You may have noticed that we were away at a Trade Show over the weekend 26-27 March. PATS (Pet and Aquatics Trade Show, we believe) is held twice a year – a spring show in Sandown, and the main show in Telford in October.

These shows are important to us for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we can meet suppliers face-to-face. There is nothing better than a good old natter with a chance to discuss past business and the future. Secondly, it’s an opportunity to meet potential new suppliers and to see new products coming onto the market.

As we live and trade from our narrowboat, our stock room is very “compact and bijou”! So our potential for expanding our range is obviously limited. However, we constantly review the items that we stock so that by dropping less popular lines we can add new ranges. A few suppliers offer “drop ship”. This is fantastic for us, as they send out the products direct so that we don’t have to stock them!

The Doggie Boat is a small family business, and we like to support similar suppliers wherever possible. Visiting a trade show is a great way to find these businesses! This was the first time we have been to the PATS Sandown Trade Show – previously we have visited the Telford show later in the year – which is a much bigger event, so we will probably be going there in October.

So here is a little run down (in no particular order) of the stands that interested us at the PATS Sandown Trade Show this year:

WufWuf

One of our newest suppliers, WufWuf is a small family business based in Richmond – not too far away from where we are at the moment! We stock their own-brand treats, toys and interactive feeder, and we can also get a few other third party items from them. Their treats have proved very popular, as they are a softer chew – perfect for smaller dogs or those less able to cope with harder bites. Our boys just love them because they are super tasty!

Buy WufWuf from The Doggie Boat.

Pet Product Marketing

One of the trade publications, Pet Product Marketing is where we can read about new products and gain insight into everything doggies. They’ve asked us to write an article for them, as they were intrigued by our business model!

Pet’s Up

We are always on the lookout for new products, and the Pet’s Up stand attracted our attention. Well, to be fair, it was Loki & Ozzie who expressed the first interest! Their noses were inextricably drawn to the Collagen Chews, but then we spotted the Coffee Wood chews and were given a couple of samples. These are now being enjoyed by the boys on an ongoing basis, and they are proving very hardy. We have been asked for these in the past, so we have placed an order which should be coming in soon.

ProTrainings

Now this was an exciting find! ProTrainings offer online training courses which we can sell through our website. Amongst other courses, they offer various qualifications in Pet First Aid. We will be working on adding these to our shop shortly.

James & Steel

Another supplier that was of interest was James & Steel, as they supply a good range of tough toys for dogs with powerful jaws! Solid 100% natural rubber, so environmentally friendly and sustainable. We have their price list and will be looking at stocking a small selection. Take a look at the catalogue on their website, and let us know if you see anything of interest.

Beco

We have had an account with Beco almost since we took over The Doggie Boat, although as yet we haven’t purchased anything from them. This is mainly because we prefer to support smaller suppliers, as well as the fact Beco products are readily available in most retail outlets. But we had a useful chat with them, especially about their environmental credentials, and will certainly consider stocking some of their products. Again, if there are any of their items you would buy from us, let us know.

PoochSnax

A new start-up business that we first met at PATS Telford last year, PoochSnax have reinvented the Pig Ear. Whilst tasty and popular treats for our pets, the aromatic after-effects from a Pig Ear can be rather less enjoyable for the owners! The Porky Ear is an ear-shaped piece of pig skin that has been air-dried. They have been very well received by our customers and we look forward to a growing relationship with this supplier.

Buy PoochSnax Porky Ears from The Doggie Boat.

Woolf Snacks

Now, this is the sort of supplier we like! Woolf Snacks state that they only supply independent retailers. They have an extensive range of healthy treats, so we will be looking further into their product range.

NAW

Another new range of Healthy Chews. NAW, from Sniffers Pet Care, these are pure air-dried treats. Something we may well look into at some point in the future.

Simply 2 Pet Products

This was a supplier we added to our portfolio after the 2022 PATS Trade Show in Telford. We were impressed with Simply 2 Pet Products ProFleece range of pet bedding, which is made to order and shipped direct. The circular stand bottom right is covered in ProFleece. We have had brilliant feedback from customers who have bought their product through us, so we know we made the right decision. They also act as a distributor for a number of other products which we may add to what we sell at some point. As you can see, we got a very warm welcome!

Buy ProFleece from The Doggie Boat.

Fish4Pets

There’s something fishy going on here! Fish4Pets is a large, independent company which, unsurprisingly, specialises in fishy treats and dog food. Whilst we don’t have the space to stock the food, the extensive treats rangei s of interest to us, and another product range that we may consider stocking in the future.

It’s so easy to pop down to your handy Super Store to get all your shopping – including Dog Treats. But, as a general rule, you don’t get the same level of service as you would from your small, family business.

The Doggie Boat

Here at the Doggie Boat, a small family business, we are perhaps smaller than most! Living and trading from our narrowboat, we don’t have much room for lots of stock. This means that what we do stock, we choose very carefully. We are also proud of the level of service we strive offer and we look forward to seeing reviews on TrustPilot.

Naturally we choose our suppliers with care, prefering to deal with fellow small independent businesses, especially for the Healthy Treats. Being dog owners ourselves, we are conscious that we all only want the best for them!

This is why we only stock treats from small independent companies and family businesses. We first started with JR Pet Products. Initially, we took on a limited selection of Meat Sticks – and nearly sold out at the first floating market we traded at! Gradually, we have significantly increased the number of their products that we stock.

With the current cost of living crisis, and expenses rising everywhere, we try to keep our prices as low as possible. Although our costs have increased, we have held many of our prices to pre-pandemic levels. We believe we are the cheapest online retailer of the JR Meat Sticks!

Scoff Paper is another great small family business based in England that we are proud and honoured to be dealing with, especially as our Loki was the inspiration behind the idea. Their unique product is edible greetings cards for dogs – a fantastic option if you want to send something different.

We stock a selection of healthy treats and Jute toys from Green & Wild’s, another small family business. We love their Jute toys, as they are not only strong and durable, they are environmentally friendly too – something that is important to us.

This is also why we now only stock fully compostable poo bags, from Fetch It. Whilst they are more expensive than the traditional plastic bags, these are made from corn starch, which will fully rot down and not leave any micro plastics behind. And, they are surprisingly strong too!

Another small family business and British company we are proud to be dealing with is Dicky Bag. They not only hold your stock of poo bags ready to use, they also have discrete, smell resistant storage compartment for your filled bags until you can find a bin. Plus, there are matching treat bags to go with them.

We are also excited to have been able to take on the Fleece Blankets from ProFleece. Made to order, in Yorkshire (from recycled plastic bottles), these quality blankets are a great addition to our range. They are sent directly from the supplier, so they don’t take up any of our limited space.

For something a little different, we stock a range of fun shopping bags from These Bags Are Great! Another small British family business, these Jute bags are tough and environmentally friendly as well as practical and make great presents.

So to Summarise

Of course, you can get some of these products from larger chain stores. Indeed, until recently, Pets at Home stocked a selection of JR Pet Products. However, they have now discontinued this in favour of stocking their own brand versions. Obviously, we can’t comment on whether or not these are as good, because we don’t know who makes them. However, we can quote from an email JR Pet Products have sent us:

“…they have now also told customers that these are being supplied by us under their own branding – This is absolutely NOT TRUE. We do not offer our products as white label goods and these are not our products! We do not know the quality, welfare or origin of these treats and feel we must let our customers know about this.”

If you want to ensure that you give your pet the best, then we strongly recommend you stick with the brands that you know and trust – and buy from the small family business that truly care and will give you the best advice.

We pride ourselves with only stocking products that we would buy for our own dogs. (Indeed, Loki and Ozzie are our Chief Product Testers, and will personally vouch for every item in our ranges, although they try to convince us that they need more samples for testing for true verification!)

We research all our suppliers carefully and will only buy from the best.

The small independent / family business has to work relentlessly to build its reputation. Unlike a large company or multi-national corporation, small traders rely on their reputation and on repeat custom. This is why we always strive hard to offer the best service we possibly can.

We truly value all of our loyal customers and all feedback is very welcome.

Recent strike action at Royal Mail has, of course, disrupted our deliveries. We have tried alternatives, with varying degrees of success. However, they are generally more expensive and often slower with reliability issues.

However, we are now able to use the Royal Mail Tracked services at the same price we have been paying for the standard, non-tracked service. This makes it an attractive option, as you the customer get notifications of the progress of your delivery. This will now be our default shipping option.

Of course, all of our products are available in our shop, so why not take a leisurely browse. And, if you have any questions – just ask by using our contact form. As a family business, we are here to help!