PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Jan. 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pet360 Inc. today announced the launch of petMD University (petMD U) in response to the growing demand for more convenient access to trusted and authoritative pet health information. A recent Pet360 survey revealed that 78.4% of pet parents actively seek pet care information and advice from online sources, and 74.3% said they search at least one time per month. Designed to help pet parents gain confidence through educational excellence, petMD U offers a series of online courses and fun quizzes, all curated from petMD's leading collection of original, veterinarian approved content.
"With a 300% increase in traffic to our sites and mobile applications over the past two years, Pet360 continues to be the most innovative and trusted resource for pet parents to learn, shop and play," states Brock Weatherup CEO of Pet360. "petMD University is the most exciting addition to pet parent education in a long time, and it's available to pet owners for free."
Consisting of fun slideshows, videos and informative articles, petMD U makes going back to school enjoyable for pet parents. Popular courses include "Dog Training Basics" and "Cat Emergency Preparedness." Students are quizzed at various intervals throughout each course and earn badges and degrees every time they complete a syllabus. They are also encouraged to share their pet parenting smarts on Facebook and Twitter and can view the Star Student Leaderboard to see how they measure up to other students.
"In order to appeal to a wider audience of pet owners, we knew we had to craft an experience that is both educational and extremely fun," states Dan Seng, Director of Product Development at Pet360. "Tapping into consumers' love of casual gaming, the core platform enhances education with traditional game mechanics that incentivize pet parents to complete courses and rewards them for their commitment to becoming a better pet parent."
Media Contact: Natalie Rusinko, 610-276-1597, nrusinko@pet360.com
About Pet360, Inc.
Pet360 is the leading resource for pet parents, providing pet owners trusted information from a team of experts, connections to other pet parents, and easy online ordering solutions for pet food, meds and supplies. The Pet360 family of brands includes www.Pet360.com – a highly personalized website dedicated to simplifying pet parenting, www.petMD.com – the world's leading online resource for pet health information, and www.PetFoodDirect.com – the most complete pet food and supply retailer online.
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