Victoria, and Ram here.

We’d like to tell you a story. A story about a couple from Lithuania, Europe… A couple who decided to quit their jobs, invest their savings, and take on a billion-dollar industry. 

*Gulp*

It all started with a search for help training a dog to stay alone stress-free. It was (and still is) a big problem during the lockdown. Everyone worked from home, dogs were together 24/7, so they forgot what it is like to be alone. In-person classes were not an option due to restrictions, so we asked a dog trainer to write step-by-step instructions that could be followed at home. And… It worked! 

The training was simpler than we thought it would be. Even us, having no prior dog training experience could understand the exercises. The hardest part was doing the training daily (daily training improves the progress drastically). And whenever we didn’t know what to do next, we emailed the trainer. We realized that it’s not necessary to meet a trainer in person to learn how to train a dog. Mostly, it’s all about being consistent in training, rather than knowing some secret tricks that couldn’t be explained in the text.

Then, friends started asking for the PDF including the training instructions. Which got us thinking…

There are dozens of online services for getting fit, eating healthy, meditating, running, so you wouldn’t need to hire an in-person trainer, yet get credible and personalized guidance. Why nothing for dog owners? Okay, we found a few apps for dog training that were based on learning 100s of tricks that would only gain likes on social media. Or, those 20-years-old DVD tutorials which were not based on positive reinforcement. Why is the supply so bad?

We found that the problem was elsewhere. The demand is too low for tech corporations to invest in it. Only 4% of dogs in the U.S. (we didn’t find the data on Europe but it’s most likely similar) have been to a training class.

It’s impossible to think that 96% of dog parents simply don’t want to improve their fur-baby’s behavior. So we dig deeper and here is what we found: 

- Training classes are expensive. Training can take months, and paying an hourly rate is not something everyone can afford.

- Information online is too vague. Everyone is sharing what to do in theory, though we couldn’t find practical guidance in detail.

- It takes patience and dedication. One or two training sessions won’t change behavior. Building a habit of training a dog is as hard (or easy) as working out, eating healthy, or anything else.

Seeing the success of our first training program for solving separation anxiety made us realize that we’ve made something special. It solves the cost of in-person classes, it’s detailed practical steps to follow rather than vague theory, and it’s made to stay consistent as it helps to build a habit of training daily. 

So we kicked it up a notch and gathered the best dog trainers we could find to build step-by-step training programs for every behavior that could be improved. As well as to provide online customer support whenever dog parents have questions. 

Hundreds of working hours later, we currently cover 10 of the most problematic dog behaviors with over 100 daily training lessons, but we’re not stopping here. We have a never-ending list of future training programs that will be continuously launching on Wiglo. Not only for solving behavioral issues, but improving a dog's mental and physical state in general. We will do everything to empower every dog parent to have a perfectly trained, and educated dog.

P.S. Wiglo is created with dog parents in mind, and your feedback always comes first. Whenever there is a program you would like our team of dog trainers to create, feel free to reach out at hello@wiglo.dog