Don’t Act on Impulse: Ensure Your Holiday Pet Adapts to a New Home
Petco™ Encourages Welcoming a New Pet into the Home Responsibly
It is always fun and exciting to expand the family with a four-legged friend, but the decision should not be taken lightly, especially during the holidays. The holidays are often a busy time when people do not have the time or energy to focus on a new pet and this often means many dogs and cats aren’t acclimated properly into their homes.
This January, Petco™ is helping pet parents to insure a smooth transition for their new bundle of joy with a variety of services and unique technologies and products.
Think Adoption First: For those considering a new pet for the holidays, keep in mind that millions of animals enter shelters every year with nearly half being euthanized, so Petco urges aspiring new pet parents to adopt. For those looking for a particular breed, a large portion of shelter animals are purebreds. There are also plenty of puppies and kittens. During the weekend of January 7-8, 2012, every Petco store will host adoption events to help place animals in need of home during Petco’s monthly National Adoption Weekend event. For more information on pet adoption or to find a nearby store, visitwww.petco.com/adoption.
Relieving Anxiety: Cats and dogs often become anxious when they are in a new surrounding. Help calm new pets with Comfort Zone Feliway and D.A.P stress reducing pheromones. The Feliway pheromone mimics the natural comforting facial pheromones produced by cats to reduce stress-related behaviors and calm cats or kittens. The Dog Appeasing Pheromone (D.A.P) also mimics natural comforting pheromones to calm dogs, which can end barking, urinations, chewing, anxiety and other stress-related behaviors safely and naturally. Suggested Retail Price: $30.00-$46.99
Potty Training: Potty training can be one of the most frustrating parts of bringing a new dog into a home, but the fact of the matter is when a puppy has to go, they go. To help get new pet parents off on the right paw, Petco is offering free potty training seminars January 14-15, 2012 at 2 pm at all of their nationwide locations. Learn new tips and tricks that have proven results.
Accidents can happen when house-training, especially when the cold weather means a dog is not spending as much time outside. Use Purina Pro Care Ultra Dry Advanced Training Pads to assist with training indoors. The pads utilize Drystep™ microweave technology that absorbs faster and the one-way microfunnels quickly channel urine into the core so the surface stays dry, meaning guaranteed complete protection against leaks and paw tracks. Suggested Retail Price: $9.99-$39.99
Give a Gift: Now that there’s a new puppy in the home, it’s time to have some fun and give a functional, yet fashionable gift to make the new family member feel right at home. Precision Pet ProValu 2000 Dog Crates for puppies and small dogs come in cute pink or blue colors, making it the perfect present. This crate is easy to transport and has a resistant electro-coat finish. Plus, with the matching pink or blue mats, who can resist this fabulous “puppy shower” find? However, if the puppy will grow to be a large dog, a larger crate will be needed down the road so it can comfortably stand up, sit and lay down. Suggested Retail Price: $19.99-$15.99
Keep Pups Playful: New pets are full of energy, especially if the adopted dog is a puppy. Adopting a pet during the holidays means the cold weather keeps them indoors more often than usual. It’s important that dogs are still getting the stimulation they need to keep them occupied. Kyjen Dog Games are a great solution for this. Ten minutes of thinking play equals 45-minutes of active play, meaning these food and treat motivated games will give dogs what they need to stay healthy and entertained during colder months.Suggested Retail Price: $14.99-$19.99
Train Right from the Beginning: A study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found that behavioral problems were the most frequent reason pet parents gave when turning their dog in to a shelter. It’s critical that new pets are properly acclimated in to their home. Petco’s revamped “Positive Dog Training Classes” build a lifetime bond between dog and parent through fun and interactive classes that use rewards-based methods only with proven results. Petco offers three different levels to chose from so every dog can find their perfect fit.
Proper Petiquette: With so many dog parks and pet-friendly establishments popping up, it’s especially important that puppies learn how to play well with others to keep public appearances positive experiences. The weekend of January 28-29, 2012 at 2 pm, pet parents can learn how to safely socialize puppies during a fun and interactive class that is completely free.
Help Dogs Reach Their First Milestone: Dogs may not have first steps or first words, but pet parents can still help them reach their first milestone with Petco’s “Puppy’s First Bath.” It’s a great way to pamper puppies and get them use to grooming for their long-term health and wellness. The service includes a bath, blow-dry, 15-minutes of brushing, ear cleaning, nail trim and to keep them smelling puppy fresh they will be sent home with a free 2 oz. Puppy Powder scented spritz.
About Petco
Petco is a leading pet specialty retailer that provides the products, services and advice that make it easier for our customers to be great pet parents. Everything we do is guided by our vision for Healthier Pets. Happier People. Better World. We operate more than 1,100 stores nationwide, including more than 30 Unleashed by Petco locations, a smaller format neighborhood shop, andwww.petco.com. The Petco Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization, has raised more than $80 million since it was created in 1999 to help promote and improve the welfare of companion animals. In conjunction with the Foundation, we work with and support approximately 7,000 local animal welfare groups across the country to help find homes for more than 250,000 animals through in-store adoption events every year.
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