10 Dogs Who Love Their Cats

This inseparable duo...

This Golden who always wanted a kitten...

This Lab who hopes you don't mind being his furry chin rest...

These beach bums...

This Beagle who likes to show his love with impromptu cleaning sessions...

Flower children Oliver and Arashi

These furever friends...

This Husky that just wants to play!

These lookalikes...

...and last but not least...this patient pup and his kitten!

Do you have a photo to share? Send it to us at social@fetchpetcare.com for consideration.

What My Vet Wishes You Knew

While in my veterinarian’s office the other day, we started talking. She mentioned that there were so many things that most veterinarians wished that their clients knew. She believes that her patients could get better care if they would just do a few things differently while also adding a few things to their pet care routine.

The first item on her list is a yearly checkup. The yearly checkup is an opportunity for her to hear all about how my dog Buffy is doing. Regular checkups give the Vet the opportunity to catch any problems that may come up with all pets (especially with cats). Cats can hide their illness and injuries until it is too late.

The second item on the Vet’s list is dental care. In addition to preventing cavities and infection, good dental care can prevent some heart and kidney diseases. I kinda felt like one of “those” pet owners when I purchased the pet-specific toothbrushes and chicken flavored toothpaste…guess I need to get over that.

Here’s an interesting fact for you, did you know that about 52% of all dogs and cats in the U.S. are overweight? Veterinarians say that on average, a pet that is overweight lives two years less than one that is average weight. Pets, like my Buffy, that could normally deal with some bone issues find that they are in too much pain to survive them if they are overweight. I’m feeling better about keeping her on that diet because I don’t want to lose her to obesity.

Overweight pets are also at higher risk for other ailments like arthritis and heart disease. To prevent all my pets from becoming obese, we pay attention to portion control, and they get NO people food. The other side of the equation is to make sure that everyone gets lots of exercise, both physical and mental, so lots of games and lots of walks for all of us.

Which brings me to Dr. Lawson’s fourth recommendation: hygiene routine. Part of our bedtime routine now includes brushing those canines, and our weekend chores include baths and pedicures (and the wrestling matches that are probably good exercise for me, too). Bath time works well for also checking Buffy’s skin and looking for strange lumps and bumps that don’t belong. We also make sure that the first Saturday of every month is preventive medication day – Frontline, Heartgard, etc. By creating a schedule, I’m less likely to forget preventative care and just like my pets, I love routine.

Finally, Dr. Lawson said that she wishes that everyone knew that veterinarians don’t mind if you get a second opinion or request a referral to a specialist. The veterinary professionals welcome all the information they can get. With information, they can take better care of your family members. Veterinarians don’t even mind when you do web research and share the results of your searches, as long as you make sure you’re searching credible sites with quality information. That is good to know since I’m almost an Internet junkie and look up all the information I can find about what is happening with the health of my crew.

Here’s a handy chart to keep next to the family calendar or somewhere you’ll notice it to help remind you of your pet’s health routine...

Setting Us Up for Success in 2015

After the fun and frivolity of the holiday, I feel the guilt over the extra pounds, extra couch time, and extra fun. I feel extra pressure to set some goals for the New Year so I can get my life “back on track”. Spending time with my dog, Peyton, is at the top on my resolutions list.

Tasha Eurich, Ph.D. says in her article, “The Science Behind Successful New Year’s Resolutions” that there are a couple of secrets to keeping your resolutions. One way to be successful is to work on only one thing at a time. Eurich reminds us that the late Stephen Covey advocated putting first things first, pick the resolution that will give you the biggest payoff and work on only that. I know that the time I spend with Peyton is always has the biggest payoff for both of us.

When training Peyton, I found that instead of teaching him to quit doing something, it was much more productive to have him learn a behavior that is more desirable to do instead, for example, he loves to chew. Instead of chewing up my shoes, I have provided a lot of other choices of chewies and taught him to find one when he needs to chew. Dr. Eurich says that the same can be done for humans. Maybe I can change my clothes when I get home from work and take Peyton for a walk instead of sinking into the couch and then trying to talk myself into getting up and getting out again. The extra incentive is that when Peyton realizes that this is routine, he will encourage me to continue walks when I get home from work. I know he won’t give up easily!

Finally, Dr. Eurich recommends that I practice my resolution every day A research study by . K. Anders Ericsson, Michael J. Prietula, Edward T. Cokely and Daniel Coyle all show by research that greatness isn’t born, it is achieved by consistent practice every day. They proved that marathon runners don’t have any different bodies than anyone else, they just train every day for the months leading up to the marathon. Not only will I do walks with Peyton regularly, I can do more challenging activities for both of us. 

What will we do next?! My mind goes directly to running a marathon. Peyton could do that with me, except I don’t like to run. I watch the dogs on television that dance and do tricks. I think we could do that. And maybe we can if we are consistent and I’m realistic enough to know it isn’t my personality. So what will work for us? So I decided to consult with Sam the Trainer to see if he had some basics skills that every adult dog should have. He said that every dog should be:

✔ Well socialized: good with me, family, friends, strangers, and other animals in any setting

✔ House trained: 100% trustworthy indoors

✔ Well-mannered: in home and in public

✔ Obedient: able to do sit, down, heel, come off leash and with distractions, obedient up to 100 yards from me and even if he can’t see meOk that gives me a few things to work on!  Sam the Trainer has some advanced skills that we can work up to like agility (I think we’d love to do this), retrieving on command and tracking.  This could be overwhelming. Then Sam the Trainer gave me some more advice, “Note that none of this comes automatically. To get the most out of your dog takes planning and effort.”

Karen Pryor is a clicker trainer (which I find fascinating), and she says that teaching nose targeting is the most important skill. For those of you who aren’t familiar with nose targeting, it is essentially a building block in dog training where the dog is taught to touch it’s nose to a target being held close to the nose. Karen says that if a dog has the nose target skill then you can substitute it, in a pinch, for another skill the dog has yet to learn. I’ll be looking into her book, “Fired up, Frantic, and Freaked Out”.

I know there is still a lot of research I need to do and then I need to come up with a written plan with a schedule. I also know that planning for our future is one of the most rewarding things I will do for both of us in the coming year.

Fetch! Pet Care featured on MO.com

In a story profiling Fetch! Pet Care founder Paul Mann, which includes great photos, it talks about the Fetch concept and how it was created. In addition to touting the Fetch 91% Net Promoter Score, the Q&A article also includes information about how the brand grew throughout the country, the successful use of strategic partnerships for the brand, and the ongoing training and support geared toward Fetch franchisees.

“With nine out of ten of our customers positively promoting us to others, it clearly points to the success of this mission.”

by MO

Paul Mann is the Founder and CEO of FETCH! Pet Care, the largest pet sitting and dog walking franchise in the United States, serving thousands of clients in hundreds of cities and towns from coast to coast.

Fetch! Pet Care is the nation’s largest and most trusted provider of professional pet sitting and dog walking services. With over 3,000 bonded, insured pet sitters on staff, we serve thousands of pets and their owners in over 1,500 communities nationwide.

Paul Mann, Founder and CEO of Fetch!

  Click here to read the article.

Fetch! Pet Care in Franchising World

Fetch was recently featured in an article in Franchising World magazine, focusing on how franchisees utilize social media and drive online presence to drive revenue.

Read the article here.

"When I purchased my first Fetch! Pet Care franchise in late 2008, I had no idea how much social media websites would drive my revenue. Over the past five years, we have grown aggressively to 12 locations in five states plus the District of Columbia. A robust social media presence has been key to ensuring we are ahead of our competition and innovative in our messaging to prospective clients. Three years ago we barely had a Facebook presence. Today each location has a very active Facebook page, Twitter handle, Google+ business page, a Foursquare check in, a Yelp account and many other directory listings. Recently we hired companies to help us manage our online presence and more importantly monitor our online reputation.

Another lesson I learned is to know your target audience. People in Manhattan use social media much differently than people in Birmingham. Our social media "voice" speaks differently in each market. All that is to say, we try to utilize social media to communicate with our clients, our clients' friends and potential clients in a way that will engage them. Our goal is to put the brand in front of them, find out what they like, what they don't like and how we can do a better job with our services.

We always manage our online reputation by promoting positive reviews, addressing negative ones and always asking clients for feedback. A bad reputation in the pet-sitting business can sink you in a hurry. Yelp, Angie's List, Foursquare and other online review websites give a prospective client confidence in the hiring process and that equates to more long-term business for our team." --Jay Barrett, Fetch Pet Care Franchisee

Fetch! Pet Care featured in Memphis Business Journal

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured in the Memphis Business Journal in an article titled, "Fetch! Pet Care looking for Memphis site." In the article, Paul Mann discusses the future development plans for Fetch! Pet Care in Memphis, and how the brand will expand throughout the territory and state. He explains the Fetch! Pet Care opportunities for the area, and why the pet care industry has continuously grown and has been so successful even in today’s tough economic times, allowing their brand to become a top leader in the industry.  Click here for the entire article or begin below.

Fetch! Pet Care looking for Memphis site

By: Alan Howell

Paul Mann has Memphis in his cross hairs and he’s ready to pull the trigger on establishing his Dayton, Ohio-based pet care franchise in the heart of the Mid-South.

“We’ve had great success in Nashville for the last four or five years and in neighboring markets, as well,” Mann says. “We’re excited to come to Memphis.”

Mann plans to have at least one Fetch! Pet Care location in the Bluff City by mid-2013 and says the local market should support another two or three. He is looking at Bartlett, Germantown, West Memphis and Downtown.

(Read More)

Fetch! Pet Care Featured in Entrepreneur Magazine

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured in Entrepreneur Magazine in an article titled, "Disaster Response," that is running in the March 2013 issue.

The article, which leads with Fetch! Pet Care, talks about how businesses rose to the challenge and helped provide above and beyond services in their communities hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. As a local businessowner wanting to help, Ed and Janice talked about their story housing their customer’s pets at their own home so the pet’s owners could seek shelter for themselves, mostly in hotels not allowing pets. The article also talks about how Ed conserved much-needed gas for the community by bicycling to customer’s homes to make sure they were OK and to ensure their pets were serviced as well. Overall, this showed how amazing Fetch owners stepped up and made a difference in assisting their customers during this disaster. This was a great story to be told!

To view a PDF of the full article, click HERE or begin reading below:

Disaster Response

By: Jason Daley

The dogs started arriving the morning after the storm. As people awoke to the reality that their homes were flooded, or damaged by high winds, or that the electricity wouldn't be turned back on anytime soon, they began dropping off their pets at Ed and Janice Saxton's home before seeking out that rare hotel with a vacancy. 

Soon the Saxtons, owners of a Fetch! Pet Care franchise and one of the lucky families in Bergen County, N.J. that didn't lose power during the Superstorm Sandy, were sheltering nine dogs. 

At one point, Ed remembers, there were six pups crowded onto the foot of their bed. "I don't think anybody could have prepared for what the hell happened," he says. "It was brutal for a lot of families. Our inconvenience was insignificant compared to what happened to other people."

Fetch! Featured on The Urban Mutt

Fetch! Pet Care Chicago was featured on an episode of the web series The Urban Mutt.

In the video, Urban Mutt host Chad takes his dog Guinness to the Wicker Dog Park in Chicago, IL. In the video, Fetch! Chicago representatives speak about the history of the franchise and its fast paced growth, including over 20,000 clients, along with many services offered from hotel to in-home sitting. An important focus of the video is the fact that keeping the pets in their routine is of the utmost importance, from a routine sitter and walker to anti-kennel boarding that doesn't remove the dog from the comfort of its own home. And not just dogs! Cats, rabbits, ferrets and guinea pigs are all taken care of by this diverse staff.

The real stars of the video? The pets! You'll be able to see a group of dogs who are a part of Fetch!'s group exercise that allows social dogs to get interaction with other furry friends - a great change from the solitary walks many dogs may be accustomed to.

A wonderful job done by the team at Fetch! Pet Care Chicago, and many thanks to Chad and the Urban Mutt team for their wonderful interview. To view the video click HERE or view it below:

Chicago Fetch! Fans

From Facebook to flyers, there are lots of ways to advertise a business. But when you're dealing with pet lovers, sometimes the best bet is to simply let the proud parents speak. Fetch! of the Greater Chicago has created a new video that does just that. Listen to what these satisfied customers have to say about the quality care given to their furry friends by Fetch!'s awesome sitters.

Did you hear that? Your pets don't even have to leave home to get great care while you're away. Our sitters come to them, whether it's an overnight stay or just a walk mid-day. Even the tortoise felt the love. Those of you with anxious animals no longer have to fear boarding them for extended periods when you have a last-minute business trip. Even post-surgery, the delicate care of our sitters is sure to have your pet feeling fine in no time!

To find a Fetch! near you, check our locations website HERE.

FETCH! Pet Care featured in the Times Free Press

In the article, Will Feldman, owner of Fetch! Pet Care in Chattanooga discussed his background, his pets and his new Fetch! Pet Care opening in Chattanooga. He explains why he wanted to bring the Fetch! brand to the Chattanooga area, and talks about his future expansion, development and overall marketing plans.

Click HERE for the full feature, or begin reading below.

Small Biz: Fetch! offers insured, in-home services for pets

By: Shelly Bradbury 

Name: Fetch! Pet Care of Chattanooga.

Owner: Will Feldman.

Website: chattanooga.fetchpetcare.com.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Opening: Feb. 1.

Staff: Between three and six insured, background-checked pet-sitters.

Services: "We offer dog walking; in-home care for dogs, cats, fish, reptiles; yard cleanup. If they're out of town we could change the lights, take the mail in -- basically if the client needs it, we'll provide it," Feldman said.