Assignment 7A
Animal Separation Anxiety:
· Opportunity:
o
Every year, thousands of pet owners have
to deal with the consequences of leaving their animal alone at home.
o
The Who: pet owners of all ages
o
The What: pets causing damage when left
alone
o
The Why: leaving pets home alone, which
causes separation anxiety and damage
Testing the who: These pet owners can be from around
the world as this is a worldwide problem
Testing the what: I will interview dog, cat, and other
animal owners in order to get to the bottom of this problem that impacts so
many animals.
Testing the why: I understand already why this occurs.
Many animals will suffer from separation anxiety when left alone, generally at
a younger age.
Interview 1: In this interview, conducted with a
twenty-five-year-old male, I discovered that this man ran into trouble with his
pet when he had to start working longer hours. In college, he usually had to
leave his dog alone for four hours at the most.
Interview 2: Next, I interviewed a female of a similar
age to see if this was true of both genders. At the end of the interview, I was
able to confirm that this indeed was not just a problem for newly working
females.
Interview 3: Next, I interviewed a middle-aged female
that had a family of five. She had never experienced this problem of separation
anxiety because she never had to leave her dog alone for long periods of time
due to the fact that she was a stay at home mom.
Interview 4: I talked to an older gentleman, who so
happened to be my grandfather, over the phone. He had a similar response to the
lady above. Due to the fact that he was home most of the time, he does not
remember a time his cat damaged the house.
Interview 5: Lastly, I interviewed someone I knew had
a dog suffering from anxiety. She said that she would give the dog treats
whenever she got home, and the house was not damaged. When the house was
damaged, she brought the dog to the scene of the crime and punished the dog.
Given your interviews, what do you know about your
opportunity that you didn’t know before?
I know that I am targeting people that have busy
lives. Thus, older people are not going to be one of my top customers. Also, I
now know that I have a great idea. Many Americans and people around the world
have pets that have separation anxiety. As a result, I am happy I am pursuing
this opportunity.
Hi Joseph,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting issue to form an opportunity from. I personally know many people that struggle with leaving their pets for extended periods of time. Pets are extremely important to us, and unfortunately most people have such busy lives that they find it hard to spend the amount of time caring for their pets as they would like. Finding a way to alleviate some of the separation anxiety that pets face in these situations would be a major help for the pets, and pet owners alike. There definitely seems to be an opportunity here, I think finding the right approach is the challenge. Thanks, Darren.
Hi Joseph,
ReplyDeleteI have a dog at home and my dog is constantly alone since I am at school and my parents are at work. When my dog is alone for a while, he begins to tear up furniture and mess up the house. Therefore, from personal experience, I definitely see the need for this opportunity even though I do not know exactly how you would go about exploiting it but I look forward to reading more about it.
Hi Joseph,
ReplyDeleteI work almost everyday and my dog makes me feel so guilty about leaving him. I feel as though several people have this issue and cannot spend enough time with their pets on certain days. My dog gets upset sometimes and will rip something up or eat something that was left on the counter. I do believe an opportunity for this exists however, how would you execute it?