Remember the "pandemic puppy" boom? As lockdowns spread in 2020, so did dog adoptions. People suddenly stuck at home thought, "Perfect time to get that dog I've always wanted!" Then reality hit: training a dog is hard, a puppy is even harder, and it's all especially challenging when you can't go to professionals for help.

I met the Doggo team after being staffed to help them on their insurance product and website while working at thoughtbot. As the pandemic took over everyone's lives, the studio I was working out of closed down but Doggo had a new product on the rise - virtual dog training.

The problem? Most people didn't believe that they needed dog training at all and were skeptical that virtual dog training could actually work. We had our work cut out for us, getting users to even consider virtual dog training in the first place and quickly building trust with users.

And there was no time to waste. A destructive puppy doesn't politely wait for pandemic restrictions to end before tearing up your couch or developing anxiety issues. We also weren't sure how long the boom of puppy adoptions would last. These new dog parents and Doggo needed immediate solutions.

Identifying Core User Needs

As we dug into the problem, clear patterns emerged about what these overwhelmed dog owners really needed.

First, they needed immediate access to expert advice. When your dog is frantically barking at every Amazon delivery or having accidents on your home office carpet, you need help now, not next week.

Trust was another huge factor. These people had never even heard of virtual training before and needed reassurance that it could actually work. "How can someone help my specific dog without meeting them?"

Flexibility was non-negotiable. These folks were juggling work calls, homeschooling kids, and trying to maintain their sanity. They needed help that fit into the chaos of pandemic life.

Doggo already had a successful insurance product, so we also wanted to build on top of that strong foundation. One major piece of that was the simple, easy to understand voice and straightforward language that Doggo used to explain how their insurance product was unique.

Building Trust Through Design

Social proof was perhaps our most powerful tool. We expanded our testimonials to include specific breeds and issues, so a Goldendoodle owner with a jumping problem could find stories from other Goldendoodle owners who solved the same issue through our platform. We used A/B testing to try different landing page designs to help users find the stories they needed and make the flow to sign up as seamless as possible.

Credentials and trainer profiles became front and center. Most users didn't know what CPDT-KA certification meant, but they knew it stood for something. We made sure they saw those credentials alongside trainer profiles, with simple explanations of what those certifications actually required.

Text-First Approach

The basis of the Doggo Training platform was the text-first approach. You connected directly with a trainer and exchanged messages back and forth, including voice and video messages. This casual, yet effective communication model allowed users to get immediate help and build a relationship with their trainer over time.

We focused heavily on getting users onboarded to this new way of working with a dog trainer from the beginning. To sign up for the service, users went through a series of questions to help us match them with the best trainer for their situation. These questions were designed to feel like a natural conversation between a dog owner and a trainer, getting the user used to the idea of text-based communication.

We built a custom backend that notified trainers and those managing the platform when a new user signed up. This allowed us to reinforce everything the user had learned while exploring Doggo and being onboarded - that you were in good hands and you had help just a text away.

Impact During COVID-19

Doggo Training was able to scale rapidly during a time when traditional training options disappeared overnight. With in-person trainers unavailable and group classes canceled, our platform offered the only professional guidance many people could access.

For many pandemic puppy owners, Doggo became not just a training resource but a lifeline during an isolated, stressful time when their new dog was both their greatest joy and their biggest challenge.

Outcomes and Acquisition

Doggo's initial success as a modern solution for pet insurance and their new market of virtual dog training led to its acquisition by Antelope in February 2022. As an omni-channel pet wellness platform backed by Alpine Investors, Antelope recognized a similar set of values that Doggo established with its community and the trust we'd established with pet owners.

The acquisition validated something I'd believed throughout the project: good design isn't just about aesthetics, it's about creating experiences that solve real problems for people when they need solutions most. By meeting pet owners exactly where they were during a crisis and giving them tools that actually worked, we'd built something truly valuable.