An App That Provides Puppy Advice for Dog Owners Who Want to Get a Puppy | K9 Nation

K9 Nation App Provides Puppy Advice for Dog Owners Who Want to Get a Puppy

Animal Innovations Show - Episode 56 - K9 Nation

An App That Provides Puppy Advice for Dog Owners Who Want to Get a Puppy | K9 Nation

If you’re a dog owner or a dog-friendly business owner looking for a supportive online community, the K9 Nation app can help you in your journey.

Founded by Becky Baker, K9 Nation is a free mobile app that helps dog owners in the UK live their best lives with their dogs. It aims to resolve the genuine need for information and to have a trusted and transparent go-to place for all dog owner needs.

As per Becky,

“The idea behind the app is that we are creating a one-stop shop for dog owners that acts as a free information resource and tool that they can trust and will be the go-to place for anything they need to live their best lives with their dogs.”

K9 Nation: Features and Functions

According to Becky, one of the features of K9 Nation is that it provides an online support network and community for like-minded dog owners.

It also gives dog owners and dog-friendly businesses access to a whole host of walks, products, puppy advice, and services that have been rated and reviewed by fellow community members.

Becky shared,

“The app has a range of different features. There’s the community feature, which is really important to me and the values of the business. That’s where people can connect with other like-minded dog owners. There’s a news feed. It’s very sociable. We talk about a lot of our campaigns that we do as a company in there. We’ve also got the ‘Walks’ feature of the app, which is great so you can find walk from all over the country. You can see what facilities they are, what’s nearby to them in terms of any retail or hospitality, a pub or a cafe. You know, we love a pub here in the UK.”

K9 Nation App Provides Puppy Advice for Dog Owners Who Want to Get a Puppy

In addition, the K9 Nation app also has a Marketplace feature, which gives dog owners access to a whole range of business services and products that they might need for their dogs.

It also has articles and expert members talking about different topics, from tips on what to do if your puppy is biting to subjects like dog-friendly places to stay in.

“It’s community-driven, so everything is reviewed by the community, by other, like, micro dog owners… As a brand, we don’t have an opinion. We just provide the platform for dog owners. So, it really is trusted and impartial…”

Developing the K9 Nation App

It all started five years ago when Becky adopted her Cockapoo, Buddy, as a child.

Like many other new and excited pet parents, Becky did all her research and planning before deciding to take the final step and become a dog mom.

However, she, later on, realized that all her preparation still wasn’t enough to get her ready for the responsibilities that being a pet parent entailed.

“I thought I knew what I was doing, but then I got the dog, and it was really tough. I had a need for so much different information,”

she confessed.

One of the things she struggled with was the number of different resources that provided all sorts of various information.

For instance, one website would only give details about walks, while another told readers about dog-friendly restaurants. If she wanted to go see friends, she also had to consult a handful of different websites before she could find everything she needed.

What made it worse was that, at the time, nothing was accessible on mobile yet, which frustrated Becky even more.

As a last resort, Becky ended up gravitating towards a Facebook group for pet parents who took care of the same breed as her fur baby.

“I have to say, it was invaluable just to hear people going through similar pain points that I was going through. They were giving me little tips… all these wonderful things. And that’s where the idea for the community side of [K9 Nation] came because dog owners need to support each other.”

K9 Nation App Provides Puppy Advice for Dog Owners Who Want to Get a Puppy

As a software product manager for clients in the legal sector, Becky toyed with the idea of using her background to help solve her problem. And after hearing feedback from other dog parents like her, she finally decided to jump the gun in 2019 and developed the app.

“In the last, I’d say, 15 months, it’s a really exciting time for us at K9 Nation, and that’s great for me, because it just means I can reach more and more people. And I can make this app even better for dog owners out there… If we can just help one dog going out there and enrich their life and help them with that dog, then for me, we’re doing a good job,”

Becky said.

A Place for Everyone With the K9 Nation App

K9 Nation App Provides Puppy Advice for Dog Owners Who Want to Get a Puppy

Wanting to give dog owners the tools they need to have a great life with their pets, Becky and her team developed K9 Nation as a place that supports dog owners and dog-friendly businesses alike.

“We want to be able to support the person who dresses their dogs in tiaras and down to the farmer who needs to train his working farm dog. There’s no judgment in our community. Everyone has a different need as a dog owner. And as long as you’re a responsible dog owner, and there’s no harm being caused to the dog, then the community is there to support you.”

Because of this, it’s no surprise that a lot of people in the K9 Nation community can’t help but rave about the app.

As one user, Charlotte, testified on the website’s testimonial section, “As someone who loves dogs, an app all about dogs is just amazing!”

So, if you, too, want in on the fun of being a dog parent, don’t think twice about accessing K9 Nation on your phone.

You can download the app for free from the Google Play Store or App Store.

 

Learn more about K9 Nation!

Check out https://k9nation.dog/ to know more.

Have suggestions for who we should interview next?

Send us a message at [email protected]!

Becky:

Hi, I’m Becky Baker, and you’re tuned in to The Animal Innovations Show.

Chris:

Awesome, introduction, Becky.

So, tell us who you are and how you’re innovating and helping animals.

Becky:

I’m Becky Baker and I’m the founder and creator of K9 Nation.

We are a free mobile app for dog owners specifically, and currently just available here in the UK, but world domination will soon follow, I’m sure.

But the idea behind the app is that we are creating a one-stop shop for dog owners that acts as a free information resource and tool that they can trust and will be the go-to place for anything they need to live their best lives with their dogs.

The app has a range of different features. There’s the Community feature, which is really important to me and the values of the business. And that’s where people can connect with other like-minded dog owners.

There’s a news feed. It’s very sociable. We talk about a lot of our campaigns that we do as a company there.

We’ve also got the Walks feature of the app, which is great, so you can find walks from all over the country.

You can see what facilities they are, what’s nearby in terms of any retail or hospitality, a pub or a cafe. We love a pub here in the UK.

And then we’ve also got the Marketplace feature within the app, which is where dog owners can access a whole range of business services and products that they might need for their dogs.

And I think what’s really important to point out is that underpinning all of these features within the app is the fact that it’s community-driven, so everything is reviewed by the community.

As a brand, we don’t have an opinion. We just provide the platform for dog owners, so it really is trusted and impartial. Because we don’t say: “Brand X dog food is better than Brand Y.”

We simply say: “There’s these two brands, look at them, and you can read your reviews from the other dog owners out there.”

We have blogs and articles and experts about a whole range of different topics, like what to do if your puppy is biting or what to do if they’re resource guarding.

So, as I say, the idea is that it’s this one-stop shop, that if you’re a dog owner, you can check it out completely for free.

And it’s there just to help you live your life with your dog, your way.

Chris:

So, then take us back to the point where you went “Okay, this is not enough. Somebody has to solve this problem, and it’s going to be me.”

Becky:

Yeah. So, my background is a software product manager, but in the legal sector.

So, I went to law firms, and I just found this—I had this need, and I asked around for the people, you know, I had the same problem.

I did my market research, and there just wasn’t anything out there in the market, and I just thought that there has to be a way.

Early on, I was still working full-time, and I bootstrapped with my savings and my salary to kind of get an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and user developers to kind of get my first idea, and I really was playing with it.

It takes a lot of focus to do anything like this, as you know. But I was kind of trying to validate the idea.

And then in 2019, we lost a colleague at work, actually, which was just a bit of a “stop and take note” moment for me in my life.

And I quit my job, and I bought a motorhome, of all things. And I went around the country for two months on my own, with just the dog and a branded motorhome.

And I just went out there and met people and met dog owners and met cafe owners that were dog-friendly. And I put it out there in the press.

I was coming, and I wanted to find all the dog-friendly places, and those people got in touch with me and asked me to come and visit them.

And I was just trying to get into the market and see if this idea that I had was something people really wanted.

And it was. So, I came back from my road trip, and I set about joining a business accelerator program.

And then in the last, I’d say, 15 months, I’ve successfully had two rounds of investment into the business, so, it’s a really exciting time for us at K9.

Chris:

Talk to us about some of the features. I mean, you mentioned some of them before: I download the app, I create my profile, I log in.

It’s really, like you said, to try and get me to the resources that can help me other people and walks and that community. Can I ask questions and all that? Is it similar to, like, Facebook groups?

Becky:

Absolutely. Yeah. So, you can go into the community element, and there’s a news feed there.

So, if you’re struggling with a problem, you can post a question, and people can respond to you in the thread, and they can like it, and all the rest of it.

And then we do have articles and resources. They’re written by independent experts that we talk to in our community and in our dog network.

Because the thing is about us: we don’t hold ourselves out as a brand to be experts.

Chris:

Where do you take this now? What’s your vision for this?

Becky:

The aim for me is just to continue to grow the community base, make the product even better.

Feedback on the app is really important for us as a team. So, we’re always engaging our brand ambassadors and our community, in general, to get survey responses because we want to build what the community wants.

Chris:

Becky, I really enjoyed talking to you today and learning more about this.

Is there anything else you want to mention before we wrap things up?

Becky:

If anyone wants to check out the app, you can find more information about it on the website.

It’s WWW.K9NATION.DOG.

If you want to reach out and have a chat, you can get in touch with us at: [email protected]

Chris:

Before we close things out, I’ll just reminder our viewers and listeners. If you’ve got an innovative idea like Becky did, or know somebody that does that I should talk to, just go to INNOVATIONS.SHOW, and let me know.

We’d love to get them on the show and talk to them. So, thanks again, Becky. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Becky:

Thank you for having me, Chris.

Recent Posts

Leave A Comment

Topics

Related Posts