Dogs and Love: An Interview with Klooff.com Creator Alejandro Russo

Social networking is taking the world by storm. At any point many people have at least half a dozen ways to tell the world about what they are doing, watching, reading, eating, and playing. (Let's be honest…how many of us could get through a day without checking Facebook or Twitter at least once?) Alejandro Russo, creator of the Klooff.com social networking app for pets, wanted to make it easy to share our pets' lives with the rest of the world as easily as we share our own. Upon the launch of the Klooff app his team conducted a survey to find the top 5 breeds for attracting men and women. (See our coverage and summary of the findings at What Does Your Dog Say About You to Dates?) We had the chance to ask Alejandro and his team a few questions about Klooff and its fascinating study.

What inspired you to bring Klooff to life?

Alejandro Russo: At Klooff.com, we're pet lovers. I'm a huge pet lover myself, because my dogs and my cat are super special to me. When I was a kid I use to have a major dog phobia. I couldn't get near a dog. I went to therapy and nothing happened. Then, for my 13th birthday, my Mom got me Nikki- the silky terrier I currently own. She totally cured my fear and made me realize how important pets could be for us. Nikki and I have a very strong bond that I'm sure many other pet lovers have with their pets. I started looking at the market and saw a tremendous opportunity. There are millions of people like me. Klooff was created to unite pet lovers from all over the world and give them an awesome platform were they can share their love for their pets with other people just like them.

Why do you think that some breeds attract males and females more than others?

AR: I think that some pets are stereotypically more "lovable" and their "cuddly quotient" varies. The superficially cutie pups are better at being more attractive pets, like the Retriever. But looks can be deceiving. For example, I have many friends who have Pit Bulls, and who say they are the cuddliest, most loveable dogs. But their reputation is tough and angry. I think that cuddly factor is the "it" factor.

The initial survey was representative 1,000 responses, including some from non-owners. Do the results from those who own dogs differ significantly?

AR: Not really. We saw that responses were the same regardless of whether folks owned dogs or not.

What would you say to those pet lovers living with dog breeds that send the wrong impression about who they really are?

AR: Not to let the results get them down. These are just simple stereotypes. Spread the word that your pet breed is lovable and awesome. If you're a smart girl who owns a Chihuahua, then be proud that you are beating that stereotype, and let everyone know that Chihuahuas are not just "for ditzes" like in the film Legally Blonde!

So what's next in pet-based social networking? Any plans for a dog-based dating service?

AR: We have SO many new features we'll add to Klooff. Networking and dating through dogs is one of them. All the others are confidential, but you'll see them live pretty soon. We work so fast to release updates as often as we can. At Klooff, we'll give our users updates every single week. We've had such a great reception from our users that we're very motivated in constantly improving our product. We want to make Klooff the best place for pet lovers.

Check out Klooff.com to download the app and start sharing your dog's life with other pet lovers like yourself. We'd like to thank Mr. Russo and the Klooff team for their great work, and can't wait to see what they come up with next!