What do CBD Treats, Coastal Walks, Carolina, and Cassady have in common (except for some great alliteration)? They are all key elements to the past, present, and future of Tails N' Trails Pets.
Based in Providence, RI, Tails N' Trails Pets was started by Carolina Oakley back in 2015 after she moved from Boston where she had worked for an interior design firm, focusing on logistics and client management. Skills that helped her turn a love of animals (including her own rescued foxhounds, Annie and Cooper) into a successful business.
Since the beginning, Tails N' Trails has been focused on incorporating training into their walks, teaching dogs in their care to walk softly on a leash and effectively interact with other dogs in a manageable setting, which is a win for the walker, the dog, and the pet parents.
“Too often, you’ll see dogs thrown into a daycare setting with 20 or 25 dogs and it can be really overwhelming from a socialization standpoint. We take more of a small group approach.”
Even though the business was growing, family responsibilities led Carolina to move to California, bringing on Cassady Rotthoff to run the day-to-day operations.
“It’s been an amazing experience for me,” says Cassady. “I had worked in hospitality for about 8 years and dropped everything for this opportunity to manage a pet services business. It’s been life-changing in an incredibly positive way!”
Growing Regionally
Over the past few years, Tails N' Trails has grown area by area on the MA/RI border with a slightly different approach than other businesses. When they get a client in a new area, they hire someone to work with them and then invest in online advertising to build up the client base specifically for that walker. The regional strategy also helps build strong relationships between the walker, the dogs, and the pet families.
“There needs to be a high level of trust to reinforce behaviors and ensure good on-leash and off-leash behavior. And families need to trust that it is not just some random person walking into their home. Having a consistent walker makes that possible.”
Next up? New locations coming soon in Worcester, MA and Milwaukee, WI!
Expanding into CBD Treats
With Cassady managing the dog business in Rhode Island, Carolina began looking for a new challenge to fill her California days. “We had been talking about getting into CBD, which is really big out in California. And I had seen the positive impact that it had on my own dogs, so I started learning more and more and making the right connections.”
Today, they are selling CBD treats mostly through word of mouth and to their own customers but they see unlimited potential in selling online at https://www.tailsntrailspets.com/treats and through partnerships with major pet brands.
Staying Organized
One of the key factors that allowed Tails N' Trails to grow the dog walking and CBD treats businesses has been finding the right software for their business.
From the day-to-day perspective, Cassady couldn’t be happier with the decision to choose PetPocketbook.
“We love PetPocketbook. Nothing else we have tried has been so specialized for a pet services company. So, instead of force-fitting everything we try to do, it just works the way our business runs.
“Now, with all of the information that our clients can give us, and the fact that the information is is accessible by all of our staff, we can help each other out if we need to fill in for a regular walker and any one of us can know the dog’s wants, needs, allergies, commands, behaviors… really anything that could possibly come up is covered.”
Carolina sums it up for the entire business, “We’ve been able to expand the business because PetPocketbook alleviates so much of our stress and extra work that we have the mental space to do more.”
We are glad we could help Tails N' Trails grow their dog walking business and invest time in bringing CBD treats to the world.