We were lucky to catch up with Sandy Wahowski recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sandy , thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be successful in any line of business is to first Believe you can do it! Belief in myself, my skills, my patience, and most importantly my love of my dogs and all of the dogs I have met has kept me motivated to keep going with Bo Biscuits Dog Treats.

I remember the first batch of biscuits that I baked for Bo my border collie who I adopted in 2021. The look on his face and the immediate devouring of the fresh treat was all I needed to feel that belief come alive. Since Bo Biscuits Dog Treats launched in December 2023, we have been attending many events around the Houston area. There are some events where I have had my doubts and in the end they have turned into our best events. The mantra of believing that we are making, we are giving back to our local community, and we are making our short and long term goals come alive is what keeps us moving forward and getting better everyday.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The Bo Biscuits story starts in 2021 when I adopted Bo, my border collie, from Special Pals Animal Shelter in Katy, Texas. As a welcome home gift, my aunt Katie sent me a package that included a note, a recipe, and dog bone cookie cutters. My aunt’s note explained that the recipe was my late grandfather, John Riley’s recipe when he baked for his beloved dogs. My grandfather was a retired Navy veteran turned baker. I remember him baking all of his grand daughters’ birthday cakes, cookies, cupcakes. It does not surprise me that my grandfather also made dog treats for his beloved dogs.

Since my aunt’s gift, I started baking my grandfather’s recipe for Bo and our neighbors’ and friends’ dogs. This recipe is a peanut butter pumpkin biscuit. The dogs went bananas for them. My boyfriend, Larry, and I decided to try to sell the biscuits at an upcoming art show in Katy.

The treats were a hit and we knew we were blessed with something special. Bo Biscuits Dog Treats officially launched in December of 2023 at the Katy Market Day: Old Fashion Christmas Market. Our treats were a hit with our local community and we love meeting all of our furry clients.

Since the story of Bo Biscuits Dog Treats began, we have rescued two more dogs: Duke, a Border Collie-Great Dane and Sue Ellen, a German Shepherd-Ridgeback mix. Our treat flavors represent the personalities and rescue stories of our pups.

Bo is the inspiration of the Original Bo Biscuit Treat (my grandfather’s recipe). The Original Bo Biscuit flavor includes peanut butter, pumpkin and cinnamon. Duke is the inspiration of our Duke Delight treats. Duke was rescued off of a highway in San Antonio. He is our country boy that loves the great outdoors, mud, and has the biggest heart in Texas. The Duke Delights flavor includes apple, bacon, and cheddar. Sue Ellen was a Fourth of July foster fail in 2023. We were only supposed to foster her for the weekend and instead ending up adopting her sweet little soul into our family. The Sue Ellen American Pie flavor includes apple, peanut butter and cinnamon.

I am most proud of the many pups and their families we have met on our journey. We love hearing their stories, sharing memories with their pups, helping other pups find their forever homes, and making dogs happier in this crazy world. Our short term goals is to give pup parents in Houston a healthy alternative to treats that are affordable and make their pup’s tail wag. Our long term goal is to develop a rescue ranch for senior aged dogs that are in the shelters to live out their best days while waiting for a forever home.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

The biggest aspect of building my audience on social media is keeping everything about the dogs and the treats. I see many other dog treat makers post a lot of content about themselves and their story, but customers need to know about your product. Most importantly, if dogs like your product.

I post many reels about markets, sales, and videos of many dogs we meet actually enjoying the product. Sharing the stories about the dogs we meet, including a “Pup of the Week” every Monday has helped my customers feel involved in the process and the business.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe that my drive and endless research of market areas, events, and marketing has helped build our reputation in the market. I love meeting new people at our events and conversing with them. We are not just behind a table or trailer passing out treats; we get down on the level of the dogs and try to get to know them. We talk with the owners and learn about the dog’s story and how we can better service them.

Our price point has also helped our reputation in the dog treat market. I research and study my competitors and the economy. I believe that people should not have to pay an arm and a leg for a small bag of homemade dog treats. I do believe that in order to build that trust with customers, we have to be realistic with what is happening in the economy on a whole and respect our customers. I know my product is made well; I know I could charge more for the treat bags or specialty items. However, that will not help our community with their priorities and goals. All dogs deserve to have healthy treats that are made locally.

We also partner with many rescues and shelters to help spread awareness. All of my dogs are rescue pups. We strive to help share about needs, volunteer opportunities, adoptable pups, and success stories.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bobiscuittreats.com
• Instagram: @bo.biscuitstx
• Facebook: Bo Biscuits Treats and Accessories
• Other: We are also located in the Painted Tree Boutique in Sugar Land, Texas.

Image Credits

All images are my own.