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Why Every Dog Trainer and Behavior Professional Should Set Up a Catch-All Email Address

  • Founder, Fetch

You spend time building a professional brand, investing in your website, setting up online scheduling, and creating a smooth client experience. Then a potential client emails [email protected] instead of [email protected] and the message disappears into the void.

It happens more often than most professionals realize.

A catch-all email address is one of the simplest ways to prevent missed opportunities and improve communication with clients. Yet many small businesses never set one up.

What Is a Catch-All Email?

A catch-all email account accepts messages sent to any email address at your domain, even if that specific mailbox doesn’t exist.

For example, if your website domain is mydogtraining.com, a catch-all would receive emails sent to:

Even if those addresses were never created.

Without a catch-all, those emails typically bounce back to the sender.

Why Trainers and Behavior Professionals Need One

Capture More Leads

Potential clients don’t always remember the exact email address listed on your website. Many people will guess.

If your public email is [email protected], someone may send a message to:

  • info@
  • contact@
  • support@
  • admin@

A catch-all ensures those inquiries still reach you.

Reduce Website Form Issues

Contact forms occasionally fail due to plugin updates, spam filtering, or server problems.

Clients who don’t receive a response often try emailing a generic address they assume exists. A catch-all provides a safety net.

Protect Against Typos

Even your existing clients make mistakes.

A catch-all helps prevent missed communication caused by small spelling errors or incorrect department names.

Improve Professionalism

Large companies rarely lose messages because they route emails intelligently.

A catch-all gives small businesses a similar level of protection with very little effort.

A Few Important Considerations

Catch-all addresses can attract more spam because they accept messages sent to any address on your domain.

For most small training businesses, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, especially when combined with good spam filtering.

If your email provider offers advanced spam protection, make sure it’s enabled.

How To Set Up a Catch-All Email

The exact process depends on your email provider.

Google Workspace (Gmail)

Google Workspace does not provide a traditional, one-click catch-all mailbox by default. Instead, you create one using its powerful routing rules engine. This gives you more control, though it requires a few specific steps to set up safely.

Step 1: Create your target mailbox

Before setting up the rule, ensure you have a designated mailbox or a Google Group ready to receive these emails (e.g., [email protected] or [email protected]). Avoid using your primary admin email, as catch-alls attract a high volume of spam.

Step 2: Configure the Routing Rule

  1. Log into the Google Admin Console.
  2. Navigate to Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail.
  3. Scroll down and click on Routing.
  4. Click Configure (or Add Another Rule if you already have existing rules).
  5. In the settings box, configure the following:
    • Name: Enter a descriptive name (e.g., “Catch-all for Unrecognized Addresses”).
    • Email messages to affect: Check the Inbound box.
    • For the above types of messages: Change the dropdown to Modify message.
    • Envelope recipient: Check the Change envelope recipient box, select Replace recipient, and enter your designated catch-all email address.

Step 3: Target Unrecognized Accounts Only (Crucial Step)

  1. At the bottom of the window, click Show more options.
  2. Scroll down to B. Account types to affect.
  3. Check the box for All inactive and unrecognized accounts (sometimes labeled Unrecognized / Catch-all).
  4. Important: Ensure that Active user account and Group account remain unchecked. Leaving these checked will mistakenly reroute all legitimate emails in your organization.
  5. Click Save.

Note: Changes in Google Workspace can take anywhere from a few minutes up to 24 hours to propagate globally. Be sure to test it by sending an email from an external account (like a personal Hotmail or Yahoo address) to a fake address on your domain (e.g., [email protected]).

Microsoft 365 (Outlook)

Microsoft 365 does not natively support catch-all mailboxes and explicitly discourages them for security reasons. However, you can easily set one up using a three-part workaround involving a shared mailbox, a dynamic user group, and a mail flow rule.

Step 1: Create a Shared Mailbox

First, set up the destination for your catch-all emails. Using a Shared Mailbox is highly recommended because it is completely free and doesn’t require a paid Microsoft 365 license.

Open the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (admin.microsoft.com).

Navigate to Teams & groups → Shared mailboxes.

Click + Add a shared mailbox, name it (e.g., Catch-All), and assign it an email address (e.g., [email protected]).

Once created, click Edit members to give yourself and other designated users “Full Access” to read the incoming mail.

Step 2: Create an “All Users” Dynamic Group

Because Microsoft can’t natively identify “unknown” addresses via rules, you have to build a group of all known addresses to use as an exception.

  1. Go to the Exchange Admin Center (admin.exchange.microsoft.com).
  2. Navigate to Recipients → Groups and select the Dynamic distribution list tab.
  3. Click Add a group, select Dynamic distribution, and click Next.
  4. Name the group something clear, like All Valid Recipients.
  5. In the Members step, choose All recipient types (this ensures it automatically adds new users, groups, and aliases as you create them). Finish the wizard to save.

Step 3: Change Domain Status to “Internal Relay” (Crucial Step)

By default, Microsoft immediately bounces emails sent to fake addresses. You must disable this behavior to let your catch-all rule work.

  1. In the Exchange Admin Center, navigate to Mail flow → Accepted domains.
  2. Click on your domain name.
  3. In the pane that opens, change the domain type from Authoritative to Internal Relay.
  4. Click Save. (Don’t worry, this won’t break your normal email flow).

Step 4: Create the Catch-All Mail Flow Rule

  1. In the Exchange Admin Center, navigate to Mail flow → Rules.
  2. Click + Add a rule and select Create a new rule.
  3. Configure the rule settings as follows:
    • Name: Catch-All Rule
    • Apply this rule if… Select The sender → is external/internal → choose Outside the organization.
    • Do the following… Select Modify the message properties → Redirect the message to → select your Shared Mailbox ([email protected]).
    • Except if… Select The recipient → is a member of this group → select the All Valid Recipients group you created in Step 2.
  4. Click Next, leave the default settings, and click Finish.
  5. Important: Microsoft disables new rules by default. Click on your newly created rule from the list and toggle the state to Enabled.

Note: It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours for the dynamic group and domain changes to sync across Microsoft’s servers. Test the rule by sending an email from an external account (like a personal Gmail) to a fake address on your domain.

Recommended Setup for Most Trainers

Keep it simple.

Create:

Then route any unknown addresses to [email protected].

This gives you a professional public-facing address while ensuring that unexpected messages still reach your inbox.

Most trainers spend significant time trying to generate leads through social media, SEO, and referrals. A catch-all email address protects the leads you’re already getting.

It’s a five-minute improvement that can prevent missed inquiries, frustrated clients, and lost revenue.

If you own a custom domain, setting up a catch-all email should be part of your business technology checklist right alongside website backups, online scheduling, and client management software.