“FURminator is an ideal fit with our stated strategy to seek synergistic, bolt-on acquisitions that expand our product line with strong, complementary brands in growing categories, increase and extend our market penetration, and provide for manufacturing and distribution synergies”

“FURminator is an outstanding addition to UPG and its broad companion animal product portfolio, giving us the global leadership position in the large and growing $200 million dog and cat grooming category,” said Dave Lumley, Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Brands Holdings. “This accretive acquisition, which will enhance our margins, offers major revenue growth opportunities as well as manufacturing, supply chain and distribution synergies which we expect to quickly realize over the next 12 to 18 months.”

Founded in 2002 and with annual revenues of nearly $40 million, FURminator markets professional quality dog and cat products for the worldwide grooming tools and accessories category using two brands: FURminator® in the North American pet channel and internationally and FurGOpet® in the North American mass merchandise channel.

“FURminator is an ideal fit with our stated strategy to seek synergistic, bolt-on acquisitions that expand our product line with strong, complementary brands in growing categories, increase and extend our market penetration, and provide for manufacturing and distribution synergies,” Mr. Lumley said.

“FURminator will help advance our dual strategy,” he continued, “of accretive, bolt-on acquisitions and a resulting faster rate of debt reduction and deleveraging in fiscal 2012 and 2013 from the growth these acquisitions provide.”

Based in Cincinnati, Ohio and with fiscal 2011 net sales of $579 million, United Pet Group, Inc. is a subsidiary of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., and is the leading manufacturer of consumer products for the pet supply markets globally. United Pet Group provides its customers with innovative products of outstanding quality for pet owners, including dogs, cat, birds, small animals, fish and reptiles. Its brands –Tetra®, Marineland®, Nature’s Miracle®, Dingo® — are well recognized by consumers for delivering exceptional value and trusted results. United Pet Group’s passion and longstanding commitment to quality and value has earned the confidence of its global retail partners, who count on United Pet Group to deliver innovative and highly profitable products, customized solutions and merchandising excellence.

Distributed by petbuzz

The number of pet shops is increasing rapidly and driving growth of pet products in India. Veterinary clinics are also growing in number and more vets are becoming involved in retailing. Many grooming products have become available over the review period and are expected to do well, according to trade sources.

Typically imported, some examples of these include Isle of Dogs, Furminator, Karlie and Plush Puppy.

Indian pet owning consumers are also starting to become aware of pet dietary supplements.

India, often referred to as one of the leading global growth opportunities – part of the 'BRIC' group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) has a rapidly emerging pet consumer society.

Distributed by petbuzz

Training a new puppy can be overwhelming. However, dog obedience training is crucial for the safety of your pet, your home, your property and other people. It is essential to you and your puppy that you use positive dog training methods. Consistency and patience are key elements in dog training. Set aside time each day to spend training your pet, usually 20 to 30 minutes in length is best, because that is the amount of time that they are most receptive. Any longer and they become bored.

When training your dog, you should always give your dog only one order at a time. If you give your dog more than one command at the same time, your dog will be confused about what order it should follow. This will frustrate both of you. By giving your dog only one order at a time, it will better understand your commands which will lead to a higher success rate.

As you begin working with your dog on their training program, make sure to pay close attention to their diet (dog nutrition guide). Much like humans, a dog gets their fuel from what they eat each day. Having a diet that is not nutritionally sound can affect a dog's behavior and make training more difficult.

When your canine has misbehaved, do not give it too much attention. In doing so continually, your dog will equate bad behavior with receiving attention from its owner(it does not matter to your pet that it is negative attention) and this will only reinforce bad habits which are difficult to break in the long term.

Make sure you and your family are consistent with your commands. If one person uses "down" to tell the dog to get off the couch while another says "off" and a third is letting him lay there, the dog is going to get mixed signals. It makes it much more difficult for him to learn the commands.

Train your dog by reinforcing positive behavior. This does not mean to punish your pet when he does something bad; instead, simply do not reinforce negative behavior. Negative enforcement might just make your dog scared of you. Positive reinforcement will ensure that your dog will want to do good things more often in order to receive treats and praise.

Give your dog plenty of positive reinforcement. Discipline isn't only about punishment for bad behavior. You should make sure to reward good behavior with lots of affection and praise. It will ensure that your dog understands when it is doing the right thing, and it will help it develop trust in its trainers.

When doing early leash training, select a nylon leash about six feet longer. A leash made of leather or other heavy material will drag on the dog's collar even when you aren't attempting to give a reinforcement, and can be extremely distracting for the dog. Once your dog is fully leash trained, however, leather leashes may look better and last longer than nylon ones.

If you are travelling with dogs, make sure to pack everything that your dog needs to eat, sleep and use the bathroom. Items like water and food bowls, paper towels and bathroom bags are essential to having a relaxing ride. Do not worry about taking a bag of their dog food with you; it is much easier to pick some up when you get to your destination.

When training a dog it is important to reward good behavior while redirecting bad behavior. Careful effort to maintain a clear distinction between good and bad behavior will go a long way towards overall training of the dog. This will guarantee that the dog knows why it is being rewarded or why it is being punished.

When you are training your dog, do not repeat commands over and over to get the dog to obey. Rather than teaching your dog to do what you say, repeating the same command when your dog doesn't listen gives them an attitude of indifference. Give your commands firmly, once, and insist the dog do what you say.

If your dog seems depressed or gets anxious when you are about to leave the house, your dog might suffer from separation anxiety. To help your dog go through the day, leave something that has your smell on it, such as an old piece of clothing. This could mean that your dog will not miss you so much.

Never yell at a barking dog. While a barking dog is sure to raise your frustration level, resist the urge to yell at them. Dogs do not understand that you are yelling at them, and often associate your raised voice as you joining in the fun of barking. If your dog is barking, calmly distract them with a toy or treat, and when the barking stops, give them their prize.

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It is fun teaching your dog how to do tricks. Pick a time when he is fed, relaxed and calm. First, extend your hand to your dog's paw. You may have to pick his paw up when you first start. Regardless of how he acts, give him a treat. Pretty soon he will learn that if he extends his paw he will get a treat. In no time, he will simply give you his paw on his own.

Practice walking your dog over to a rug and asking him to sit whenever a doorbell rings. To do this, have a friend or family member ring the doorbell. Guide your dog by his leash to a rug or spot and have him sit. Praise him and offer a treat. Repeating this exercise will help him to remain calm and appear more polite when guests come over.

Do not respond to demands for attention from your dog. Training a dog to be docile and controlled, means that you control when attention is given. In the pack, Alphas will ignore these behaviors until the dog is calm and relaxed. Then and only then, should you build excitement through play with the animal.

Establish a calm environment when you enter a room that your dog is in. Play time is good to have with your pet, however, your dog should remain calm when you enter the room. Do not acknowledge the animal when you enter and by doing so you create a controlled atmosphere in which you decide how and when play time begins.

Although a well trained dog can be taught to put up with just about anything, there will be times and situations where they are truly uncomfortable with a person, another animal, or a place. Don't force your dog to suffer through more of this discomfort than is absolutely necessary. There is a reason that they are uncomfortable and you need to determine that reason.

If your dog barks and growls at strangers in your home, do this: leash your dog, make him sit, wait until his attention is on you, and hand the leash, in full view of the dog, to your guest. Then wait until the dog is calm again, with the guest giving commands as needed. This teaches the dog that your guest ranks above him in "the pack" and he must accept them. When the dog starts to react again, repeat the exercise.

Put yourself in your dog's proverbial shoes – or paws, rather. It is easy to get frustrated with your dog if they are not learning very basic things quickly or at all. Instead of giving up entirely, you might consider trying to put yourself in your dog's mindset. Imagining the world as they see it might give you a new perspective on training them.

Young puppies are prone to chewing on their owners belongings. You can address this problem by immediately stopping your puppy if he chews an inappropriate item. You should then, instead, give him the toys that he is allowed to chew. Praise your dog anytime you finding him chewing a permitted toy. Remaining consistent with this training method can save your favorite furniture or pair of shoes.

If you are undergoing chemotherapy it is common for certain foods to leave a metallic taste in your mouth. The most common foods that give this type of reaction are water and meats. You can try adding fruit to water to lighten the taste and you can substitute fish, eggs, beans, or some other type of protein to your diet instead of meat.

Don't give treats to your dog for no reason, and never feed your dog at the table (learn to stop dog begging). Feed your dog his dog food in the same place, at the same time, every day. Give treats as rewards for good work done during training time. Otherwise, praise and petting are ample indications that you are friends with your dog. Too many treats at the wrong times will produce a spoiled, overweight dog.

Many puppies like to use their mouths to play because that is how they played with their litter mates. This should be discouraged as soon as possible after your puppy comes home. It may be cute when a seven pound puppy pulls on your arm or shirt sleeve, but I assure you, it isn't as cute when a fifty pound dog does it.

Dog Health

Your dog will need a diet high in nutrition to maintain his vitality and health. This means that you should be picky about what you feed your dog. Making your own dog food can help to reduce fillers that do nothing for your pet, while increasing the crude protein to a healthy and more beneficial level.

In many cases, a dog's diet can be contributing to the behavior and health problems that he is having. Be sure that you are feeding your dog a balanced diet and he is going to thank you by adapting his behavior to be accepted, more important than that, he will be healthier for many more years.

When you are training your dog, you should make sure that your dog is not sick when it is not following your commands that it normally will follow. They also need regular visits to the vet so that he or she can inform you of your dog's health. If your dog is sick, you shouldn't push your dog for not following commands.

If you are training a high-energy dog, it may be beneficial to exercise your dog just before the training session. A dog that is overly energetic will have difficulty focusing on what you are trying to teach. (Useful: can dogs have ocd?) The exercise session can be beneficial for the human owner's health as well!

A great dog training tip is to make sure your dog gets a little bit of exercise every day. Exercise is not only good for your dog's health, it also keeps them social with other people and other dogs. Taking your dog for a daily walk is key for socialization.

Keep your dog up-to-date on his check-ups. If you are finding your dog is having difficulty with some aspects of training, or has regressed in his training, make sure he is in good health. Dogs are very adept at hiding pain and discomfort. So many times behavioral changes are the only clue that there is a health issue. For example, aggression can be a sign of pain, and sudden regression in-house training can signal a urinary tract infection.

A good dog training tip is to make sure you regularly take your dog to the veterinarian for check-ups. You never know what sudden health issue could pop up. By regularly taking your dog to the veterinarian for check-ups, you can insure that your dog stays happy and healthy.

Be sure that your canine is consuming a healthy diet. A bad diet is unhealthy for dogs for many reasons. Poor nutrition adversely affects your dog's health and can cause uncharacteristic behavior. By simply improving the diet that the dog gets, you may notice a great improvement in how receptive they will be when it comes to training.

When a behavioral problem suddenly occurs you should take the dog to the vet to eliminate health problems. There are painful medical issues which cause aggressive or obnoxious behavior in dogs. This behavior is an indicator to humans that there is something wrong.

Ensure that your dog gets plenty of exercise and stimulation. Almost all dogs have short attention spans. When a dog is bored, he will be hard to train. Your dogs will obey more quickly if you keep them well exercised. Get out for some long walks and runs with your dog.

Because you are a new dog owner, you are faced with many challenges. Hopefully if you follow the steps presented in this article, you will be much closer to being able to successfully train your new dog and will have a better understanding of what goes into dog ownership and training.

Another method is to press against the rib cage over the heart while your dog is standing. You should be able to detect a pulse just below the elbow joint.

Read more: http://www.dogadvice.co.uk/normal-temperature-for-dogs/feed

Bonus: 5 Life Saving Tips For Dog Owners

In the article:

Visit your local shelter and spend some time with the dogs. Donating some of your time to simply hang out and play with these canine residents can make a huge difference to their lives. Most of the time, shelter staff are very busy with their work and they do not have the extra time to interact with the dogs.

Shelter employees can always use the help of others to come and play and socialize with their residence. They are more than happy to show you around and figure out what you can do to help out.

Read in full: http://mydogmagazine.com/blog/adopt-a-dog/

According to the agreement, Butler Schein is allowed to purchase the OncoPet Sample Collection Kit from OncoPet Diagnostics to resell to their vast network of veterinary professionals in the United States. The Company has sent Webster Veterinary notice of termination of its previous distribution agreement.

"We are extremely satisfied to have completed a definitive distribution agreement for sales of the OncoPet Sample Collection Kit with Butler Schein," stated Dr. Paul D. Slowey, President of BioCurex. "With the largest animal health distribution company in the U.S. now under agreement with OncoPet, we are confident that our products and services will be comprehensively represented to animal health professionals throughout the largest veterinary market in the world.

Dr. Ricardo Moro, OncoPet's President and BioCurex's CEO added, "It is important to stress the significance of this agreement because the largest distributor of veterinary products in the U.S. knows what sells well and how to make money with the products they carry. Their confidence in the OncoPet RECAF test is a huge endorsement and a clear indication of its commercial potential. The sales force of this company is in the hundreds and our facilities are ready to process any orders resulting from their efforts.