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Posts Tagged ‘party’

You have company over for dinner. The table is beautiful and the food smells and looks delicious. Unfortunately, your dog thinks so too and is sitting up and begging for morsels off everyone’s plate and, if not rewarded, attempting to take the food on his own or pawing at your guests. This can ruin the dinner party and is not particularly good for your dog either. How could this have been avoided?

Know that his is not the dogs fault and it started a very long time ago. Some horribly misguided individual who was trying to be a good pet owner did this while the pup was still very young and trained the dog for this very behavior. Want to know who taught your dog this trick? It was YOU.

No doubt you weren’t consciously training your pet for this unwanted behavior and you did it with the best of intentions but the behavior is here now and must be dealt with. Your dog learned this trick from all those times when little scraps of food were tossed down to a cute little puppy who staring up at you with those sad brown eyes. All of this could have been prevented by a simple act of will power then but now you have a problem to deal with.

So how can you stop your dog from begging?

Stop rewarding the behavior. This means not giving in and not paying attention to your dog when he begs. Make sure everyone in the household knows not to share their meals with the dog and follows this rule no matter what the circumstance. You may even have to confine your dog to its kennel or a separate room during meal or snack times if this is difficult. This is especially useful if you have people in the household who tend to feed the dog from the table despite the rules.

Don’t fool yourselves – you have created a monster and it will take several weeks of consistent work on your part to break your dog of this habit. Once you start, he will most likely begin to whine and howl loudly in complaint of the treatment. DO NOT GIVE IN. If you do, the battle is lost and will be that much harder next time. One weak moment of slipping the dog a treat just to be nice (and you are not really being nice at all) can ruin all the prior training so standing your ground and enforcing the rule of not giving meal time treats to the dog is a must.

One way to implement this change is to feed the dog at the same time the rest of the family, preferably in a separate room. This way the dog has its own meal and will not feel the need to beg food from others in the household. If this is not an option, give your pet something to distract it, perhaps a toy to play with to keep them occupied throughout mealtime.

Consistent and rigid training is the only effective way to correct it. Every member and guest of your household must enforce the rules or all your work will be of no avail. Guests can pose a problem, especially if they slip their dogs treats when they eat. Just explain the rules before you sit down to eat and, I hate to say it but… watch them. It is a habit for them and they may not even know they are doing it. In this circumstance, I like to keep my dogs away from the table just in case.

Once you stop your dog from begging, you will be blessed with a healthier pet, a happier household and pride in your well-mannered canine friend.

A businessperson with even a casual liking of pets is positioned to capitalize big-time on America’s pet craze. All you need to do is keep in mind that Americans increasingly treat their pets as children.

As the number of children per household declines, the number of pets is increasing. Baby boomers, a powerful segment of today’s market, are quickly becoming empty-nesters and replacing their grown two-legged children with four-legged ones. Indeed, many people now call themselves pet parents or guardians rather than “owners.”

“By buying pets human-type gifts, we are making ourselves feel good and making them happy,” says Bob Vetere, chief operating officer of the American Pet Products Manufactures Association (APPMA). This trend suggests a hugely profitable strategy for entrepreneurs in the pet business: position pets as members of the family. Here are three ways:

Create human-like products and services for pets:
-Gourmet and specialty pet foods.
-Doggy and kitty treat cookbooks.
-Pet clothing.
-Human-type pet furniture.
-Coordinating “Mommy and pet” jewelry.
-Designer pet carriers, buggies, and strollers.
-In-home grooming services.
-High-end grooming products, such as aromatherapy baths.
-Pet portraiture.
-Pet birthday party supplies.
-Pet communicator services for pets with problem behaviors.

Rename your existing pet products and services:
-Your pet supply store becomes a pet boutique.
-Your boarding facility becomes a pet hotel.
-Your kennel becomes doggy and kitty day care.
-Your grooming business becomes a pet spa.
-Your dog training skills make you a pet behavior specialist.

Capitalize on the fur frenzy with your existing non-pet business:
-Extend your brand to include pet products.
-Feature pets in your ads and sales messages.
-Donate a portion of your profits to an animal rescue group (and say that you are).
-Welcome pets in your store or lodging facility.
-Have a food service? Host regular dog-and-human cocktail parties.
-In the construction business? Offer custom dog baths/showers in high-end homes.

As always, choose a marketing expert with a passion for pets to help you create a marketing plan that resonates with your market. People are eager to spend lots of money on their pets. You might as well be positioned to receive your share.

So, you have wanted a horse all your life, but you can’t seem to get your parents to agree to get you one. Well, what you need is a plan, a parent friendly plan that shows your parents just how a horse will affect your life.

Start off by getting a job. I know, everyone says that, but it is really important. By getting a job you will show your parents that you are responsible enough to manage money. You will need at least $500-600 a month to care for a horse, so show your parents that you can earn that much money. Start a savings with your income and set aside enough money to pay for at least two months of board.

Next, find a barn that is local where you could keep your horse. Find out what the costs of keeping a horse there are. Be sure to include vet and farrier costs in your cost estimate. Get all these numbers on paper so that you can show your parents the actual costs.

Now consider what you could be doing if you did not have a horse. Are you currently spending a lot of time out partying or hanging out with friends? Be prepared to lose much of that time to your horse. Show your parents that these things are less important to you than your horse would be. Explain to them that you would be more concerned about paying your horse’s upkeep and working with your horse than going out late to parties or getting into things your parents would prefer you avoid (after all, who can afford drugs or alcohol if all the money is going to the horse).

With this information in hand, sit down with your parents and have a long talk. Discuss doing a trial run of horse ownership. You can either take on a part board situation or a lease of a horse. This way you avoid the initial cost of buying a horse, but still get the chance to show your parents how you will handle horse ownership.

If your parents agree to the trial, be sure to keep up your side of the bargain. Pay your horse’s expenses. Your parents should not have to foot the bill unless there is an unforeseen emergency. Go out to the barn as often as you can, and avoid going out and partying late. If you can keep this up for a year’s lease or part-board, your parents might actually start to see things your way.

Owning a horse is a huge responsibility, and you will need to do everything in your ability to prove that you are up for the challenge. Many kids just can’t manage the stress of having a job and paying for their own horse. On the other hand, parents are stressed enough just paying for the general bills. If you can prove that you will be self sufficient, you will give your parents the chance to accept your proposal without fretting that you will leave them in the lurch.