Online sitter service, DogBuddy has pioneered a new service which allows dog owners to turn their family into dog toys to ease separation anxiety.
New research by DogBuddy reveals that 93% of Brits worry about their dog will miss them when they go on holiday and almost half (48%) say they feel so guilty leaving their dog behind that the guilt has negatively impacted their trip.
The research also found that Brits typically spend around 60% of their holiday feeling concerned their dog back at home is wondering where they are.
DogBuddy is taking its personalised dog sitting service one step further by pioneering a new trial called Woof You Were Here, allowing dog owners to create lookalike doll of their families for the dog to play with when the ‘real’ family aren’t around.
The company hopes this will help to ease some of the guilt felt by dog owners when leaving their pets behind.
The first-of-its-kind service simply asks families to submit portrait photographs that are then turned into adorable dog toys for the pooch to play with, complete with matching clothes and recognisable facial features.
DogBuddy also encourages dog sitters using the free app to share photos of the family pet with their owners, while they are on holiday, so they can keep up to date.
When asked what they thought their dogs missed most about them when they weren’t there, over two-thirds of Brits admitted they thought their dogs missed their owner’s company, even more so than their face, voice or scent.
Richard Setterwell, DogBuddy’s Founder and CEO, said: “We know how important it is for families to feel comfortable when they leave their beloved pet behind and trialling the Woof You Were Here service lets us add yet another layer of reassurance to our trusted dog sitting service. By leaving behind miniature versions of your family for your dog and their sitter, we hope that pet parents are able to properly relax on holiday without worrying if their dog is missing the family.
“As we found in our research, worrying about our pets on holiday is something that affects the vast majority of dog owners, so we’re extremely excited to trial this incredibly fun solution to the problem before any more Brits lose precious holiday time.”
To find out more information anbout the trial and how to enter, you can visit www.dogbuddy.com/woofyouwerehere
