I really believe that understanding reactive dogs and their owners is very important to your business so if you don’t read this to better serve your customers, at least read it to better your business.
Reactive dog owners, pay more for good fields, travel further, book further in advance and book more frequently than most of your other customers.
It’s a good idea to do everything you can to look after them if you can.
Being a reactive dog owner can be stressful. Being a reactive or nervous dog is DEFINITELY stressful. All in all, life can be a big ball of stress and that’s why when dog fields started to pop up from Land’s End to John O’Goats, a wave of relief came over thousands of dog owners.
In the first wave (6+ years ago), most dog fields were set up and operated by people who had a deep personal understanding of reactivity and anxiety in dogs. Fast forward to the modern dog field era, and it’s rare I come across a dog field owner who has a reactive dog or has any real life experience of what that actually means day to day. If that’s you, hopefully the next few points can help you to better understand your audience.
We’ve seen a 400% increase in dog field numbers in just 3 years and weirdly, a lesser percentage are suitable for reactive dogs now than back then.
Whilst there are some things you as a dog field operator can’t do a heck of a lot about (location, proximity to livestock, public footpath etc), understanding what reactive dog owners need is a useful tool – even if it’s to explain to dog owners that your field isn’t suitable for all dogs.
Here are 10 things I hope a dog field owner knows about me and my dog, and all the other reactive dog owners out there.
1) I Am On High Alert
As I drive up to your field my adrenaline is through the roof. Is this field/parking actually secure? did I read the instructions properly? Where’s the code? I’m sure it was a text – no was it an email – bugger, I have no signal. OMG the dogs are shouting and making my head hurt….
2) I Do Not Appreciate Surprises
My dogs are fine with gunshots and bird scarers but get stressed by human noises – I like to know about everything. My dogs have no issues with cows and sheep but horses are minotaurs that need to be warned off at 120dB – there’s livestock and there’s livestock. I didn’t know that the field was right next to a busy farm yard. I didn’t know the track presented an off-road quest.
These are all things that are quite normal in the countryside but it helps if I know and can prepare.
3) If You Need To Talk To Me, Please Arrange It In Advance
If you do an induction, please don’t just creep up on me at the gate and don’t come anywhere near my vehicle – my dogs suffer from ‘stranger danger’ and I come here to relax, not spend the first 30 minutes defragging them after they have overzealously protected the car.
A video call before the day is AMAZING! If you can do that I am so grateful. If not, let me text you when I arrive and tell me where I can meet you for a quick chat. Preferably out of sight of my vehicle.
4) I Come Here To Be Away From People And Things – It Might Be The Only Place I Can Relax
You offer a sanctuary – I’m enormously grateful for that.
5) If You Don’t Tell Me The Truth, I Can’t Make Informed Decisions
If I knew you had a boarding kennel on site, I probably wouldn’t visit. If you don’t tell me and I arrive to a cacophony of dogs barking, I’m going to be an unhappy customer. It’s better to not have that customer than for them to be cheesed off (see point 9).
6) No Judgement
We do not need any judgment or unsolicited advice. We just need your empathy and if you can’t manage that, fake it.
It comes through in every social media post you make and every email you send. We know if you understand that our life can be a bit difficult from time to time.
e.g. Receiving an email from a dog field reminding people that the buffer is there for a reason and you will be enforcing this with a bazooka is fantastic! Receiving one that seeks to justify why you don’t have a buffer and you want everyone to leave faster, just shows you don’t get it or that you have completely unrealistic expectations of humans.
7) I’d love to take a walk down the towpath – I’m not here through choice
Honestly, I’d rather not pay to use a dog field all the time. I’d love a country stroll and a pint at my local with my wonderful dogs in tow. That’s not the hand I was dealt. I’m a reluctant customer. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate your field – it is a lifeline…. But I sometimes wish my life was a bit more normal.
8) If You Show Kindness, You Will Probably Make Me Cry
If you come across a reactive dog owner and they’re having a difficult day because everyone’s buckets are overflowing – be kind. Read between the lines – if they’re snappy or unreasonable, it’s probably not their normal state. Whether it’s via a crappy text or email, face to face or on the phone – imagine they’re on their last straw before you respond.
Even if they’re not at the end of their tether and they are a genuine a-hole, you’ll be the better person for offering kindness.
9) Reactive Dog Owners Are Extremely Influential To One Another
This is a cautionary tale. Owners of reactive dogs talk. We offer one another support and advice and a shoulder to cry on…. We also rely heavily on one another’s opinions. We can’t afford to give a field a second chance and with more and more appearing, we don’t have to.
10 ) Understand Your Customer – The Best Business Operators Come From A Place Of Understanding
I’m not suggesting you go and hunt out your very own crackhead, deranged, floof to get the first hand reactive dog-owning experience, but I am asking you to try to think like a reactive dog owner.
Reactivity and nervousness is a spectrum. It’s also day-dependent and the challenges we face can be instantaneous.
You don’t really need to understand the consequences of a bad experience at a dog field (hours and hours of heightened emotions, anxiety, injury… the list goes on) but trying to avoid exposing your customers to things that might cause unnecessary stress is your responsibility.
If you thought that you were sticking up a fence around a field and that was the end of your job, you might better off finding a different income stream because if that’s all it is to you, you have hard times ahead.
Extra Tips for Dog Field Owners:
It’s all about communication: Please make it easy for me to find all this information out BEFORE I commit to a booking – here’s how:
- I love to see a walk through your field (including car parks) or a drone video on your booking site so I can see if your place works for me
- Pictures of the important stuff – and don’t embellish them. Check that they are a real reflection and show the reality of your field
- Tell me the bad news. Livestock, shared fences, gun club neighbour, super steep, no water supply, mud…. I want to know it all! You’re only going to put off the right people and perhaps if you have a massive list of ‘things you need to know’, now might be a time to fix some of those things if possible
- Make restrictions crystal clear – limit on car numbers? Tell me in a really obvious place. Nobody reads your terms and conditions until they want to sue you so don’t bury anything important in there!
And finally…a reminder.
Reactive dog owners, pay more for good fields, travel further, book further in advance and book more frequently than any of your other customers. It’s a good idea to do everything you can to look after them.