Blake Paulin and his wife Lisa own Lisa’s Doghouse. Blake’s primary role is managing and driving business through branding and collaborations with other local businesses. Blake and Lisa were attracted to the pet industry due to the people in it; customers are always kind and contribute to creating a great environment. Blake Paulin is the 2015 recipient of the Rolf C. Hagen Scholarship.
InfoStream (IS): I know the pet experience is big for you, do you have any pets that you could tell us about?
Blake Paulin (BP): I have two dogs and two cats. Both of my dogs are Shepherd-Border Collie mixes I would say. We got one from a shelter in Guelph, he was going to be put down and the Rat Terrier rescue ended up getting him (even though he wasn’t a rat terrier). We got him maybe four years ago and he’s about nine years old now, he’s been great. Cora, the female dog was at the Timmins Humane Society and we got her about three years ago as well. Now my two cats, one is 15 years old, Shadow, he’s a black cat, and Jack’s parents were feral cats and he was caught as a kitten and we ended up getting him through Pet Save, an organization down in Sudbury.
IS: So what in your history has taken you to where you are now and how did you become involved in the pet industry?
BP: My wife, Lisa, managed a pet food store and we decided just to open our own. I worked in construction prior to this and I basically just jumped in to support her and it turned out to be a passion of mine as well.
IS: What makes Lisa’s Doghouse different from other pet stores?
BP: What makes us different is our providing of solutions, we don’t simply provide product. We provide the right solutions to pet parents’ needs. What I feel is that a lot of time marketing clouds our understanding of what certain products “do” and “are” and understanding how each product differentiates itself and how they work best with the right questions to pet parents is how we differentiate ourselves.
IS: What feedback have you received from customers about this difference?
BP: Lots of positive feedback. We’ve helped a lot of animals, not only in health but also in different avenues such as aggression. I’m being very general of course, but just behaviour problems, not through us but through organizing proper connections within our area. We deal closely with a few different behaviourists, some physical rehabilitation facilities and stuff like that. So, all of our feedback that we get from our customers is that we provide the right solutions.
IS: That’s very interesting and it’s nice to see networking between people.
BP: As far as I’m concerned, networking is really what has elevated our game. Talking with the right people and getting to know the right people who have the same passion and that passion is simply not making money but providing solutions.
IS: I know from reading your website that being educated about the products that you carry is very important to both yourself and Lisa, so, how do you keep your education current?
BP: That’s a very good question because there is a lot of misinformation out there. We stay current by connecting with the right people for example, in product pulse, I have established some great relationships and friendships with people who have been in the industry for over 30 years. I’ve been able to develop friendships with people such as biochemists, nutritionists, nutritional biochemists, immunologists, and industry leaders such as John Ayres (of Freedom Pet Supplies) and Doug Boucher (of Tri-Natural Products). All of them have connections to have the right answers. I wish I could say that it was all through my knowledge and experience but it’s finding the right people who have the right answers.
IS: What are your long term goals for Lisa’s Doghouse?
BP: Our long term goals are to continue to strive for excellence. What Lisa’s Doghouse is really about is being the best that we can be at what we do. That is truly what we strive for, to be better people and our business allows us to do this.
IS: What’s most rewarding about your job and what makes it all worthwhile?
BP: The most rewarding part is helping and being able to make a difference. The nicest thing we get to do, and we get to do this very often believe it or not, is helping with issues that normally would cost a lot of money. We are able to help with those issues very economically by being able to ask the right questions. There are all kinds of issues out there with pets, it’s not just health or behaviour. There are all kinds of things that people don’t even know about, by our asking the right questions we are able to get to the solutions much easier.
IS: Can you give me an example of the issues that you are talking about?
BP: Absolutely! Inflammation is a common issue that we see. Now please keep in mind that I’m not a veterinarian, nor do I claim to be or pretend to diagnose things. But there are a lot of dogs with inflammation. The inflammation comes in all sorts of forms but we make sure that animal’s owner receives the proper guidance first and we are capable of getting rid of these things through proper nutrition by understanding the foods and the supplements that we provide. Another example of us finding the right solutions by asking the right questions is what we do when someone comes into the store looking for a toy. By asking the right questions such as “Is it a big dog? Is it aggressive? Is it a chewer? Etc…” we can steer the customer in the right direction. So it’s really salesmanship that allows us to do that.
IS: Is there anything else that you would like us to know about Lisa’s Doghouse?
BP: I think the real success to our business isn’t Lisa and I, although we are a part of that, but the biggest success is the community. The involvement of everybody wanting to be a part of something big and because of that it elevates our game and everyone else' game around us as well. That is really the key to our success.
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