This week we had the absolute pleasure of chatting to Aden and Olivia, two Auckland-based teenagers and upcoming entrepreneurs who together have created the My Dog Journey Website! This site takes you around some of the best dog walks in Auckland, and is a great resource for pet sitters and dog walkers alike - be sure to check it out and let your friends know!
1) Firstly, can you introduce yourselves and tell us a little about how My Dog Journey was started?
Hello! We are Aden and Olivia, the owners of the My Dog Journey website. We are both 15, currently living on the North Shore, Auckland. We met each other in 2013, and have been close friends ever since!
We both have very similar interests, including activities such as surfing, art, design, and share an extreme love for dogs. Dogs are a part of our daily lives and everyday conversations, however it wasn’t until 2016 that we decided to actually do a project to satisfy this passion for dogs.
Last year, we had the opportunity to create our own assessed school project, that had to be completed in 6 months, and fit a criteria given to us by our school. We were allowed to do this project in groups of up to 4 members, and it gave us the perfect opportunity to work together on a project after three years of just discussing our shared interest of dogs.
While sitting in the sun at Aden’s house in February 2016, with her mini schnauzer X dog Georgie, Aden’s mum came out to the deck asking where to walk the dog. This is when we had the idea of My Dog Journey! We decided to create some sort of website or app, that allows users to find walks in their area, so that dog owners all around Auckland do not have to go through the struggle of not knowing where to go. This idea slowly developed over the next 6 months, until the My Dog Journey site was officially launched late August last year.
2) Do you have any personal favourite walks?
Our site currently features 9 walks around Auckland, and we hope to be adding walks to this list over the next few months. Although we love every single walk we feature on our site, we definitely have some favourite routes. Our top 3 walks are Westhaven, Milford and Takapuna. Our Westhaven route really nice to walk as the views are amazing (especially if you see sunrise or sunset), there are also great cafes along the way, and a large open field for your dogs - one Georgie loves visiting. This walk goes through Silo Park, which is also a great area to take your kids as there is an awesome playground there too.
Our Milford route is a great seaside walk which is lovely on a beautiful sunny day. Depending on the time of day you go, you may have to climb over a few rocks, and sometimes you might get a splash of water! There is also a dog friendly cafe half way through the walk which is a great spot to have a break and enjoy a bite to eat.
Our third favourite walk is our Takapuna route. This walk goes along the beach and the street - a perfect combination of socialising and exercise (we have found walking just on the beach is hard with a dog that loves to stop and socialise, if you are wanting to get some exercise in as well)! This route also has one of our favourite cafes along route where they have great food and drinks.
Although these are our personal favourites, we only ever feature walks we love, and design them so that they are all dog friendly and enjoyable!
3) Do either of you have any four-legged friends that you enjoy these beautiful walks with?
In many photos on our website you may see an adorable dog! This is Aden's dog Georgie. Aden owns a 5 year old Miniature Schnauzer X Bichon Frise dog that has walked every single walk on the My Dog Journey website, and has been with us every step of the way.
5) Does My Dog Journey have any exciting plans for the future?
My Dog Journey does have some very exciting plans for the future! Last year we entered the Future Problem Solving Community Project competition where we were selected to attend the National Competition. From the National competition, we won first place, and have been invited to the International Competition in Wisconsin, USA this June. We are very excited to be attending, and are currently preparing for this as there is a lot of work to be done!
We are also trying to create an app for My Dog Journey, so that it is more accessible for dog owners. We hope to have this app launched in 2018. Other than these two major plans, we are going to continue uploading walks on our website, along with monthly edits and improvements.
