Assignment 7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

OPPORTUNITY 

Dog owners do not have an upscale facility that they can drop their dogs off for the day while they are at work or overnight stay while they are out of town. In addition to these accommodations, owners do not have a facility that also allows their dog(s) to be out playing and socializing with their dog friends the entire stay. 

• Who: Dog Owners
• What: Owners do not have a facility for day care/overnight stays that allow dogs to be roaming during the stay (e.g. not kenneled).
• Why: Lack of this type of facility as most pet resorts kennel the dogs. 

HHYPOTHESIS

Dog owners have a need for a kennel free facility with accommodations for daycare and overnight stays. 

• Testing the Who: Are there owners who have this need?
• Testing the What: Do dog owners care if their dog is kenneled or not? Would the owner prefer a place where their dogs can be out playing all day?
• Testing the Why: Is it because of the cost to operate? Or the cost of the day care/overnight stay for the owners?  Does the behavior of dogs deter this type of operation? 

INTERVIEWS

Interview #1

My first interview was with a co-worker in her early 60’s with two very large dogs. She agrees there is a need for this type of facility and that she would be willing to pay a higher rate to be able to drop her dogs off for the day so they can play while she is at work. I questioned her as to why she thinks we do not have many facilities like this around and she thought maybe it had to do with a higher chance of liability because all the dogs are out together at the same time, i.e. legal expensive for protection, insurance rates. She believed the liability could result in higher startup costs than the average pet facility where dogs are kenneled. 

Interview #2

My second interview was also with a co-worker in her mid 50’s with one dog. She said she would love to use this type of facility and would also be willing to pay more for the non-kennel accommodations. Her hesitation however, was that her dog does have trouble with strangers and other dogs that it has not met before. She is not sure she could trust her dog to be at a facility like this or even a regular kennel. 

Interview #3

My third interview was with another co-worker in her mid 30’s with two smaller/medium size dogs. She mentioned she has used a facility sort of similar to this opportunity before and she had access to cameras so she could watch her dog. She believes there is a need for more facilities like this one discussed in the opportunity. She did say that she has had problems before where her dog has come home with a cold. 

Interview #4

My fourth interview was with a neighbor in his mid 30’s with one dog. He said there is a great need for a facility like this in our area. I asked him why he thought we may not have that many around and he said he thinks it may be hard to get permits/find a facility on a sizable lot to accommodate the need for space. He also mentioned that he usually has an in-home dog sitter come stay if he has to go out of town, but he would prefer to have the option to have his dog at a non-kennel facility.

Interview #5

My last interview was with another co-worker in her 20’s that has a small dog. When I asked if she would use this type of facility she said no because her dog gets nervous easily and is comforted by small spaces like a kennel. I also asked if she were to have another dog who is not a nervous type, if she would prefer this facility over kennels and she said yes. She also said a high price point would not deter her. 

SUMMARY

After conducting 5 interviews I have discovered that a higher price doesn’t really seem to bother these dog owners. I also think this opportunity would be attractive to customers if there were some kennels on site for pets that are nervous or have the tendency to get overly excited/aggressive. Dogs would also need to be up to date on all vaccines, flea protection and heart-worms preventative to prevent the spreading of sickness or infection. After concluding my interviews and reviewing the feedback, I can say with confidence that there is a need for this type of opportunity.