9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

9A - Testing the Hypothesis

For my five interviews, I went to the dog park with my dog and was able to find a lot of people that had this unmet need. I selected five and asked them a handful of questions. Since we were at the dog park everyone's dogs are situationally reactive. They get along with other dogs at the park, but on a leash it's a whole other story. Two of them said that they live in pretty rural areas where they can walk their dogs and almost never see another dog so they don't run into problems usually. One of those two, however, said she brings her reactive dog to her boyfriend's apartment and runs into other dog walkers a lot more which is stressful and frustrating. The other three people live in populated areas with lots of dogs and definitely feel the need for a device that could give them a warning when another dog is in the vicinity. They all agreed it would take a lot of stress and anxiety out of their walks. Two of those people have very large dogs and said the main reason for this need is that their dog tries to drag them toward the other dog and not usually in a friendly way. They'll pull them into the street with no awareness of their surroundings and they feel unsafe. The third person out of those three has a smaller dog and she said that she mostly gets embarrassed by how her dog acts. It can't drag her, but it barks like crazy and she would just rather avoid the experience altogether.


Inside the Boundary:

Who is in - People with reactive dogs
What the need is - Need a way to avoid other dogs when on walks
Why the need exists - Exists because people who walk their reactive dogs really struggle when the cross paths with other dog walkers and their dog tries to go lunging, pulling and barking at the other dog. This is very frustrating and can create anxiety for the dog walker.


Outside the Boundary:

Who is not - People who don't live near other people with dogs.
What the need is not - Their dog isn't reactive or it doesn't bother them that they are and maybe their dog is small enough that it doesn't affect them very much.
Alternative explanations - Some people who have reactive dogs don't live near other people with dogs and don't run into this problem on a daily basis. If they were to go to a more populated area they might have it, but it's not common enough for them to worry about it. Also, if someone has a very small reactive dog, their dog pulling and going crazy when they see another dog may not be a big deal compared to someone who has a large dog that is harder to control.