After being in the dog business for 10+ years, we’ve had countless conversations with dog lovers all over the world. In those conversations, we’ve learned about the challenges our customers experience when buying a gift for themselves or another. This guide will hopefully help you overcome the most common challenges that we have assisted our customers with over the years.
Problem #1: Identifying your Breed
Even if you are shopping for a pure breed dog, each dog can have unique features in regards to their physical appearance. For example, many customers have contacted us looking for a Samoyed gift. They sent us a photo of their Samoyed and we found that it looked a lot like many of the Pomeranian gifts that we carry. We suggested that they take a look at our collection of Pomeranian gifts because of the resemblance between the two breeds. The buyer was thrilled because we were able to suggest a match. Just because you have a Pomeranian, doesn’t mean that only our Pomeranian gifts will resemble your dog.
Pinpoint My Pooch
Problem #2: Product Use and Application
More times than we can count, customers will ask whether a product is safe to be used outdoors or in a doll house, like our figurines. The list below will cover our major product categories and discuss their recommended uses and applications.
The list below does not include all of our product categories. Some products are self explanatory when it comes to usability, like our socks, pillows, magnets, ornaments, and bracelets.
Explanation of terms: “application” refers to how the item can be used, “uses” refers to where it can be used, “customer use” is an example of a unique way that one or many of our customers have used the product.
CAUTION SIGNS:
Applications – magnet (included), Velcro (included), pin (not included), customer applied double sided tape
Uses – on a fridge, cork board, in a frame, in a window, on a surface that adheres to Velcro, do not expose to outdoor elements
Customer Use – One of our customers did not have a dog but she wanted to deter visitors from her coming up to her home. She bought a Pitbull caution sign to put on her front porch so people would think she had a big dog.
STICKERS, RHINESTONE STICKERS, AND BUMPER STICKERS:
Applications – self adhesive back
Uses – on a car (except our rhinestone stickers), a laptop, a locker, a notebook, a phone or tablet, use our rhinestone stickers on a craft project like a homemade birthday card, on a plastic or metal pet carrier
COASTERS:
Uses – in a wine or tea themed gift basket, paired with a bottle of wine, displayed on a bar cart, in a hostess gift basket, one could be displayed on a shelf or on a wall (customer applied hanger), on a coffee bar, in a table-scape, under a plant pot
Customer Use – One of our customers put a set of our coasters in a clear gift bag along with one of our bottle stoppers and then they tied the bag around the neck of a bottle of wine with a pretty ribbon.
ZIPPERED POUCHES:
Uses – as a makeup bag, a coin bag, great while traveling, a bag for your jewelry, clip on to one of our lanyards at a concert or amusement park, use as a smaller organizer bag inside your purse, store your travel size toiletries in your gym bag
WOODEN WELCOME SIGNS AND GARDEN STAKES:
Applications – stakes (may be removed), customer applied sawtooth hanger, welcome signs are customized to say whatever you would like
Uses – in the ground, in a planter, on a fence, on a porch, on a wall, near a dog house or kennel, in front of a dog memorial, near a pool house or garden shed, in a garden or along a walkway, these can be used indoors or outdoors
Customer Use – One of our customers didn’t have a front yard where she could put the sign in the ground using the stakes. Instead, she had a planter in the front of her house and she put the sign in the planter using the stakes.
WALL PLAQUES AND FIGURES:
Applications – sawtooth hanger
Uses – on a shelf, wall, dog house, fence, door, on a large scale craft project like a homemade wreath, above a fire place
Customer Use – One of our customers had 3 different dog breeds. She had dog houses for all 3 and wanted to display which house belonged to each dog. She bought 3 face plaques: a Husky, an Australian Shepherd, and a German Shepherd. She hung them on the front of her custom made dog houses, identifying each breed’s home
GIFT BAGS:
Uses – put gifts inside, use as a party goodie bag, use as a “thank you” bag with gifts inside for a dog groomer, dog sitter, or veterinarian
Customer Use – Many of our customers will shop our site for birthday gifts for the dog lover in their life. They will add a handful of items to their shopping cart and then add one of our gift bags before they checkout. They use the bag to put together all the items they purchased as a gift for their friend.
GIFT WRAP:
Uses – wrap gifts, use as scrapbook paper, frame a piece of the gift wrap to display the pretty design, make a DIY gift bag or envelope, use the paper to mod podge or glue onto craft letters or coasters, die cut letters or shapes to make homemade confetti or garland, use as book covers, line a drawer or shelf
LUGGAGE TAGS:
Uses – loop onto a piece of luggage, purse, stroller, carry on bag, gym bag, child’s backpack, destination wedding favors, announcing a surprise vacation
NOTEPADS & PENS:
Uses – on a desk at work or school, near a phone, as a shopping or to do list, magnetic notepads can be placed on the fridge, great teacher or secretary gifts, carry one of our pens in your purse to have on hand, pair our notepads and pens together as a gift set
Customer Use – One of our customers and her daughter come to us every year to pick a gift for her Pug-loving bus driver as an end-of-school-year “thank you!” gift. Most recently she chose our notepad set that comes with a magnetic notepad, a mini notepad, and a pencil.
MINI COLLECTIBLE FIGURINES:
Applications – use indoors unless treated with an outdoor protective sealer, flat bottom
Uses – in a dollhouse, as a cake topper, on a shelf, on top of an urn,
Customer Use – Over the years our customers have used these figurines for countless craft projects. One of our customers made a outdoor country themed display with a bird house as the home. They used one of our mini Bloodhound figurines as the dog on the front porch. It was the perfect size for the scale of the display. Our Little Critterz figurines are collectible so customers buy all the different breeds we have available so they can collect them all.
STANDARD SIZE COLLECTIBLE FIGURINES:
Applications – use indoors unless treated with an outdoor protective sealer
Uses – on top of a cake, on top of an urn, on a shelf
Customer Use – Although we have a few different size figurines, this is the most common size for our customers to use as cake toppers. We have had countless customers use these on top of their wedding cakes. This size figurine is also used for model scenes because they tend to be the correct scale. For example, a customer of ours used a Bloodhound next to his Sherlock Holmes figurine. Our Sandicast figurines are considered collectibles so our customers will select a different breed every time they buy from us so they can collect them all.
WEATHERVANES:
Application – mounted to a roof, on the ground (base available at additional charge)
Uses – on the roof of a house, shed, pool house, dog house, garage, barn
Customer Use – One of our customers had a dog sitting business out of his home. On his property, he had a large building built with kennels inside where he set up individual homes for the dogs to stay comfortably for the week. On top of the building he put a dog weathervane to help indicate to his customers which building on his property was the kennel location.
EMBROIDERED PATCHES:
Applications – iron on, adhesive fabric glue (not included)
Uses – hats, backpacks, jeans, jackets, scarves, sweatshirts, totes, purses, banner, flags, sash, fabric dog carrier, apron, most fabrics
Customer Use – We had one of our customers iron one of our patches onto her son’s backpack. They just got a new Australian Shepherd puppy over the summer so she put an Australian Shepherd patch on his backpack so he could have him “nearby” during the school day so he wouldn’t be sad leaving him home every morning.
KITCHEN TOWELS:
Uses – in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, near your dog’s kennel or water bowl to wipe spills, near the door to wipe your dog’s paws after being outside
Customer Use – One of our customers thought the art work on our Cocker Spaniel towel was so beautiful that she decided to put the towel in a frame. She folded the towel to make sure all the edges were tucked in and the artwork was perfectly centered. Then she put the towel in a frame and hanged it on the wall in her house.
GUARDIAN ANGELS:
Applications – hang from attached gold string (may be removed), sit on flat gold base (not recommended to remove)
Uses – hang on tree, sit on shelf, attach to urn or memorial box, hang from car mirror, use indoors only
PLANTERS:
Application – self standing, inner plastic bottom included, hole for drainage
Uses – place on your front porch, back deck, garden, beside a walkway, backyard, anywhere inside your home, use for plants, seasonal flowers, starting vegetable seedlings, beside a dog’s memorial, may be used indoor or outdoor