Step by Step Guide to Bring Mutt Mitts to Your Community
This step-by-step guide will show you how easy it is to bring Mutt Mitts to your community. Whether you have a walking trail, park, campground, or other type of dog-gathering areas, this guide will assist you in your planning.
We’ll help you determine how many Mutt Mitt dispensers you will want to install, placement, and quantity of waste receptacles, as well as signage, quantity of Mutt Mitts, labor time, and the like. The guide will also help you encourage dog owners to keep your area clean, safe, and healthy.
1. Survey the Area with your Eyes and Legs.
You don’t need any fancy equipment to begin determining your needs. Check out How Many Dispensers Do I Need or i you have a trail, estimate how much time it takes to walk its length. If you have a park, observe or project where dog owners may gather, such as near the entrance or by any seating areas that you provide.
Parks and Campgrounds- To encourage the use of Mutt Mitts, we recommend 1 dispenser and receptacle in every people-gathering area. Larger parks, greater than 1 acre, should have more dispensers in obvious areas along the middle and edges of the park. Be sure to place one dispenser and receptacle near the entrance/exit gates inside your park. If your park has separate play areas for larger and smaller dogs, each gate should get its own installation just inside each area.
Trails- To encourage the use of Mutt Mitts, we recommend you place a dispenser and receptacle every 15-25 minutes of a walk. The average speed of a dog walker is about 3 miles per hour. If your trail is 3 miles long, consider installing 3 dispensers and at least 3 receptacles along the trail.
2. Make it Obvious
Where you position the dispensers and waste receptacles is important. When dog owners notice the availability of Mutt Mitts they will use them. Our Mutt Mitt Kits include a highly-visible sign to help make every installation more obvious. You can even order customized signs.
After a few visits to your dog park or trail, dog owners will learn where the stations are located. They will also see other dog-owners using them and feel more compelled to be as responsible as the others. Yes, in affect you’re training the owners!
3. Cost Out Your Project
Consider the money and time you will need for your installations and maintenance. Most of the expense will be associated with the one-time and up-front installations of your community’s dispensers and receptacles. We provide Mutt Mitt kits that give you all the hardware and even your initial supply of Mutt Mitts.
We’ve found that installing these kits doesn’t require any skills beyond the average Do-It-Yourselfer (view PDF of installation instructions), so labor costs should be minimal to none. Refilling your dispensers is quick and easy, so ideally you can assign that task to volunteers or staffers who oversee or maintain your community. To reduce the cost of Mutt Mitt refills, our dispensers are uniquely designed to help prevent dog-owners from taking more Mitts than they require during their visit to your community.
4. Ask Businesses to Pay for Your Installations and Mutt Mitts
Once you determine your costs, consider securing sponsors to reduce or even eliminate your expenses. Advertisers love the opportunity to get their marketing message into the hands of dog-owners (a lucrative market segment). We offer custom imprinting of logos or ads on every Mutt-Mitt. See our numerous success stories on this topic and even download your free Sponsorship Kit.
5. Keep Your Dispensers Stocked
Refills are affordable and easy to maintain. During the first few months of use, you should be able to determine the frequency that you need to refill your dispensers. Fortunately you can buy outdoor dispenser refills in large quantities, minimizing time and expense.
6. Enjoy Your Clean, Safe and Healthy Community!
It’s time to enjoy and appreciate your minimal investment of time and money. You should feel a great sense of accomplishment and feel great about taking responsibility for your community.
If your community or your needs are unique, we encourage you to contact us by phone or email. We’ll be happy to assist you in determining all your needs and answering your questions about bringing Mutt Mitts to your community.
