Hey everyone!
Quick update, and then a question I'd really love this group's take on.
First, the update: HEEL is now live on Android. For everyone who asked (Cydney, this means you), it's officially available on both the App Store and Google Play. So if Android availability was the thing holding your team back from sharing it with adopters, that barrier is gone.
Now the part I actually want to talk about.
I've been thinking a lot about the gap between adoption day and the first follow-up most shelters are able to do. In most cases there's a window of one to three weeks where the adopter is home alone with a dog they don't fully understand yet, and that's exactly when the small stuff (nipping, pulling, accidents, a dog that won't settle) starts to feel like a mistake instead of a normal adjustment. That window is where a lot of returns are quietly decided, long before anyone calls the shelter back.
So my question for the people in this group who live this every day: what's the single most common behavioral reason you see dogs come back? Is it the same handful of issues over and over, or does it vary more than people assume? I'm asking because the more I hear from the field, the better I can shape HEEL around the problems that actually drive returns, instead of the ones I assume matter.
For context on why I think this is worth solving together: HEEL is built specifically for that first-week window. The early lessons aren't "teach your dog to sit," they're "here's what your dog is doing and why, and how to respond without making it worse." It personalizes by breed and by the issues the owner is actually facing, so an adopter who brings home an Aussie gets a completely different plan than someone bringing home a Pit Bull or a Chihuahua. The goal is simple: give adopters something useful in their hands on day one, so by the time your team follows up, they're not starting from zero.
Since the original post, HonestPet has integrated HEEL into their flow, and we've had a number of shelters and rescues start recommending it to adopters. It's free for adopters, free for your team to recommend, and there's a printable one-pager with a QR code you can drop into any adoption packet without adding a step to your process. Just email me at support@heeldogtraining.com and I'll send it over.
But mostly, I'd love to hear your answer to the returns question. What are you seeing out there?
Thanks everyone!
App Name:
HEEL Dog Training
iOS + Android: Live now
160+ lessons across 14 categories
heeldogtraining.com | support@heeldogtraining.com
#AccesstoCare#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment#EducationandTraining-------------------------------------------
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Cody Jagodzinski
Founder & CEO
HEEL Dog Training
heeldogtraining.com
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