Pet News

Global Pet Expo 2012

Written by Rachel Phelps

Yet again, another event that I was not allowed to attend (Image of me pouting now). Yep, pets weren’t allowed to be at the Global Pet Expo. I get it, it is a business conference, and we could distract the buyers and companies. But still, for the record, it isn’t fair! So I sent both Mom and Dad to represent PrestonSpeaks.com and check out the newest pet products out there on my behalf. Here is Mom’s report. Wow, where do I start? The 8th annual APPA Global Pet Expowas huge … and by that I mean gigantic! There were over 2,000 booths and the expo floor was the size of 15 football fields. We learned that in 2011 over fifty-three millions dollars was spent on pet products. That was a five percent increase, even with the current poor economy. They are also predicting a four percent increase in 2012. So needless to say, pet products are big business. As a blog, we attended as press. The first couple days were made up many meetings with company owners and answering many, many, questions about Preston and our website. Only at a pet expo or conference do people not bat an eye when you say yep, my dog blogs, and he wants to try out your product LOL. Over the next couple of months, we will be featuring on our website all the neat new products we saw. I don’t want to give away anything, but both Preston and Elvis have a busy agenda trying out new toys, collars, leashes, and even some new treats just out on the market. Don’t they have such a hard job? LOL! So I thought I would focus on the unusual things we saw or heard:

  • Venomous Lion Fish – Yes, there are fish that have venom! They have taken over some reefs in the Atlantic and have no natural predators. They are beautiful fish but you don’t want to meet then while swimming.

My favorite quote was by Jill Rappaport, as she received the Excellence in Journalism and Outstanding Contributions to the Pet Industry Award — “I have more animals than a sane person, but less than a hoarder.”

  • I learned that the Westie that represents Cesars dog food, is a GIRL, and her name is Darla!
  • You can get dogs toys that are any character. Even Mr. Magoo.

 

 

 

 

    • Dogs can’t go to the show, but chicken can!
  • Even crickets – but no dogs (there are cricket factories/farms to supply all those crickets in the pet stores … who knew!)

 

 

 

 

 

    • You can get big “hamster wheels” to exercise your dog in!
  • Finally, Preston would make a great spokesdog for next year’s APPA Global Pet Expo conference. What do you think?global4_edited-1

About the author

Rachel Phelps

Rachel Phelps, “America’s Pet Parent,” is an award-winning writer, photographer, and certified dog trainer. She keeps busy managing the career of her Internet celebrity dog Preston from Preston Speaks. Her three Westies — who think they are mini-humans — and three cats rule the house. To learn more about Rachel go to: Rachel Phelps Website

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