• Vomiting and Diarrhea - this is usually the biggest issue for most dog owners.  Whether it was the potato salad, the 12 hot dogs or the stress from company or the noise, their GI system is upset.  Here is a little trick to get that stomach back in shape.

• Diarrhea - coconut.  Sounds crazy I know but it really does work!  Get yourself some unsweetened coconut (or even macaroons work).  At the first signs of diarrhea, give a small amount of coconut - no real need to force this down as most dogs love it!  A good tablespoon should do the trick.

• Vomiting - fasting. Take your pet off any food for at least 24 hours and then restart the next day with only half the size of a regular meal.  On day three, back to normal feeding.  Be sure that your pet has access to fresh water at all times though! This trick works great for those cats that have thrown up a hairball as well. For those pets that have medical conditions that require medication of regular feedings (i.e. diabetes), please consult your veterinarian first.
• Please be sure that if your pet exhibits any excessive lethargy, bloating of the abdomen, labored breathing, blood in diarrhea or stool or vomit, excessive of either vomiting or diarrhea or any other non-regular behavior, that you seek medical help with your veterinarian as some of these may be symptoms of more severe conditions.

• Torn or shredded nails/pads

• Obviously if there is active excessive bleeding, seek medical assistance.
• If there is a small amount of bleeding from a nail (non-painful), you can use corn starch and pressure. This should stop the bleeding.
• Shredded pads - you can use a little neosporin on the pad and then place the pets foot into a sock so that it does not lick it off (or an e-collar). Never tie anything onto your pet's feet!

• Stress

• The quicker you can get back into your normal routine, the faster your stressed pet will calm down.
• Lavender - this smell is calming to your pet as well.  Keep a small container of lavender oil or fresh/dried flowers around for when you pet is stressed or will be in a stressed situation.  Make the home smell of lavender but DO NOT PUT ON YOUR PET.

This is Frederick, President of Casey Petraceuticals, LLC.

You may remember my last post about the nature of Iron Man retail politics. I received some interesting emails on the post and want to thank those who read it. For those who didn't (and didn't click the link above) let me state the mission of my particular blog posts--I want to detail the struggles and philosophy behind running a company (i.e. especially a green sustainable one like ours) in this crazy economy we have. Hopefully it will be an entertaining and insightful read for pet owners, pet store owners and anyone interested in small business.

So, there will not be Iron Man references this week.

No, this week we will be discussing a far more serious topic-

Star Trek.

Why Star Trek? It's simple- Teamwork is paramount for successful pet products. Without my team including Gerry Schuetz (our very own Spock although he would prefer CFO -- JK Ger!) I fear that we would not have had the success we've enjoyed in 2009-2010.

I know this because the pet industry is showing declines in several sectors such as pet supplements and the abandonment of pets from families affected by the economic downturn is up 20% in several shelters around the country. Furthermore, pet supplements are down in several retailers (by as much as 10% on year to year trends) while pet veterinarian bills are on the rise and represent 25% of most Americans' pet costs annually.

I'm rather serious about this point despite how trivial this may sound. I've come upon this rationale after spending the last year running Casey Petraceuticals and transitioning us from a pet-specific company sold primarily online to a retail brand that covers pet, people and the planet. The fact remains that if the pet industry is to continue to hold during times of a recession then we will ALL need to have more cooperation both within our own companies as well as amongst our vets, rescues and other pet advocates.

Now what we need is not just cooperation but we need people to do do what they are good at and to know what they are not. What has been brought to my attention by quite a few pet professionals is the amount of pet enthusiasts who lack some very important business skills. Finance, operations and marketing cannot be substituted for good customer service or affection for pets.

I don't mean this as an insult either just an observation.

This happens in every business I might add--I saw it a lot in my previous industry, video games--where people would be better at selling or marketing toilet paper but liked being in video games because it was "cooler".

The pet industry has one of the nicest, most genuine coalition of people I've ever met.

But passion and consideration DO NOT keep the lights on. Trust me, I speak from experience.

I see this when we work with some retailers who worry about a product selling but do not know how to accurately test the product's capability to sell. Or the opposite happens where someone creates a product for pets and cannot understand why the product isn't being carried by more stores.

For example, our business involves creating food grade products that must be tested, marketed, sourced, sold, shipped and promoted online. To that end we have several individuals with great careers who are working to drive Casey Petraceuticals:

• One has 14 yrs experience as a vet tech
• Another has 20 yrs. experience as a financial manager/ accountant
• I have a decade plus experience in retail consumer products. 
• And more and more experience from our staff, vendors, associates and Board members continue to help us along.

The experience that our team brings is critical. It allows us to anticipate and be proactive in helping to drive retailer needs at the same time we have the awareness to know what NOT to do which includes making products retailers tell us they would like but that we do not know how to do.


Likewise, with customers I often hear "is your product a food?" or "why would I pay for a supplement when we have our pet on the best food out there?" The last point is a bit contentious as I'm sure EVERYONE in the industry would have a very subjective answer to this. Some would do so from solid scientific knowledge and others on more personal matters such as testimonials, relationships or the always powerful factor of cost (I'm talking to you Ol' Roy!). We try never to demand of our customers--we use our forums such as this to guide or suggest.

That said, the customer has to be educated to what we as a company are about and while that's my job--we all stand a bit of responsibility in teaching customers, stores and groups to the power of our collective philosophy for better pet care. 

Casey Petraceuticals' success is still a work in progress. We're nowhere near where I'd like for our company to be but it's nothing that we can't handle when we work together. This goes the same with retail and customers.

For retail--we try to work with stores that can work with us. This sounds easy but it's exceptionally hard to break All-Natural products from a company that few have heard of. If successful, we believe that this can help us gain familiarity with a store's existing customers base while we produce product and marketing that can drive new customers to them. This is the way retail work but successful partnerships really require both sides to know what they are doing.

For example, we are sold in several All-Natural grocery stores. We targeted them because their customers are typically more in tune with solid ingredients as opposed to low priced, mass produced product with harmful ingredients. The stores like our product because it has human grade ingredients, easy to merchandise and affordable. They are allies with us and in turn they help us to promote our new line of products to a strong group of customers.

In turn, we used our social media network, customer database and advertising to drive awareness of our product in these channels that not only support local communities but help to grow their own connection to their pet customers. This is a win for everyone as more non-traditional pet stores promote healthy pet products it causes more new customers to seek out existing pet stores for knowledge, selection and overall awareness of pet events in their community.

For customers--we do as much as possible to help them with both food choices as well as good customer service. We have very solid methods of getting our product to customers including some for FREE (through our sample program that you can find on our site www.caseypets.com). We always promote the pets of our customers and users who have had strong results. This serves the purpose of educating people to what a holistic and healthy nutritional balance can do for both your body as well as your pet's. Likewise, we always enjoy a very open communication with our customers. Where most companies may fear this we embrace it as we learn not only about pets in need but about how the message of healthy living is thriving or suffering in certain markets. That's not to say we always recommend our product either. Nancy Seymour, company founder, uses Twitter and  Facebook, as well as personal appearances, to evangelize all organic, quality products whether they are ours or not.

WE ALL BENEFIT when we help to promote good products, pet rescues,  independent retailers/ services and solid pet events in local communities.

By the time you read this we will have launched our 3rd and most exciting redesign yet in the past 18 mo. It will now exist under our new website: www.caseypetraceuticals.com.

Tara Marlowe developed it (as you may not know she is our Marketing Manager and is the person who writes many of our blog posts) and designed it so that it will finally show our 3 labels:

1. www.caseypets.com
2. www.caseypeople.com
3. www.caseyplanet.com

• sneezing
• coughing
• watery or red eyes
• red ears
• chewing of the feet
• licking

• Laundry or dish detergent - you may want to try perfume and dye free kinds
• Pet shampoo
• Any carpet or furniture treatments, powders, cleaners
• House plants
• Cleaning products
• Air deodorizers
• Pet bedding
• Lawn treatments
• Plants in the lawn
• Bird feeding areas (indoor and outdoor)
• Pine, cedar, mulches
• Fertilizers

Catchy headline huh? 

I hope so since my desire is to get more people reading this blog for my company, Casey Petraceuticals, LLC. Not for any monumental reason mind you but mainly because I have a company I care about (as well as people who work for me---and a product I know is incredible) and I want more people to be aware of what we're doing. The WHAT in what we are doing is manufacturing one of the most high quality and uncompromising pet supplements on the market.





How do I know this? Because it was created for and has been used by honest to goodness pet enthusiasts. In fact, our product is one of the few but not the only supplements on the market that is:

1. Affordable.
2. All-natural.
3. Has 31 ingredients (all Human-Grade and very expensive to make too).
4. Fast-acting (as in 3 to 7 days for signs of positive results in most pets) and...
5. All-in-one (not the buy one for hip and joint and one for anxiety supplements).

  How do I know this? Well, I'm the President of the company. My name is Frederick Jones and I'm a long-time pet owner (currently my parents have our family dog while my beloved pet was lost to an ex in a past relationship) who is now becoming an enthusiast of pets thanks to the wonderful people I work with and the work our company does on behalf of the health of dogs and cats. The fact of the matter is that I represent most of the mainstream pet owners in America who have grown up with a dog but considered that any pet with food in the bowl (no matter the brand) who lived indoors (not outdoors or in a dog house) and goes to the Vet twice a year (not put down when they got sick)--was the BEST PET CARE an owner could give.

Boy, have I learned a LOT. 

Since joining the company, I've learned that most pet owners (i.e. such as myself) are unaware of the best choices they can make in feeding their pet. They are unaware that the hundreds (or thousands they spend on vet bills) are largely the product of the food and exercise that they give to their pet as much as it is a result of the pets' activities. But more than anything I've learned that the pet business is aside from being exciting and fun it is not easy and that as much as we need to educate the average pet owner--we need to educate ourselves as pet businesses to make sure that we are growing the business to include all pet owners (i.e. mainstream and pet activist).

This gap in educating the pet owner and the pet businesses is a problem to say the least but it's a problem that will not only destroy small companies like mine but will hurt the industry as whole if we do not work to correct it. More to the point-destroying the business means we lessen the impact we can have on the pet community.

So I know you're wondering just what is this blog about? Simply put, I want to talk about the amazing work my team is doing and touch on my occasional thoughts in running a company with interests in the pet industry. For example, what I fear most (as do all start-ups) is failure in trying to capture momentum. Coming from another industry (i.e. videogames/ entertainment products) I've discovered that customers tend to fall into two camps: the hardcore and the mainstream.  

Now the hardcore rock! They can sustain a business like no other. They truly keep it alive when it's suffering and they advocate the business when no one else is getting through to the masses. In the pet world they tend to be the most educated (i.e. particularly in nutrition for pets and breed specifics) and involved of pet owners. In my previous life this was most evident in something like comicbooks such as Green Lantern and Iron Man. Neither were as strong as say Superman or Spiderman (respectively to DC and Marvel fans) but they had a LOYAL following and whether it be a recession or an inflation of comics or overall changes in pop culture (just when did "Kick-ass" become a comicbook worthy of being a film)--the Hardcore were the only thing keeping those books (and those characters) alive.

I see a lot of this in the pet business. The Pet advocates and enthusiasts who are passionate about healthy foods and knowledgeable about breeds are the ones who keep the small, innovative companies like mine around and even give us a shot. They help us get into the local stores and in some cases are the reasons we have that initial shot into a big box retailer. Without the hardcore market-- I have to wonder if companies like Zukes and Honest Kitchen would be the companies they are today.

That said, eventually the mainstream must be involved or at best you're struggling each year just to survive. The mainstream is not some strange elitist group either. Most Americans who shop at Wal-Mart fall into this group. They love their dogs as much as the next person but they can only do what they know to do. When supplements, field rage chicken/beef (as opposed to processed meat) are NOT DISCUSSED on everyday program or news shows then the average American does the right thing by their pet but it may not be the BEST THING THEY CAN DO. As the son of two parents who have always had a dog but has at times fed the pup the product sold at their local grocery store with words like "meat by products" let's face facts--they are just trying to keep up with their dogs. This is where things get tricky though because to move into the next level of growth (i.e. being able to donate more to local and national rescue groups, develop better formulations for new healthier products and so on) a company needs to push out into the mainstream.  No matter who the manufacturer is--ultimate success means converting some of it not a large portion of mainstream customers. Sometimes though that push can lead to some alienation of the hardcore. This leads to what I call the "Iron Man problem".

Iron man was a second rate Marvel Comics character for decades before the Robert Downey Jr. film came out in 2008 (the second already having grossed over half a billion worldwide) and was such a massive success that his profile rose significantly causing related merchandise and comicbooks to sell at record levels. The problem is that the comicbook stores themselves did not see a large part of this growth (some would argue ANY).

There are several reasons for this:

• Old and mismanaged fixtures
• Hard to find store locations
• Poor merchandising of new products
• Minor services or customer service of any type
• Ineffective advertising
• High prices

The fact of the matter is that the mainstream and areas that support the mainstream is where Iron Man succeeded and the hardcore fans (while still around) and the places that supported the hardcore fans  did not see the sort of success that their loyalty possibly deserved. The places that did see growth in Iron Man sales were Barnes and Nobles, Target and even grocery stores! 


There are several reasons why they succeeded:

• Convenient locations
• Aggressive pricing
• Strong advertising
• Uniques services (i.e. wi-fi, reading clubs, contests, related discounts to other products like food/ coffee)
• Efficient merchandising 

Pet supplements seem an awful lot like Iron Man to me. To be honest, it might be worse than Iron Man as I don't know if we even could call ourselves "second-tier". Whether it be Nupro or Missing Link--we do not make the pet industry's highest revenues. Dog foods and dog treats are only followed by leashes and bowls in the revenue making portion of the industry. While the supplemental category is growing every year the fact remains that while most Americans know what Centrum is and why it's necessary very few people know that pets need to be supplemented with quality nutrition as well.

Now, I know the analogy is crude (it's my first blog people--;) because the average comicbook store is NOT like the average pet store but as a manufacturer of a pet supplement--we would not exist right now without the help of true pet enthusiasts. However, for our company to truly reach a level of success that will benefit the number of pets we want to help (yes, our ambitions are global--more middle classes worldwide means more pets and more poor pet nutrition), we will need to reach more and more people (i.e. mainstream owners). Our goal is to do this WITH the hardcore pet enthusiasts and avoid the Iron Man problem. Casey Pets (our pet line) is for the pet community and deserves to give back everything we're getting from our fans and retailers.

This will be challenging (it always is) but we will strive to succeed where others have failed. We want to help the hard working men/ women of the pet retailers portion of this industry to not fight over the same customer but to GROW THEIR CUSTOMER BASE. This blog will capture my observances of this process as we turn Casey Pets into THE NAME BRAND FOR QUALITY ALL-NATURAL PET PRODUCTS.

In my next post, I'll touch on retailers and how we can all strive to be better about reaching customers.