Where did summer go?

Last I knew, it was SPRING, now it's almost fall and I've failed miserably as a blogger! I'd like to blame it all on the pet store, but I just keep forgetting about doing it! My daughter does a great job blogging on her family life to keep everyone up to date and now I've got to try harder!

We lost a long time employee this summer to a career change. He's decided to go back to school and get his degree. This forces a move up to another city an hour away, making it impossible to work for us. We have missed him terribly this summer!

The industry continues to try to change and keep up with their customers. Dog/cat food and treats have the HUGEST influx of new, all natural food and treats, across all brands. It's staggering, the choices there are now. There's now also changes in rawhide, with companies touting "made in usa", as customers seem to want nothing to do with things made in china.

What is it with people? Our store gives out 60- $10 gift certificates to our local university, as part of a gift bag for all new incoming faculty members. Today a woman stopped in to see if we'd give CASH because she doesn't have pets, and since she's new, doesn't know anyone with pets. I was incredulous. I told her if she didn't want it, I'd throw it away for her, but she wanted to ask her husband first......yes, they are foreigners, clearly not familiar with this gift bag custom it appears.

"I found a turtle" One of the most dreaded lines we hear every week. Someone calls, on the phone, "I found a turtle in my yard. What do I need to set it up and keep it?". Well, of course you found a turtle in your yard, this is where wild things live! Do people realize how this sounds? No they don't. When we tell them how expensive it is to duplicate Mother Nature, MOST people agree to put it back. There's always a few hard core folks who insist on trying to gimp together a sub-standard set up and keep the thing alive "just for the summer". It's infuriating. I've come to the conclusion you can't win by saying "just put it back where you found it", so I've been tellling folks to set up an outdoor enclosure with a wire pen, big enough for a huge water area, a land area and a shady area. That way, it's getting the all-important UVB plus the heat and it's not stuffed into a 10 gallon tank! I hope the poor things are living and getting put back where they belong. One can hope, can't they??................

Why do all little dogs have allergies and won't eat their dog food? It's either us or a trend, I can't decide. We hear daily about dogs having allergies to this or that food, fleas, weeds, etc. Dog's scratching themselves raw! I don't know if it's related to all the designer breeds or what? It's a horrible condition and hard to watch your dog suffer endlessly during the warm months. Some of these conditions go away in the winter, so it's got to be weeds or pests of one kind or another. There's not much you can offer them except to try to change the protein of their foods, or go grain-free to see if this helps. Brewers yeast seems to offer a certain relief, as well as bathing in oatmeal shampoo. Many people OVER-BATHE their dogs too. No more than once a month is what I say!

And what is it with dogs not eating their food? My dogs have never had this problem. I've had two brittany spaniels over the years and they both ate too much! I suspect it has something to do with owners making their dogs picky by changing the food, hand-feeding them (!!) or feeding them people food. Also, not giving them adequate exercise. By that I mean a brisk 45 minute trot every single day to make them tired and make them hungry. That's difficult for our Senior Citizens, but by golly they've got to figure that one out! The dog really NEEDS that just as much as it needs food and water! Life just gets too boring for them if they can't get out and have some fun and excitement. Boredom leads to other bad behaviors too, like anxiety disorders and destructive problems. Love your dog, surely, but it really needs some tough, constructive love every single day. The dog must be taught what behavior is desired and that YOU are the one to follow, not the other way around. Love does not mean "give in"!! ;-)

COMING: As fall sets in, our slow summer pace comes to an end. Hopefully there will be a buying frenzy as everyone settles in for the first semester of this school year.

Is it spring yet?

Wow! Here in Illinois, we are so tired of winter this year! I'm not sure why, but it seems like the sun has only been out about 3 times this winter!

The pet store plugs along. We've gotten in some new dog toys this week that I still need to make room for. Our saltwater fish selection is improved and there must be more available to order. People are coming in daily wanting to plunk down some dollars on new pets and we are trying our best to accomodate. We are LOVING the new Aqueon fish tank stands. Finally, something new and COOL! I've had quite a few requests for burmese pythons this winter. Hope to find some eventually.

A customer returned a hedgehog he had purchased last week. That makes me sad! Poor little fella! He said his landlord didn't allow pets of this kind.....Hmmmm.......Shouldn't you find out about that first, before you spend such big money on something?

Another customer was asking how to make a tank octopus safe! But every time I offered a solution, it didn't fit with his "vision". His vision was a 50 gallon "normal" tank on a dresser, with hang-on-the-back filtration. Not gonna work! The tank is already up and running on the dresser, so no way he's going to fork out for an overflow tank and sump. It's got a standard plastic lift hood, so no chance he wants to spring for a new escape proof glass/plexiglass top. He just had some other idea, that was truly cheaping it up, and nixed every suggestion I made. I suddenly found something more important to do.

My favorite pet? RATS. We have had some adorable small rats that my neice and nephews have been playing with and I'm hoping to sell these for kids instead of the traditional hamsters. They are just so much nicer and less nippy! And we've had some cute colors lately.

So that's it for this week. Next week is spring break here and it will probably be a bit slower traffic in the store. We can catch up on some cleaning that way!