The A-Z of Puddle Pet Care
Welcome to the A-Z Blog posts about Puddle Pet Care. This is an idea we shamelessly borrowed from another blog! The idea is that we write a blog post about things to do with Puddle Pet Care (or our products or product testers) for each letter of the alphabet. It sounded like fun so here goes.
A is for About Us.
This seemed like a good place to start! Puddle Pet Care is a family run business which was started in January 2000 after we escaped the “rat race” of London and moved to the sea-side town of Selsey in West Sussex. Part of the escape was to set up our own business and wanted to do something we had an interest & knowledge about – and what better than pets. We began with a local delivery service and in January 2001 launched our website and have never looked back.
Along with the humans here we are assisted by (at the moment!) 7 product testers – namely our 4 Border Collie dogs and 3 cats – who you will meet in future posts.
We currently sell products for cats & dogs – and are looking to expand our range this year into products for small animals as well.
Being animal owners & lovers we hope that we have an idea of the type of products people are looking for and we only sell items that we would be happy to use with our own pets. We are more than happy to try and source products that we don’t currently have listed and are always on the lookout for new products to sell so if you have any ideas we’d love to hear them.
So just a brief introduction about us & as I said you will learn more about Puddle Pet Care in the coming posts!
New TV Advert for Dogs
So will you be watching tonight? There is a new advert which will air for first time this evening at 7.15pm on ITV for a brand of dog food featuring high-pitched sounds that cannot be heard by humans. The manufacturers hope that the dogs will react to the “noise”.
Makers of the advert tested the noise on 12 dogs while they were being distracted with a toy - they found that all of the dogs stopped playing and reacted to the sound. I have to say that 12 doesn’t seem like a big sample to me though!
Dogs have a much wider range of hearing then us humans – anything between approximately 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz. The advert will feature noises above 17,000 Hertz – though there is some debate as to whether our TV sets will even transmit a sound at that high a level. .
Most dogs will react to a sound by moving their ears towards it – up to 18 muscles control the movements allowing them to rotate and tilt their ears.
We will be seeing how our dogs react tonight and will report back on our findings. Do let us know If you see the advert how your dogs react.
Is your pet’s name in the Top 10?
The most popular names for dogs in 2011 have been released and show no change since the previous year.
The Veterinary Pet Insurance Company recently revealed its findings and Bella has remained at Number One. The trend seems to be for “human” monikers and Bella is closely followed by Bailey, Max, Lucy and Molly.
From 5 – 10 the popular names are Buddy, Daisy, Maggie, Charlie and Sophie.
Names like Whisky and Brandy seem to be assigned to the past and there’s no place for Rover anymore.
However, there are still dogs walking around out there with whacky and fanciful names. Remember Charlotte’s pampered pooch in Sex and the City? She was called Elizabeth Taylor and amongst the list of top 10 whacky dog names was Audrey Shepburn – a clever and witty nod to the glamorous actress, Audrey Hepburn.
Other weird and wonderful names included Almost-A-Dog, Franco Furter and Seamus McPoop.
These names may seem funny but you need to be aware that you’ll be shouting it out loud and you don’t want to feel embarrassed whilst out in public!
If you’re happy screaming for Stinkie McStinkerson, also in the Top 10, then all well and good but if not, maybe Bella or Bailey is the perfect name for your pampered pooch.
Let us know what your dog’s called!
Is Pet Insurance a good investment?
The majority of cat and dog owners still don’t have pet insurance. That’s according to The Co-operative insurance firm. Research released in January calculated that 64% of people do not hold policies for their pets.
As a result, 29% of them end up putting off visits to the vet because of the cost.
Unexpected vet bills can break the bank and direct debits make it easy for people to put money aside for their pampered pooch or feline friend.
You can pick up insurance with your groceries at the local supermarket or get it from online companies. However, are they really worth the money?
The BBC recently reported that Carrie Daniel took out a policy for her mini dachshund Rufus but when the dog suffered a ruptured disc her insurance did not cover the £4,500 needed for an MRI scan as it had a cap of £2,500 per injury.
However, pet insurance can be used for much more than paying vet bills.
Some policies will put up a reward if your pet goes missing, others cover property damage, and some even cover bereavement counselling for you if your animal dies.
There are hundreds of policies on the market and prices vary.
Recently, a dog owner told me that her pet insurance cover had been so inadequate for her dog that she would never do it again. She had been paying a monthly amount but when her Weimaraner needed an operation she discovered she wasn’t covered.
The mother-of-two has now decided she will pay a monthly amount into a savings account and if the money is needed for vets’ bills it’s there and if it’s never needed, they can have a family treat.
However, it is also worth remembering that some pet owners who are on benefits, and who cannot afford vet bills, could be eligible for free treatment from the UK’s largest veterinary charity, PDSA.