Pet Stop Pet Fence Systems of Alabama is a regional dog fence dealership serving central Alabama, including the Birmingham MSA, Tuscaloosa, Jasper, Cullman, Clanton, Anniston, and Gadsden. The largest and oldest dealership in the area, their trademark tagline is "Alabama's Pet Fence Experts™ since 1994". The company's owners, Rob McDonald and Keith McDonald, are brothers who moved to Alabama in the late 1980's from Louisiana. They are recognized around the country as two of the pet containment industry's leaders, the recipients of many awards for customer service, sales productivity, and business leadership.
The McDonalds started their local dog fence dealership in April of 1994, during the six years while Keith taught dog training classes at Creative Dog Training, the premier dog training facility in the area. They quickly rose to the top of their first dog fence dealer network, the now-defunct Proline Underground Fencing group. They moved to the New York based Dog Guard Out of Sight Fencing dealer network in 1995 and became its top-selling dealer by the end of 1996, remaining in that position till 2002 when chronic equipment failures drove them to find a better supplier.
The same year, the McDonald brothers made their first foray into online sales when they opened Magic City Auctions, the original name of their eBay store now known as Pet Fence Pros. Originally opened to provide a liquidation point for the Invisible Fence brand dog fence systems they regularly traded in, they soon saw the merit of seeking out used Invisible Fence brand pet containment equipment to resell on eBay. With their unique knowledge of dog fence equipment, they were able to add value by testing and refurbishing the equipment before resale, assuring the end purchaser of a quality item. As the first player in this unique niche, they were often approached by Invisible Fence brand local dealers who were looking for a buyout as they closed up shop. They began to purchase small lots of Invisible Fence inventory from these former dealers, and also from dealers of other brands including Dogwatch, Dog Guard, and Contain a Pet. As a result, they gained a unique depth of knowledge about all brands of electronic pet fencing products and became able to provide high quality service for any brand. Employing this skill set along with Pet Stop equipment's firmware flexibility, they became the first Alabama dog fence company with the ability to provide complete service and parts replacement for all brands of electric dog fences - a distinct advantage which has helped them dominate their market since the late 1990s.
With online expansion in mind, the McDonalds opened PetStuffWarehouse.com in mid-2008, armed with very little knowledge of online operations outside eBay. Within eight months of opening, they saw that they had severely underestimated the potential market for professional quality dog fence parts and accessories, which prompted them to redouble their efforts to offer a larger scope of pet supplies. Partnering with several large pet supply distributors as well as independent pet products suppliers all over the world, PetStuffWarehouse.com is now tracking towards becoming a major contender in the crowded online discount pet supplies sector. As of this writing, PetStuffWarehouse.com has an estimated 13,000 customers in North America.
As internet sales grew, the McDonalds' local dealership remained successful as well, swiftly climbing to the top tier of the fast growing Pet Stop national dealer network. Their demonstrated expertise in pet containment, along with dealership operations and marketing, earned the brothers significant industry respect. In 2006, Rob was elected by his peers to the newly created Pet Stop Dealer Network Advisory Board, on which he has continuously served to the date of this writing. Rob has also chaired or served on various other committees, helping to keep the dealer community represented and educated. Rob and Keith were also tapped as Regional Network Dealer Coaches and Network Developers, tasked to recruit quality new dealers in underserved areas as well as to assist existing dealers in making their dealerships more successful. In 2009, the McDonald brothers hosted their first Regional Dealer Meeting in Birmingham, arranging the agenda with a focus on improving dealer health and profitability.
