Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heidi Sinclair. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Heidi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry

Anything and everything Dogs!! Gone are the days of traditional kenneling, around the block walks or having dogs just for security purposes. Over the last 5 years there’s been a huge uptick in Dog care and ownership. We now are seeing Dog friendly bars and cafes, dog daycares now provide numerous activities during your dogs stay. Many new “paw-tiques” are opening providing a wide assortment of clothing, collars and special dog food and treats. Anything dog related on all the social platforms is extremely popular, and people love it! Why?! Because, for a lot of people, dogs make us happy. Seeing dogs living their best life’s can make peoples days.
When I started my business 13 years ago, I often heard, “I can walk my dog, why do I need to hire someone” but as people started working long hours, they started feeling guilty. Then I would post photos of dogs hiking in the mountains, playing with other dogs, swimming and rolling around with huge smiles on their face and then people started to understand that they are not providing that same care, and my business exploded. With my own personal experience and concern on the dog trend, is keeping up the social media aspect of it. Gone are the days of just a couple photos posted on Facebook, you now need videos, reels, commentary, music and I’m finding it hard to keep up and it’s a lot of extra work and time. I also found that I was spending my days outside in the mountains with the dogs and only focusing on what content can I make today that people will like, and that’s not why I started this business. But the paw-Sitive side of this trend is it has significantly increased the standard of dog care. Dog owners are seeking the best care possible, and sometimes cost is irrelevant . I’m lucky to live in a small town and be one of the only two businesses that provides dog care. Seward, Alaska is a big tourist town and in the summer we cater to a lot people traveling. After Covid we saw a huge increase of travelers young and old traveling via RV and with their dogs. When they arrive in Seward they want to enjoy all day fishing charters or whale watching but they’ve never left their dog alone that long, so I offer a dog walking service that comes to their RV and checks in on them, or my kennel provides a safe place for their dogs to spend the day. The biggest service I provide is peace of mind, and allows people to enjoy themselves. I feel a lot of these folks would choose not to do the excursions if I didn’t offer a service for their dogs. With this exploding trend of all things dogs, I feel that anyone, who wants to work with animals can find a passion job that best suits their personality.

Heidi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Originally I’m from Minnesota, I moved to Seward, Alaska 16 years ago and this is home to me. I had been in the restaurant business for many years and worked with dogs, on the side, as a hobby job. I’ve always loved the outdoors, especially being in the mountains hiking with my dog. Seward is destination place for people traveling to Alaska, especially folks traveling via RV. About 13 years ago, I saw a need for a dog walker, so I just started handing out flyers and it was well received and soon after that locals started reaching out. My dog “walking” service then turned to dog “hiking” and it is so fun taking groups of dogs up in the mountains! My community is extremely supportive and I quickly became the “dog lady” of Seward. I got so busy that dogs were on a waiting list. That’s when I decided I needed to offer more services. Over the last 3 years I have expanded on my property and provide traditional daycare, over night boarding, and dog training. Being in a small town, it can be very hard for little businesses to survive the winters, you have to put all you got into it, and be consistent. You have to show up, set your standards high and people will notice your dedication and love for what you do. I take many photos of their dogs having the best time, and when people see how excited their dog is when they turn the corner to come to the Dog Lodge, that’s what keeps them coming back. As with any business they are many up and downs, my biggest hurdle is winter. Taking 15-20 dogs in the back country of Alaska has its challenges in the summer and adding snow, cold temperatures and darkness is a whole other component! So I’m in process of figuring out what other services I can provide in the winter months, that will be fun for the dogs, the owners and me. Thus far, I’ve been pretty impressed that I’ve done all of this by myself. Having a business partner or having a family to help you out with the work, bounce ideas off, security and validation could or could not make owning a small business easier. With that being said, I think my biggest next move would be to start hiring employees to help. Which is also my biggest fear, especially when you hear it’s the biggest complaint of most small businesses.
I know what sets me apart from others and what my clients see, is how much I love what I do and my attention to detail to each and every pup that comes here. Not all dogs are suitable to what I provide, but I will work with these owners and dogs and come up with a solution or things they can do at home to help their pup overcome certain behaviors.
My biggest goal for Seward Dog Lodge is to be the DOG PLACE. The one stop shop for all things dog. I’ve learned overtime that there’s no rush, ideas need to marinate to be great and dogs aren’t going anywhere!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I’ve always enjoyed my time with animals, especially dogs. They make great adventure partners and are willing to go and do whatever I’m in the mood for, with no complaints. When I moved to Seward, Alaska I was blown away by all the hiking and outdoor activities and Seward is, extremely, dog friendly. I had spent most of life working in the restaurant business and I remember feeling so depleted after a shift, that I needed the outdoors to help me reset and quiet my mind and energy. Everyday I was not only taking my dog for a hike, but my friends would ask me to grab their dogs as well and soon I was hiking with a bunch of dogs. Then more and more folks caught wind of what I was doing and started to ask, so I decided it was time to start charging for it. I remember the first time I had 6 dogs, off leash, and I was so nervous! I continued to work in the restaurants as my main job for a few years and all the money I made hiking with dogs, I used towards creating my dog business. When my 6 adventure dogs turned to 10-12 adventure dogs 6 days a week, plus my dog walking business and also providing overnight boarding, I knew it was time to choose between what I have always known, and gave me financial security…or take this crazy leap and make a living Hiking with dogs! I am now in my 13th year of business and I have grown to 15-20 dogs 5 days a week, Ive expanded on my property with a dog daycare, a 12 dog kennel run and a dog wash. Just recently, Seward Chamber of Commerce had their 2024 community awards and I received ‘Business Site Improvement Award’ Which made me feel very proud of all the choices I have made in my path, that all started with a “hobby” of hiking everyday in the back country of Alaska, with a bunch of dogs.

How did you build your audience on social media?

During Covid is when my social media audience grew. The followers I did have before covid, were mostly the dog owners and their family members, or locals that just love to see dogs having fun. Not being able to have any contact with humans, I found myself going a little crazy and needing some sort of outlet to engage with other than dogs. So I decided to start dressing up the dogs in costumes and telling stories and taking funny photos. I would use my own dog and make videos of him reading poems with a human VoiceOver and people LOVED it, and shared it with others and soon my audience grew. Now, I don’t have an insane amount of followers, but I do have fans all over the world. Most of my content is photography. I like to capture the dogs personalities, especially doing dog things and in their element. My dog people start to get to know these dogs and live vicariously thru us. I also enjoy showcasing Alaska’s beauty in my photos. My advice for anyone starting to build their social media presence would be to find the content that you enjoy doing because you have to do it everyday, if not multiple times a day on many platforms. It can be a lot of work and if you spend to much time trying to compete with others in your industry or one-upping them, it will get exhausting and you will lose interest. I struggle with not feeling validated enough for all the energy and time that can go into just one post. I have no desire to go viral, and I just want keep providing content that keeps people smiling and wanting more. Figuring out what you want your online presence to be, how big and how much you are willing to put into it, are all factors that need to be considered.

Contact Info:

• Website: sewarddoglodge.com
• Instagram: @sakdoglodge
• Facebook: sewarddoglodge/Facebook