Project Description

A Research Study on Pet Travel and products.

My role

UX Researcher

Project Type

UX Research

Date

Aug 1, 2024 → Sep 23, 2024

Tags

AcademicUX research

Uncovering the Emotional Dynamics Between Pets and Owners During Road Trips

Course: User Experience Research: Theory, Methods, Practice | Carnegie Mellon University

Methods:

The Question

What makes traveling with a pet stressful?

On the surface, it seems obvious that pets need carriers, food, and bathroom breaks. But I suspected something deeper was happening. Why do some pet owners plan trips weeks in advance, while others wing it? Why do pets behave differently with different owners? Why does the "right" carrier still cause anxiety? This research started with curiosity about pet carriers and ended with insights about emotional interdependence.

The Approach

Starting Broad: Understanding the Domain

We began where all good research begins by immersing myself in the world of pet travel:

Desk Research:

We analyzed online forums, YouTube vlogs, product reviews, and pet care resources. Found extensive products for pet travel comfort, podcasts educating pet parents on training, and videos designed to calm pets during confinement.

Takeaway: Massive industry of solutions, but zero acknowledgment of the emotional complexity between pet and owner.

Field Observation:

Spent 2.5 hours (4:30-6:30 PM on a Sunday) at the Open Leash Exercise Area watching pets and owners interact.

What we observed:

✓ Animals love freedom associated with large spaces

✓ Animals are social and curious creatures

✓ Pet owners are highly attuned to their pet's emotions

✓ Relationships between pets and pet owners are unique

Critical pattern: Pets mirrored their owners' energy states.

Role Play & First-Person Accounts

We role-played as pet owners to understand the emotional experience: the reward of pet companionship, the challenge of interpreting unclear signals (hungry? sick? uncomfortable?).

Quotes from preliminary conversations:

"I didn't have a carrier so I put my turtle in a box for our journey. I put in some snacks and his favorite treats and made sure he was comfortable."

"We kept the carrier out for our cat to prepare herself a few days before the journey. On the day, we kept treats and a comfy pillow, made it super cozy for her so she would go in."

"They hate being in their carrier. They want to cuddle with my mom and me during the travel. No matter what we do, they whine if they are in their carrier."

Pattern emerging: The carrier preparation rituals varied wildly, but the underlying anxiety was constant.

Online Survey results.

We conducted an online survey to source participants and identify trends, then interviewed 6 pet owners who had recently traveled with their pets.

Based on the online survey results, we came up with the following Interview Goals

• How do you prepare for travel?
• What goes wrong during the journey?
• How does your pet react?
• What do you wish existed?

User Interviews

n=6 participants

Recruited pet owners who'd recently traveled. Semi-structured interviews covering preparation, pain points, pet behavior, product usage.

Post-Interview Hypothesis:

While designed for pet comfort, carriers mainly reassure the owner. They prioritize safety and control for the owner, even if it compromises the pet's comfort at times.

Persona Analysis

We grouped participants into three behavioral archetypes:

😟 The Worry Wart 😣

Someone who is forever worried about their pet and keeps checking on them throughout the journey.

Needs: Regular check-ins on pet, preparation for every scenario

Goals: Ensure pet safety and comfort, minimize anxiety

😎 The Cool Cucumber 🍹

Someone who is chill and lets their pet be.

Needs: Ensure pet safety, avoid troublesome circumstances

Goals: Get themselves and pets from point A to point B

✈️The Seasoned Sundae💪

A person with extensive travel experience and resources for all eventualities.

Needs: Maintain routine, regular pet check-ins

Goals: Get from point A to point B safely and securely

Affinity Mapping Results:

The Realization:

Carriers are designed to make owners feel in control, not to make pets comfortable. This explains why the "perfect" carrier still causes stressit's solving for the wrong user.

Everyone kept talking about carriers. So we analyzed one.

Heuristic Analysis | Standard Pet Carrier Evaluation

What's Actually Wrong with Pet Carriers?

The Revelation:

Pet carriers do MORE for owners than pets. They prioritize owner control (secure locks, easy cleaning, visibility) over pet comfort (noise reduction, calming features, space to move).

This reframed everything. The carrier isn't a pet product it's a relationship mediator.

Co-Design Workshop

To validate our hypothesis, we ran a co-design session with 3 pet owners.

Workshop Structure

1. Introduction: Participants introduced themselves and sketched themselves with their pets
2. Rapid-fire round: One-word answers about pets and travel experiences
3. Current journey mapping: Plot your emotions and your pet's emotions during a typical road trip
4. Feature brainstorming: Design your ideal carrier any features you want
5. Feature-driven journey mapping: How would these features change the emotional journey?
6. Reflection: Share insights and learnings

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Summary of journey maps created:

"The graphs follow a similar curve initially, but when the needed features are introduced, it changes the shape of the graph in relation to each other. This means the pet carrier has an effect on the interdependency of emotions between pet and pet owner, and a better design might enhance the travel experience for both."

Validated Hypothesis:

The pet carrier plays a key role in the interdependence of emotions between pet and owner. Features that reduce owner stress indirectly improve the pet's experience.

Insight #1: Emotional Interdependence

Pets' emotional states are interdependent with their owners.

Calm owners keep pets relaxed. Anxious owners heighten pet stress. Supporting owners in staying calm is essential for a smoother travel experience.

Why this matters: You can't design just for the pet. The owner's emotional state is part of the system

Insight #2 Products as Proxies for Control

Although owners seek to strengthen bonds with pets, many products minimize interaction time.

Automatic feeders, carriers, even calming aids are designed to reduce the burden on owners—not increase bonding moments.

Why this matters: The best products don't just solve functional problems they address the emotional needs underneath. In this case: feeling competent, prepared, and in control.

Product Opportunity Gaps

What This Research Proved

Traditional approach: Design better pet products → happier pets.

Reality: Design for the relationship between pet and owner → happier system.

Pet travel isn't a logistics problem. It's an emotional problem. The best solution isn't a better carrier—it's a system that helps owners feel prepared, competent, and in control. When owners feel that way, pets travel better.

This research validated that the carrier is just one touchpoint in a larger emotional system.

To actually improve pet travel, you need to address:

Before:

Pre-trip preparation (checklists, reminders, education)

During:

The carrier itself (dual-purpose features for owner + pet)

After:

Real-time help (locations, emergency access, anxiety management)

Conclusion

Pet travel isn't broken because carriers are badly designed.

It's broken because we've been solving for the wrong problem.

This research revealed that pets and owners exist in an emotional feedback loop. Anxious owners create anxious pets. Products that help owners feel prepared, in control, and competent indirectly improve the pet's experience.

The solution isn't better carriers, it's a system that addresses preparation, travel, and emotional regulation for both parties.

Research Methods used:

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