Spay/Neuter Legislation Passes California Senate
from PIJAC
Legislation specifying spay/neuter requirements for dogs and cats has passed the California Senate, with amendments, and has been assigned to the Assembly Committee on Business & Professions. Senate Bill 250 was introduced earlier in this year’s session and was amended several times in the Senate before a last minute passage. The bill provides licensing requirements for unaltered dogs/dogs and allows local governments to set licensing fees and penalties. SB 250 is set to be heard before the Assembly Committee on Business & Professions on June 30, 2009 in Room 447 of the State Capitol at 10:00 a.m. More

What Are You Afraid Of?
from Entrepreneur
Admit it. You're scared out of your mind. Whether it's financial stress, uncertainty about the business partners you've chosen or just plain fear of failure, some aspect of your business is keeping you up at night. So Entrepreneur brought in the authorities: Colleen Long, a psychologist who specializes in entrepreneurship and Jim Koch, a well-known entrepreneur with decades of business experience. They analyzed your top five fears and offered up their best advice on how to handle them. More

Customers Your Business Doesn’t Want
from BusinessWeek
Do a quick exercise: Take a minute and jot down three types of customers your company doesn't want. If you're like most business leaders, identifying customers you don't want isn't easy, especially in times like these. But it can be helpful to consider which of your customers are least important, if for no other reason than to help you focus on the most important ones. More

How to Identify Your Employees' Hidden Talents
from Harvard Business Publishing Blog
There's no shortage of advice about finding and attracting the best people to work for you. Or even about scouring your own organization to identify top performers within the ranks. It's even more vital to look within individual employees for hidden strengths, especially at times when hiring and promotions are on hold. In short, plumb the depths of each person you currently manage to fish out the talents that lurk beneath. More

Data Privacy Rules Coming
from BNET Retail
A privacy bill under consideration in Washington would significantly impact retail through provisions that would spell out how companies would have to protect customer data and what they must do if information is compromised, yet, as worrisome as that might be for some, any concern is essentially moot because a Massachusetts regulation with substantially the same provisions will go into effect Jan. 1. And the rule is written in a way that essentially gives it jurisdiction in all 50 states. More

Bird Toy Makers Thrive in Niche Market
from Corporate Connecticut Magazine
Parrots, according to pet industry statistics, are the third most popular companion animal in the United States. So why aren’t more manufacturers catering to their needs? More

EPA Publishes Comprehensive List of Flea, Tick Products Being Evaluated
from Pet Age
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, shortly after announcing it would evaluate safety issues related to spot-on flea and tick control products, clarified that it is evaluating all such products registered with the agency and not just selected items previously cited on its Web site. The EPA launched its study after noticing an increase in the number of reported adverse reactions in pets treated with spot-on products. More

Playing Chicken
from Pet Product News
Backyard farms are on the rise across the U.S. in both urban and suburban settings, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times. Moreover, a number of those farms are including chickens. A quick Google search of “backyard chickens” brings up more than 100,000 hits, including myriad Web sites dedicated to nothing but poultry and their needs. The latter is where you, the pet retailer, come in. More

Reminder: New Canadian Pet Food Import Rules Take Effect July 1
from Petfood Industry
Canada's new import requirements for petfoods, treats and compound chews become effective July 1, 2009. These commodities will only be allowed entry into Canada with a valid import permit held by the Canadian importer. U.S. facilities that wish to continue exporting petfoods, treats or compound chews with bovinae ingredients must be inspected and approved by APHIS’ Veterinary Services, and each shipment of pet food with bovinae ingredients must be certified by VS. More