The Pet Industry

According to the Pet Food Institute(http://www.petfoodinstitute.org), the majority of American households own at least one pet dog or cat, with over 75 million cats and 59 million dogs. Since the Institute began tracking the pet population in 1981, they have found that pet dogs increased by five million, while pet cats have managed to "climb" to 30 million and claim a record 34 percent of the households in the U.S. Households for dogs remained at a constant 37 percent.

The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (http://appma.org), a non-profit trade association, focuses upon pet products and the law, trade shows, manufacturers and importers, as well as trade leads with the U.S. government.

Pet Industry  (http://petbusiness.com), includes business briefs, new products, articles on cooperative buying, software for small retail stores, and advice on promotion.  The site also discusses a web site for your business, inexpensive modes of advertising, the top 20 brands, and a list of the top 10 customer service reminders.

For those in the grooming industry, look to http://www.petgroomer.com/index3.html) for supply sources, typical services, events, news and competition.  The site also has startup costs, expansion, finance and bookkeeping, insurance and basic grooming tips by breed.  Mobile grooming and pet washes are mentioned.

See the Pets Industry area for an extensive list of pet industry links.

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SBDCNET
UTSA Institute for Economic Development
University of Texas at San Antonio
501 W. Durango Blvd.
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http://sbdcnet.org/
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