Choice Pet Supplies Hemel Hempstead

28/06/2024

We have 27 freezer baskets that we need out of the way. Free to a good home! All unused; they came with the freezers we ordered a few months ago, and we don't need them. We have 24 which have a total length of 56cm, and three 51.5cm. Call our Radlett store on 01442 913259 if you are interested.

26/06/2024

Also available in Hemel Hempstead!

26/06/2024

All these new toys are also in the Hemel store.

16/06/2024

The new store in Radlett is now looking pretty good.

16/06/2024

We have some new bowls in store today, in both Radlett and Hemel Hempstead. These are made from a mix of wheat straw and polypropylene. They are VERY tough, and are dishwasher and microwave safe.

06/06/2024

These are in stock in the Hemel store.

We now have stock of Betterbone dog chews. These are an interesting new product made from natural biodegradable ingredients, and are a great alternative to dog chews made from nylon and other synthetic ingredients. Betterbone chews are made from vegetable oil and cellulose, and contain no nylon. They come in three sizes, and three strengths of chew resistance; hard, medium and soft.

17/05/2024

I have some very sad news. Several Christmases ago, I put up some multicoloured fairy lights. After that Christmas had been and gone, I thought that those Christmas lights looked very nice, and I didn't want to take them down, so I left them up there, 24 hours a day, so that passing motorists could notice them from the road and wonder, what's that place there?
A couple of weeks ago we were PAT tested, and the fairy lights failed. Tonight they were removed and binned. A very sad day. Not long till Christmas though...

03/05/2024

Paleo Ridge does pretty well in Hemel Hempstead, but I thought that this post on the Radlett page was worth sharing here...

So far, we haven't had much take-up on our big freezer full of Paleo Ridge raw dog food. What's the big deal with Paleo Ridge? Well, let me tell you...

* Cardboard packaging, so you aren't contributing to plastic pollution
* High welfare meat, and abattoirs inspected by the owners
* Novel meat options which our other suppliers don't provide
* A course mince, which some dogs prefer over the finely minced options from our other suppliers
* They don't ship in polystyrene boxes; they use wool for insulation, and they have a process where we can return it to be truly recycled
* All the game used is wild
* All the chicken used is organic
* Paleo Ridge is the only raw food supplier to hold an ISO 9001 accreditation

25/04/2024

EDIT: I am going to stock this!
I am thinking of stocking this. It is a bed that covers the back seat of your car, and has three harness attachments. The RRP is £59.99, and it is only available in black. What do we think? Anyone interested in this?

24/04/2024

Also available in Hemel!

22/04/2024

We now have stock of Equafleece Summer Suits, in all the sizes and four colours (black, teal, mulberry and raspberry). These are made from a super-stretchy high tech' fabric, so they are nice and easy to get on your dog. The legs can be cut to size and the material won't fray. The range includes sizings for miniature and standard Dachshunds, and also two sizes for pugs.
These keep your dog clean on wet and muddy days, and they provide a barrier against ticks and grass seeds etc.
We also have stock of Equafleece dog shorts in five colours (not pictured). These are great for dogs in season, because you can insert an ordinary sanitary pad. These are also handy for dogs with incontinence.
On the far right of this picture, there is the Equafleece t-shirt suit, which is made from cotton and elastane, and goes part of the way down the legs. These are a little cheaper than the summer suits, and still help to keep your dog safe from dirt and ticks.

11/04/2024

This is something I posted on our Radlett store's page, but I thought it was worth sharing here as well. For many of you, I know I am preaching to the converted!

We have been trading for about a month so far, and it is interesting to see what is selling well and what isn't. Toys and treats are flying out the door, but for our business this is just the gravy and not the meat. The core of our business is dog food, which is taking a while to get off the ground.
I anticipated that there would be a lot more excitement about our broad range of quality raw food. No one in the area is doing raw like we do, so I thought we would be owning a frustrated market, but... no! I guess because no one has been doing raw properly in this locality, not many people in the area are in the habit of feeding it, probably because it wasn't a convenient option until now. Our quality kibbles are starting to shift; Acana, Orijen, Canagan, Eden etc are all starting to work for us, so that's all fine.
I thought I would say a few words about raw, why we stock so much, and why would you feed it? Well, basically, it is the most natural and appropriate food you can feed a dog. It is also the food your dog is most likely to get excited about. Dogs and wolves are the same species. The scientific definition of a species is when two individuals can mate and produce fertile offspring, which is the case for dogs and wolves. Pictured is a Czechoslovakian wolf dog, which is the product of breeding wolves with dogs. The German Shepherd breed was developed with the deliberate inclusion of wolf genes. Yes, dogs and wolves are different, but it is pretty much on par with the difference between Chihuahuas and Great Danes; they are all Canis Lupus, even though your precious Canis Lupus gets the Familiaris addition to their scientific name. A dog is essentially a wolf that retains its submissive, friendly, puppy qualities into adulthood.
So, the above considered, the most natural food for a dog is what a wolf eats. Wolves will graze on various botanicals, berries and so on, for nutrients and digestion, but the bulk of their diet is eating prey. They are carnivores, with a carnivore's crushing, slicing, grasping teeth, with a carnivore's short digestive tract, and highly acidic stomach. A good dog food is high in meat, and the most natural food is fresh meat, and not a product that has been baked into a dry biscuit. Foods rich in carbohydrates, such as potato and grain etc, just aren't dog food. By law, every commercial dog food needs to have its nutritional qualities written on the packaging of the product. You will see protein, oil, vitamin levels etc, but you won't see the carbohydrate content described; this is because dogs don't need carbs. Grains and veg offer little nutritional benefit, and you see the bulk of these ingredients again coming out the other end of your dog. When you switch from a poorer quality dog food to raw, or to a quality high-meat kibble, you will notice smaller and firmer poos, which is great news when you have to pick it up every day.
Raw isn't a new thing; raw is how dogs have been fed for centuries. Kibble is the new kid on the block, developed for the suburban family who wanted something easy, clean and convenient to feed their pooch. The first dog kibble was produced in 1956, but we have been feeding our pet dogs for about 30,000 years. Raw isn't for everyone. Raw requires freezer space, and a bit more organisation and planning than other foods. If raw doesn't suit your lifestyle then we aren't going to be all preachy about it; we also have some amazing quality wet foods and kibbles.

19/03/2024

Our store in Battlers Green Farm, Radlett, is now very ready for business. We are still waiting on a tag-engraving machine, and a few beds, but other than that we are good to go.

19/03/2024

Our store in Radlett is now well stocked with frozen raw dog food.

14/03/2024

It's been a whole 21 days since I posted anything on here. I am up to my ears in getting the new store in Radlett up to spec, but we are getting there. I am very grateful to have a team of people in Hemel who I totally trust, and they have been really supportive while I have had to turn my attention away from the original store. Today I recruited a new full-timer for Radlett, which means we now have a team of three full-timers down there, plus 3 part-timers. There is still lots of work to do to get the Radlett store how I would like it, and we are waiting on a couple of significant deliveries down there. People have been coming in and saying how nice it is looking, and how much choice there is, and I have been thinking "nope, this is rubbish. Just you wait". When they come through the door and say "Wow!", then we will have arrived. About £700 of Kong toys are going to land tomorrow, so that will help!

21/02/2024

*edit: it has now been taken!*

We had a freezer fail this week. These are very popular with people who own horses and chickens. Failed freezers make a nice secure place to keep your feed safe from rodents and weather. Free to anyone who wants it, and I could potentially help get it to you.

21/02/2024

I nearly got beat this week. I might need a bigger van soon.

10/02/2024

I am right now changing the rota for Choice Pet Supplies in Hemel Hempstead. I'm no longer on it! This is very daunting for me. Six years ago, I WAS Choice Pet Supplies. I now have a new store in Radlett that I need to focus on, and I have to trust my team in Hemel to carry that fire, and keep it lit. I'm sure they will. I totally trust my team in Hemel, and two new staff members will join us over the next few days, and I have a good feeling about them. Onwards and upwards.

07/02/2024

This is a busy time for Choice Pet Supplies right now. We are expanding! A second store will soon be opening in Battlers Green Farm shopping village, just outside of Radlett. The new store will be quite a bit smaller, so we have decided that it should be very focused on dog products, which is our strongest and most profitable category. Staff are being recruited for the new store, and new staff are being brought in to Hemel to cover my exit from the rota, because unfortunately I can't be everywhere at once.
Yesterday, two new weekend staff were recruited. Today a new full timer for Hemel was recruited. Also today, I offered a job to our first full time employee in Radlett.

Pictured is the new unit, which I intend to stuff to the rafters with amazing dog stuff (just like the Hemel store!).

17/01/2024

We had a new freezer delivered today, taking the total to 21! Isn't it pretty? The new freezer will be full of those complementary bits for you DIY raw feeders. Right now it contains chopped liver, chopped kidney, chopped lamb heart and frozen chicken feet. Pictured are the whole 21 freezers. If you are feeding raw, or are interested in feeding raw, we are the place to go.

08/01/2024

Hello all. I have been talking to TPMS regarding the product descriptions on their new website, and the information about their chicken products is incorrect! We spoke to quite a few people about this yesterday, so I thought I had better put something on here, seeing as we sell more than 400kg of TPMS every week.
No products have changed! The chicken product is still 70% chicken carcass, and the chicken & liver is still 90% this product, so does indeed contain plenty of bone! They are going to amend their website!

03/01/2024

You might see an advert that we are running on Facebook and Instagram. It is only scheduled to run for seven days, so hopefully it won't get too annoying!
After nearly six years in business, I still hear people telling us that they live round the corner and they have just discovered us! This particular advert focuses on raw frozen food, because this is the main thing that sets us apart from other pet shops (apart from all the amazing toys, accessories, treats, and friendly helpful staff!).

01/01/2024

We are open today, 10:30 - 16:30.

24/12/2023

Happy Christmas everyone! Thanks for the laughs, the dog-cuddles, the recommendations, and your business. I am looking forward to a couple of days of not worrying about the store at all. Slàinte, prost, gesondheid, dzięki, sveikinimai, noroc, saúde, lloniannau, and cheers to you all, from Choice Pet Supplies Head Office (located in a small room in my house).

23/12/2023

What a day, what a week! Today was our busiest ever, beating the record previously set on a day right before the first 2020 lockdown. Also, this has already been our busiest ever week, and it's not over yet. We are open 10:30 - 16:30 on Xmas eve tomorrow, and after that we are closed for three days. Food stocks are still really good, and we still have lots of Xmas dog, cat and small animal toys and treats. We look forward to seeing all you last-minute-shoppers tomorrow!

17/12/2023

Here we have two very happy customers enjoying some cow hooves for the first time. Plain, unfilled, and just 85p.

15/12/2023

We are now are a stockist for Hotterdog products. So far we have stock of their water-repelling, moisture-wicking Dog Jumpers, and we also have their Dog Shorts, which are great for dogs in season or with incontinence.