Safety Tip For Babies & Infants

There is absolutely no reason why you should leave a baby alone with the cat, regardless of how well trained and well behaved the animal is. This should be a common sense but amazingly enough, babies are reported to have been bitten by cats quite often and without being supervised by an adult.

Safety Tip For Toddlers

Toddlers can be quite a handful, even for two adults in the house. Now imagine what it may be like for your cat to be rough housing and playing with a high energy 4-year-old child. It is a situation which causes most cats or kids to get injured. Even though cats do learn quickly that they should avoid children at this age, your cat will defend himself if being chased or cornered by a small child who is just trying to have fun. Be sure to keep a lookout at all times when your children are playing with your animals. Installing gates to block off certain parts of the house is very helpful in preventing injuries to both your cat and your kids.

Show Your Pet Your Love

Renske — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:07:00 GMT

Your pets are happy to see you. They show their affection by showering you kisses (or licks), wags, cuddling and other fun and cute ways. So make sure to show your love for them right back. Here are some creative ways to do that.

Treats and Toys

Making your favourite pet special snacks or treats right from your our kitchen. Search the web for recipes and visit your local public library for help. Here are a couple examples that you can use for treats in your own back yard:

Homemade Bird Food

Spinach leaves
Apple
Bits of bread
Bits of corn

Mix all ingredients together and feed to your bird.

Bird Salad

eggs
carrots
grapes
apples
broccoli
bird seeds

Scramble the eggs. Chop carrots and broccoli fine. Cut apple and into bite sized pieces. Grapes can be left whole or cut smaller.

Add the bird seeds on top of the mix, or mix it in with the other ingredients. Let your bird enjoy this recipe each morning!

Remember that food items need to be both delicious and nutritious so that your pet has as long and happy a life as possible.

Also be on the lookout for safe toys for your pet. You can head to your local outlet store, pet store or Odd Lots and find pet toys generally in the rear of the store – and most often they’re marked down. Search online for specials, too. You save gas money and lots of time and driving frustration, especially searching for parking space.

Pet Business Toys and Treats

If you’re in the pet business, stock your shelves and online stores with pet toys and treats. You can also add snack recipes to your regular newsletters, keep 3X5 cards near the cash registers that have pet recipes on them and post some on our bulletin board in the front doorway.

Online, start a category in your blog and / or website forum for sharing pet recipes and healthy, fun toy ideas. Invite your readers to share their recipes and toy ideas in articles via your website, blurbs on our blog and mentions in your ezine.

Also offer links where people can shop and purchase online. List trusted, safe places to shop where you go and where you send your friends. Sprinkle reviews around your blog, forum and site, too, letting people know what’s best to buy and what to avoid. List comparison shopping, too, where possible, telling which materials work best in toys, for example.

Pet Business and Time Management Basics Where Time Means Money

Renske — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:57:00 GMT

As many wise, successful business people say, time means money. And if you use your time wisely, you can get things done more efficiently... of course, saving you a good deal of money in the meantime, too.

But many people think this is a tough topic. They think that saving money and time is difficult. So let’s take a look at some helpful tips and cover basic time management skills to help with your success in the world of pets.

Time Management Tips

•When it is time to buy something for your pets, your pet business, your office or home, spouse, kids or self, make time to take time to shop around for the best deal you can. To make optimal use of your time and travel expenses during your shopping, avoid driving from store to store. Instead, save on gas money and travel time by searching on the Internet first.

•To help with business and personal finances, when you need to make credit card purchases, search online for the best credit card deals. Some financial and other lending / credit card institutions offer competitive rates, low initial fees and even incentives like free gifts of points or money back programs. Check their details and see how you could benefit.

• In a similar manner, check into consolidation services at least once a year to see if you can find a better interest rate for your installment and other loans. You might be able to combine high interest credit card debt and installment into one lower, more manageable payment package. Search the Internet for financial tips, advice and free quotes. Then print out the best offers and head to your local bank to see if they can compete.

• Avoid unnecessary time wasted with customer support issues. For example, use email whenever possible for communicating with issues dealing with business, public utilities, and other issues instead of mindlessly selecting choices on phone pad menus promoted by automated machines, leading you to hectic call centers with people who can’t help you anyway. Email can often help you cut to the chase in seconds, shaving off hours of wait time, loads of frustration and a lot of hair pulling.

So save time and make the most of your time with wise time management skills. Learn more time-saving skills on the Internet, too, searching through other articles. Become a life-long student of time management and reap optimum results every day.

Grow Your Pet Business with MySpace

Renske — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 23:46:00 GMT

The pet industry pulls in a reported $29 billion + per year. And one trendy new way of joining the pet marketing fun online is with MySpace.com, the #1 term search online in the past 90 days for a total of 223,167 searches. Awesome!

MySpace.com is a huge networking site where people of all ages get together for free accounts and share videos, audio files, photos, friendships and more. Here are popular ways to sell your pet wares there:

1) First of all, sign up for your free account. Then log in and fill out your profile. Note: Never post blatant ads anywhere. This site is about networking and building relationships. Not spamming.

When you complete your profile, only fill out what you’re comfortable with. You can always go back and revise it at any time. Don’t share personal home info if you don’t want, for example. But do list your website links, links to special pet products, etc.

Add digital photos of your favorite pets, video clips of them, too. Search for videos at online video sites to link up, if you don’t have any.

2) Take time to browse around MySpace and seek out other pet lovers to see what their profiles look like. Go to the top menu bar and select “People” then in the search bar, key in “dog lovers” for example. You may turn up “LOVE DOGGiES” and find you like the site and might like to be friends. So click “Add to Friends.” Immediately an email goes out to this person asking if they’ll add you to their friend list. If they do, then you’ll be hooked up in each other’s friend lists and can email and send announcements back and forth. Slowly over time grow your friends list and you’ll have potential pet prospects there.

3) Start your own MySpace blog. It’s free and fun. Post daily or weekly about your pet friends, products and fun. Offer free pet care tips, free training article blurbs and more… and invite others to join your friend’s list (use the Invite feature tool there) to keep up with your updates for free. Offer a free report for sign ups, too! People do love freebies on the web still 

4) Use the Calendar tool to log upcoming pet events for our viewers to read. Chat on forums to help others, too, and invite them to your site and MySpace area for more interaction.

There are many more ways to network and grow your relationships and business on MySpace. Read online articles to learn more. And jump in. See you round MySpace!

Growing Your Pet Business with eBay

Renske — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:29:00 GMT

In order to be a successful seller on eBay with your own pet business, here are some simple tips to help.

• Research the pet niche market. Search eBay’s research tools and eBay Pulse to see what pet products and services are selling. Look for pricing info, auction sales copy, photos, special, bonuses, etc. to see what tempts shoppers to bid and compete.

• Do develop a basic business plan. If doesn’t have to be elaborate with pages and page of details. Simply jot down your target market sector, basic marketing strategy, strengths and weaknesses of your operations and set up, and your budget and monthly financial plans to run your business.

• Find good pet products. Get hold of pet a supplier and wholesalers, check out their items for sale, the quality, pricing, shipping and handling, drop shipping, etc. Compare and see what works in your budget and give it a try.

• Begin with small steps. No need to spend thousands of dollars on inventory and storage, shopping supplies, workers, etc. right off the bat. Go slow and steady. See what works well for you and what doesn’t. And use automation and systems when you can.

• Test and use what works. Test new products, new auctions, new ad copy, new photos, new wording in your title, etc. Then when you find good combinations that work, repeat them! No need to keep reinventing the wheel.

• Spend time and money as you grow. Learn more about the pet industry, running a pet business, selling online, Internet marketing, eBay and all their tools, and the Internet and it’s growth. Try to keep up as best you can while you’re growing your business.

• Get legal as needed. See a local attorney if you need to take care of business licensing and other requirements.

• Be persistent. If something doesn’t sell, repackage it, re-brand it. If you’re stressed out, take a time out, stop being a workaholic and go have fun with your family. Then after you’re refreshed, jump back in and kick keyboard!

Once you get into the eBay swing of things, you might start thinking that you should quit your day job. Don’t so it too soon, though. Moonlight and set up side business(es) instead until you are confident your business will sustain you and your family. Seek advice from others, too, before branching off by yourself. Mingle on eBay and pet forums.

6 Ways to Promote Your Pet Blog or Website

Renske — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:29:00 GMT

You can increase public awareness about and drive more traffic to your pet website or blog when you promote it online and off. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Here are some ideas to help with your promotions.

Promote Online

- Get free advertising with viral Marketing. Simply write or hire some to write a report, guide or an ebook that features information about your pet site, blog, products and / or services. Then brand it by inserting your blog or website link inside – in the front page, back page and maybe as a watermark. Load it online or in an autoresponder, and then invite your friends, blog or website visitors, prospects and customers sign up for the freebie and download it as a free gift. Invite them to pass it around to their friends, too. And tell them they can share it on forums, via their chats, instant messaging and all avenues, too.

- For next to nothing, use autoresponders to also help spread the word about your blog, website, products or services. You can sign up with autoresponder services like Aweber or 1Shoppingcart, then insert some helpful pet articles or newsletter issues into your autoresponders. Then generate leads capture forms by following your autorepsonders’ instructions, place the forms on your website or blog, and then offer a free gift (a pet guide or ebook, etc.) when people sign up, by keying in their name and email into the forms. You can also promote the email addresses for your autoreposnders by listing them in your email signature:

“Download Your Free Pet Safety Report!
Send a blank email to: mypetnews@mydomain.com ”

- Free classified ad sites like Craigslist.com are good places to post your own ads, too. Do not spam the site, blasting ads all over the place. Instead, read the rules, then place one or two ads each week in different cities. Check out others ads for ideas on what to write, then post your own.

Promote Offline

- Look for marketing companies that sell promotional advertising specialties. Then order pens, pencils, notepads, sticky notes, stickers, bumper stickers… something in your budget range…that’s branded with your domain name on them.

- Add your domain name to all of your business marketing tools: your stationary, envelopes, business cards, postcards, Thank You cards, greeting cards, company brochures, labels.

- With help from online articles and library books, learn how to write good sales letters. Then mail letters to leads and prospects, and follow up with phone calls and by sending out your marketing tools (branded pens, pencils, etc.)

In short, don’t get caught short and leave everything to online tactics. Brand and grow and get out there and promote!

3 Ways to Grow Your Pet Business with a Blog

Renske — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:18:00 GMT

Three popular ideas are working from home, running a pet business and blogging on the web. With more and more computers with Internet access popping up in homes, business and after-hours establishments round the globe, more and more people seek out opportunities to work from home every day. Plus what better opportunity for pet lovers than to join the ranks of those raking in the $30 billion a year that’s spent in the pet industry, and what better way to do it than by blogging, a hot concept that took off at the end of the 1990’s.

Mix all three of these ideas together and see how you can turn this powerful trio into profits…

1. Working from home, a pet business and blogging are all easy to get started, fast to set up. Get help as needed from library and online resources, get set up and start selling.

Don’t worry about any steep learning curve with any of these ideas. Since you are more than likely already at home and online reading this, just click on a cheap place like GoDaddy.com where you can set up one of their Quick Blogs for roughly $2.99 per month (less if you choose a longer term – recommended) or read online articles and tutorials and learn how to set up and maintain your own Wordpress blog with your own hosting package form a place like HostGator.com. Read articles, ebooks, reports, etc. on starting a pet business online, network with others online, in your family, at church, etc., to learn more about running on online business. Then set up and get going.

2. Working at home, a pet business and blogging are all solid: real, authentic, no hype. So get everything in place, then start selling and making earning.

No one wants hype and junk, online or off. So you won’t have to worry with this powerful combination. First of all, since more and more people are working from home now, having an at-home status is no longer a bad thing in the world of business. Plus people are used to shopping online and buying pet products and services from flea treatments to bedding to treats and toys and more. And posting your information to blogs is popular: helpful articles, full color images, links for shopping and reviews, etc. So you have a solid money-making avenue stream in place.

3. Working at home, a pet business and blogging can all be marketed any number of ways as one package that’s loaded with benefits for your shoppers, for example:

- Invite blog visitors to subscribe to your autoresponder messages about your pet products and services. Have info and ads about what you want to sell inside each message.

-Invite interaction with your blog visitors with surveys and comments.

- Send e-mail messages to your friends and blog visitors and include email sigs (signatures) that link to your blog.

So give these three ideas a try: working at home, a pet business and blogging. Get a leap ahead and start making money online today.

Making Money with Autoresponders in Your Pet Business

Renske — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:27:00 GMT

There are software programs called autoresponders that let you to set up messages so that they are emailed automatically once triggered. And these can help you with your pet business. When you have autoresponders set up, it’s like having a team of marketing and sales people on your team – for peanuts - to help grow your business.

You see the autoresponder’s main feature and benefit is that once it’s activated, it automatically sends out a message or series of messages that were loaded by you well in advance and set at predetermined intervals chosen by you. The autoresponder is triggered by either an email sent to its unique address or by someone who’s completed an online form at your site, generally entering a first name and email address then clicking a submit button.

In response, your loaded autoresponders may send out messages containing newsletters or ezine issues, pet-related ebooks, pet care guides, pet industry reports, links to pet videos and photos and all types of other informational products regarding your pet business. And keeping in mind that your autoresponders are also sales tools, you can insert ads with links to your products, your main blog or website, your full color brochure and all types of other marketing and sales content inside the messages. This helps increase your closing ratio, giving you repeat contact and follow up with prospects and clients instead of just focusing on a one-time website visit to attract a lead and land a sale.

Other tips about using autoresponders:

• Autoresponder messages can be sent out in rich text format or HTML. Get creative using full color images with links and your company logo. Include opt-in ability and contact information to meet anti-spamming laws today. A include tracking so you can tell how many people receive and open your messages.

• The form you set up for your autoresponder is also referred to as a squeeze page. Since this squeeze page prompts your website visitors to leave some of their contact info behind, if this is not done you may be losing hundreds of dollars in profitable business relationships because you do not even know your prospect’s basic information like their name and email. So set up your forms.

• Learn more about autoresponders and how to set up their forms / squeeze pages to make the best impact on your website visitors. Search for more tips and helpful advice on the Internet.

So get your business set up with autoresponders. And keep up with technology and the times so that as the Internet grows, so will your business!

Niche Marketing Efforts for Pet Business

Renske — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:47:00 GMT

There are many different types of niche marketing efforts available to you to use with your pet business promotions and sales. You just have to focus on your shoppers and buyers, those people in your targeted niche audience, and do what works well for others in the industry like …

1) Writing short informative articles and press releases that share details (features and benefits) about your products and services. The articles need to feature some main keywords or keyword phrases, like items you are selling, to attract search engines and people surfing the net. Include resource boxes at the bottom of each one that note your contact information and site link. And then submit the finished articles and press releases to online publishers, article directories and press release sites so that they can be viewed by people using keyword searches.

2) Pay per click campaigns work well for some people, sending online shoppers right to websites of the marketer through a link placed in your ad. Seek out popular pay per click programs like Yahoo Marketing and Google™ Adwords for details. And then review ads already up and running for ideas on how to create your own targeted ads.

4) Make use of signature (sig) files when you are interacting online, especially via email and forum posts. For example, add a action plus a link to your site in emails saying, “Sign up for ‘Healthy Pet Care Tips” at: YourDomain.com today and instantly get your Free Pet Travel Guide as a “Thank you!”

5) Find and package products or services from other compatible businesses to offer even better deals. Package luggage, travel guides, travel tip reports, ebooks on destinations and more.

6) Grow your online presence with a blog, product / service reviews, destination guide pages, travel photos to share and other interactive, full-color web marketing techniques.

7) Learn how to set up and use autoresponders. You can use them to set up surveys, capture leads, and for all types of other promotional strategies. For example, you can send out ezine issues automatically to anyone who signs up – day or night. And you can send out instructional messages to teach others about your products and services. When you use autoresponders, it’s like having an army or free helpers, round the clock, helping you with your promotions, customer service and sales.

Experiment and see which ideas work best for you. Using a few good techniques is better than doing nothing at all!

Make Money in the Pet Business

Renske — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

People round the globe spend thousands of dollars every year on their pets.
Popular pet products and services include pet food supplies, pet boarding, pet breeding, pet grooming, pet yard clean up (waste removal), pet walking, pet sitting and the selling of pet retail accessories. And many, if not all, of these pet business ventures can be run from home-based businesses.

In fact, pet industry pros say that the pet business in general is increasing on a regular basis. And they place the Pet Care Industry among the fastest growing segments of home-based business opportunities today.

Some important statistics cited include the following:

• Over 37 million homes in the USA alone have at least one dog
• More than $33.5 billion is spent annually in the USA along on pets
• Over 45% of all households in the USA have more than one pet

In short, there’s never been a better time to establish and grow a business in the pet industry. And what better way to get your business in gear than to discover some tried-and-true tips from someone who’s been there, done that…to help you get started and grow your own pet business.

1) Research different business opportunities within the pet niche to see which type of business you’d like to run. Decide whether you want to offer services or products or both.

2) Get free help and information from the Small Business Administration (SBA.gov) and library books and put together a basic business and marketing plan plus a budget for your pet business.

3) Start searching for pet and business sites on the Internet and book marking favorites. Seek out places with handy business tips and advice, helpful articles, regular ezines / newsletters and pet information.

4) Also seek out networking sites to book mark: forums and chats for home based business owners, for pet store owners, for work at home parents, etc. The goal is to build and grow a network for you self where you can get help and give back, helping others along the way.

5) Start learning about affiliate marketing, if you don’t already have basic knowledge. Search the topic in your favorite search engines. Then search for products you can market for other people in your pet niche like name brand pet medicines and foods, for example. One place to sign up for free affiliate marketing programs like this is at Commission Junction at cj.com.

Don’t stop here! Print this info and keep it in a handy folder. And keep growing your info folder as you grow your business. That’s how to make money in the pet business!

Success Tips for Your Pet Business

Renske — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 23:39:00 GMT

In order to be more successful with your pet business, get your mind and body geared up for success. Start by making positive attitude adjustments for success and better health, inside and out with these helpful tips...

• Concentrate on business first, and then dig in and learn more about how to run a business. Using help from library or other resources, develop basic business and marketing plans. And from now on, stop wondering how to run your business operations and KNOW. When you follow no plan or even a poor one, you do reach your goal: nothing. So plan for success and strive to get there instead!

• Learn more about the pet industry, what people buy online and off. Do a little research each month to see what the more popular selling pet products and services are and what campaigns are out in the mainstream. Bookmark pet sites and sign up for their ezines to see what’s new, what the news and announcement are and what you might be able to learn to help your own business grow. Keep up with the industry!

• Slacking off and being lazy don’t work in the business world long term. So stop trying to short change your visitors, leads, prospects, clients. Use some elbow grease and do what you need to do to each day to attract traffic, generate leads, follow up and close make your sales. Make a point to regularly plan sales and marketing campaigns – online and off – for getting human and search engine traffic, leads, prospects and sales. Have your website, content, autoresponders and everything else updated regularly and in place. Avoiding laziness helps make anyone more successful!

• Don’t hide out from the real world and stay at your computer all day. Get out and network at industry event, and network, reaching out – online and off – to connect with others. Learn from other pet business reps who have been where you are and already reached some level of success. Network with others who work at home for tips about what works best and what doesn’t when juggling work with family. Save your contacts’ information in a database like one in any email program (Microsoft Outlook) and add to your goals to follow up on a regular basis with people. Set goals: talk to at least four people every day via phone, email or some other means.

• Get and stay in shape. Success starts on the inside!

So get yourself and your business in sync with success. Successful work habits are directly proportional to successful results!

Get Your Pet Business Organized

Renske — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:17:00 GMT

When you get your pets and pet business organized, you can save a lot of time, money and headaches caused by mismanaging your inventory – and your time and life. Instead of looking for things (like pet collars, medications, training instructions, website content and images) and buying duplicates because you can’t find what you already have, you’ll be much better prepared to find and conquer your clutter.

So get ready for better organization, everything you hopefully need for your pets and business – all in one place. In no particular order, try these helpful organizational tips.

Basic Offline & Online Organizing for Your Business

Your main focus with organizing is to set up a main area for gathering all of your pet information and materials together so that everything is handy, all in one place. Note that whatever organizational methods, device and systems you use do not need to be costly. Choose what works for you and is in your budget level.

Begin by taking a look around your home or other work environment. You need a place where you can establish your organizational headquarters; a spare bedroom, downstairs vacant sitting room, breezeway, basement area, outer attached storage area, shed, garage area, barn or other out building, as examples. When you find a place, start working on your organization there, focusing on these main points:

- Build up your own reference and information center with all of business documents: pet guides, pet health books, invoices, receipts, instructions for equipment, product and service brochures, etc. You can build this within a chest of drawers, file cabinets, book cases, durable plastic stackable containers or any type of shelves.

- Within your storage space, also insert folders to help separate your materials and keep things neat and easily accessible.

- Establish an area for your continued business and pet training information and other educational materials: CDs, DVDs, books, how-to tapes, audio cassettes, magazines, helpful articles clipped form newspapers and newsletters and copied off of the Internet, reports, guides and other learning aids.

- Add small shoeboxes or other storage units for holding your paper clips, staples, pens, pencils, note pads, ruler, glue stick tape measure, tape, etc.

- And when you have your main central area filled in, arrange your other business equipment (computer, fax machine, phone system, etc.) and pet supplies (extra food and treats, toys, bedding, etc.) in surrounding storage cabinets, shelves, bins or other types of units of various sizes and on nearby wall hooks. Visit your local hardware or discount stores for good organizational aids.

So plan ahead and get organized. Save time, money and aggravation when you grab what you need the first time around. And invest in your business, your customers and your self instead!

Herbal Products for Kitty

Renske — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 01:26:00 GMT

Many cat lovers want to pamper kitties with natural, holistic herbal products instead of conventional store brands or even at times, costly veterinary medicine. The herbal practitioner focuses on natural diets and lifestyles as the preferred foundation for your cat’s optimum health and age for your cat. Here are tips to help with choosing herbal products for kitty:

1) Herbal products and treatments like those for treating and preventing health issues for pets, feature natural products from the environment instead of man-made materials and medicines.

2) Many herbal products for pets are offered in either liquid or powder forms. You puy them and then either mix the products with food, give them to your pet with a dropper or syringe, or you can mix it with liquid like water.

3) There are herbal products that act as treatments for a variety of ailments and chronic conditions, some that are vitamins for promoting good health, some for dental care, for relieving constipation and other medical conditions. There are also herbal products for cats that have allergies, and cats that needs calming – like before heading off to see the veterinarian, pet groomer or before traveling in cars or airplanes. OYu can also find herbal products to help with vision care, and teeth and gum cleaning.

4) Try a herbal purifier to detoxify your cat’s system, relieve your cat’s diarrhea and help with soft stool issues and diarrhea relief. Try digestive relief herbal products for upset stomachs or weak digestive systems with your kitty. And check out gas relief herbal products to help with digestion, to relieve inflammation (of digestive tracts) and to help with intestinal issues, gas pain and pressure.

5) For itch relief, try skin and coat herbal products. And for joint pain and inflammation plus good circulation, seek out herbal products for joints.

6) To help with nausea, vomiting or diarrhea due to motion sickness, seek out herbal products for motion sickness relief. To help kill parasites and aid your kitties’ digestive system, seek out help from herbal products to help, too.

7) Check into getting Echinachea in herbal form to help your pet’s immune system and to help fight off infection.

Regardless of your pet’s situation, when in doubt, ask first. And make sure to read directions thoroughly before giving herbal treatments and other products to your pet. Always think safety first for your pet!

A Dog's Nature

Renske — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 23:05:00 GMT

Dogs, descendants from wolves, started interacting with mankind thousands of years ago. In fact, scientists believe as many as 800 breeds of dogs exist in Western civilizations alone. Although some of their behaviors have developed due to relationships with people, some important traits stand out.

1) Dogs are social animals

Some pet owners try to lock up their pet dogs and isolate them, like in a pen or on a leash outside for lengthy periods without even human contact – just living outside alone year round. However, this type of isolation can lead to fear and / or aggression and other forms of bad behavior. Dogs need companionship.

Isolating a dog for brief periods can be a useful training technique. Fear of expulsion from the pack can move overly assertive, alpha-status seeking dogs into alignment with the trainer's goals. In any human-dog pair, the human must be the alpha (leader). The alternative is property destruction, human frustration and unsafe conditions for people and dogs.

But excessive time devoid of social interaction with another dog, the human, or even a friendly cat harms the dog's psychology and leads to unwanted behavior. Even guard dogs have to be able to distinguish between external 'threats' and members of its own 'pack'.

2) Dogs are scavengers

Dogs don’t know what’s good for them to eat and what’s not. So you need to try to keep them in a safe environment and not allow eating of things that would be harmful to them.

Recognizing a dog's nature, and working within in it rather than against it leads to less frustration for both human and dog. Enjoying the beneficial aspects, such as spontaneous dog hugs (leaning into a leg), paw offering and a head laid on the lap are just a few of the rewards.

3) Dogs are predators

Dogs have sensitive hearing and head muscles that allow precise orientation of their ears. They can pick up a range of sounds and locate the source quickly and accurately.

A dog's field of vision is higher than that of humans. Their field of view has been estimated from 180-270 degrees, by comparison to a human's 100-150 degrees, allowing them to track events better.

They also have a heightened sense of smell. Citing figures such as having 25 times as many scent-receptor cells or being able to sense concentrations 100 million times smaller than humans conveys the fact one way.

4) Dogs are exploratory

Dogs can be like eternal two-year-olds. They love to explore- anything and everything, get into trouble, not respect property, etc. So you need to train them and set rules ad boundaries for them – and enforce them.

Get them toys to chew on, set up a fence or lead line, get training guides and help if necessary.

Care Tips for Your Geckos

Renske — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 09:45:00 GMT

Geckos are good starter pets that wouldn’t put much of a dent in your pockets, being inexpensive and easy to find. But then again, every Gecko owner should take note of a few Pet Care Tips that would help ensure the health and well-being of this reptile.

Handling Your Geckos

Geckos are quite domesticated with some species, like the Leopard Geckos, largely bred in captivity and are therefore used to subsisting in a terrarium environment. These creatures also have very low-aggression tendencies and are therefore very easy to handle and maintain as pets. You can even grab them by their tails without eliciting a hostile reaction and most Geckos can regenerate their tails in case it falls off.

Housing Your Geckos

Adult Geckos would thrive well on a humid and moist environment. Therefore, the pet’s terrarium should be designed to contain a reasonable amount of moisture and heat to achieve the conditions of its habitat. A 15 to 20 gallon plastic container reasonably filled up with patches of moss, vermiculite and the volcanic glass, perlite at the bottom of the tank should do the trick. There are also tanks made of glass, plastic, metal and wood coated with melamine that can be purchased from pet shops. However, plastic and wood tanks come in highly recommended.

Note that Geckos are climbers and should therefore be provided with an elevated tank as well to provide more vertical crawl space. For its substrates, better choose dry materials such as paper towels, calcium-based sand, a reptile carpet or slate rocks to which captive bred Geckos are quite used to.

Being nocturnal creatures, incandescent bulbs and reptile bulbs should be installed accordingly at the mouth of the tank while sustaining an ideal temperature gradient which would help Geckos and most reptiles regulate their body temperatures to aid in pertinent bodily functions such as digestion.

Feeding Your Geckos

It is important to maintain a steady supply of water and moist in the Gecko’s tank. You can put in a sturdy container for this as these lizards like to drink a lot and would even lap at the droplets of water produced by its moist environment.

Geckos would enjoy a meal of crickets, worms and locusts that would easily fit into their mouth. It is also important to feed your pet with nutritious meal, 2 or 3 times a week. Therefore, its prey—the insects—should be nourished with Gut-load; 12 hours before feeding the same to the Geckos. Moreover, prey should be dusted with calcium supplement which helps in the development of a strong bone structure for your pet.

Fun with Geckos

Renske — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:17:00 GMT

There is a growing fondness among children and adults alike to care for Geckos as a household pet. Geckos are a rare breed of ground dwelling, nocturnal lizards commonly found in the more humid regions of the world. These reptiles have colorful, patterned bodies which serve as an aesthetic turn on to pet lovers, while the lack of eyelids of most of its species only contributes to its appeal. Distinctive to this family of lizards is an interesting set of toe pads which could efficiently saunter over smooth surfaces.

There are over 15 know species of Geckos, but the Leopard gecko and Crested gecko are favorite household pets. The preference over these creatures as pets is due to its fair size; in addition to an inherent hygienic nature observed in the handling of its feces that makes them manageable as pets. Apart from that, geckos are quite domesticated and typically non-aggressive, being toothless; which makes them safe to handle and play with. Pet shops normally have a handful of geckos readily for sale at very affordable prices and this only helps advance its growing popularity among pet lovers.

Anyone interested in rearing this pet can ideally start with a pair of geckos. The owner will simply need to purchase a 15 gallon tank which would serve as a terrarium or cage. To simulate the lizard’s natural habitat, improvised logs can be outfitted into the terrarium to provide a hiding place and climbing nook. Geckos, being nocturnal would thrive well in a dimly lit environment and the use of an incandescent bulb will help achieve such a condition. Geckos are insectivores and therefore feed on worms and crickets. Adult geckos can be gut fed every other day while young geckos would need daily nourishment.

Geckos are generally easy to breed. Some species have hermaphrodites and need not copulate to produce juveniles. However in breeding any gecko species, the pet owner should observe the practice of pairing only one male gecko for every group of female geckos. Moreover, it is recommended that females and males be made to interact rarely and only for the purpose of mating. There are also findings that the gender of juveniles can be controlled during incubation under the right temperature. This assumption however remains unsupported as of the moment.

The popularity of geckos as a household pet is supported by the circulation of literature related to the care and maintenance of these pets. Richard and Patricia Bartlett authored a complete owner’s manual for Gecko pet lovers which can be purchased online. On the other hand, should you be interested in rearing the Leopard Gecko species, you can check out retpile guidebooks or articles for this purpose.