Pet Product News - March 2017

to agility and trick training, the team at the 13-store-strong franchise teaches pet owners how to train their dogs and offers a full complement of pet goods and supplies.

“Zoom Room is a dog agil-
ity training center and canine
social club that offers classes
including puppy training, dog
obedience, tricks training, ther-
apy dog training, and a cus-
tom-designed agility course
that all dogs of any shape and
size can venture on,” said
co-founder Mark Van Wye.
“We train owners to train their
dogs, and to more deeply un-
derstand, communicate and
bond with their pets.”
Jaime Van Wye, co-founder,
is no stranger to the dog train-
ing and agility world. She is
a certified master dog trainer,
a graduate of the North State
K9 Academy and a profession-
al-level member of the Inter-
national Association of Canine
;rofessionals;not to mention a
graduate of U.C. Berkeley with a
degree in philosophy.

“After trying to refer dog
training clients to local agility
classes;and finding that there
were none except one person
out in ;housand Oa;s;she de-
cided to offer her clients some-
thing more,” said Mark, a mar-
keting/branding professional
and business consultant. “That
need gave birth to the concept
for Zoom Room.”
Each Zoom Room pairs
training space with retail space.
The two are joined by a cash
wrap in the center.

The product mix, which includes dog and gift items, ranges from USA-made leashes, collars and toys to all-natural treats and premium dog food.

“All the dog products we carry are trainer approved,” Mark said.

The Zoom Room founders
also develop their own prod-
ucts, he said, like dog training
gear made to their specifica-
tions, gluten-free dog dough-
nuts, jerky treats made with
beef and ;a;seed, and ;ogger
;ic;ers made with waste prod-
ucts from beer manufacturing.

“We engage heavily in R&D,” Mark said. “We wish to provide pet owners with the very best options available. At the same time, we strive to provide our franchisees with a wide range of differentiating pet retail products not available elsewhere.”

OUTSIDE THE BAG

Pussy & Pooch Pethouse and Pawbar thinks outside the aisle by offering food outside the bag. The four-store retailer, based in Southern California, promotes its “one-of-a-kind Pawbar” where pets can sample an array of nutritious raw-food meals before buying.

Created and trademarked by co-owners Janene Zakrajsek and Rob Gaudio, the Pawbar is a platform for conversation about healthful pet nutrition. In addition to serving meals, Pussy & Pooch does sampling and taste-testing with pets and their owners who are wanting to “try before they buy” when switching to a more natural pet diet.

“The Pawbar provides us with an opportunity to educate and really show pet owners healthful nutrition options, and how they can incorporate healthful foods from their home into their pets’ meal for additional nutritional value,” Zakrajsek said.

The retailer has also added grooming and pet food delivery to its lineup of extra services.

“We are always looking at ways to evolve our business to best serve Pussy & Pooch customers,” Zakrajsek said. “In addition to providing a premier experience to customers, we’ve added local delivery and curb-side pick-up, as well as expanded our full-service grooming in both downtown ;os Angeles and ;ong ;each with additional hours and services including creative pet styling.”