Pet Boarding and Daycare Podcast with Dominic Hodgson

By Barkleigh ProductionsBusiness

Pet Boarding and Daycare Podcast with Dominic Hodgson episodes

September 30Ep. 140 – Tough Talks & Tricky Situations: How to Prepare Your Dog Daycare Team for Angry Clients, Staff Problems & Unexpected Emergencies…
Do your team leaders know what to say when a staff member isn’t performing, a customer is angry or something unexpected happens in your facility?
Are you promoting brilliant dog people into management roles… and then expecting them to somehow figure out leadership for themselves?
And how do you train your team for those difficult, stressful situations that might only happen once a year — but when they DO happen, you really need them to get it right?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom is joined by returning guest Alex Varney from Pinnacle Pets and Considerably Bold to talk about one of the biggest challenges facing growing pet care businesses: developing confident, capable leaders.
Alex shares the thinking behind her new Rough Call Leadership Deck, a set of 92 real-world scenarios designed to help pet care teams practise everything from underperforming employees and unhappy customers to emergency situations and those weird, unexpected problems that inevitably crop up when you’re running a busy facility.
Alex explains why role-playing difficult situations before they happen can dramatically improve how your team responds under pressure, including the fascinating OODA Loop she learned about through her local police department. She also shares a painfully honest example of getting a difficult staff conversation wrong herself, explains how that mistake inspired her new Say This, Not That presentation at Hershey, and reveals why practising the words you want your leaders to use can prevent emotion taking over when it matters most.
Plus, Dom shares why consistent communication can become a powerful marketing asset for your pet business, and Alex reveals what happened when she finally implemented the substantial price increase she’d been putting off.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why Great Dog People Don’t Automatically Become Great Leaders – Why leadership is a skill that needs to be deliberately taught, practised and developed.
How to Train for the Weird Stuff – Why practising unusual situations, difficult conversations and emergencies helps staff make better decisions when the real thing happens.
The Rough Call Leadership Deck – How Alex turned years of staff training notes and real-life problems into 92 scenarios pet businesses can use to develop their leaders.
What Is The OODA Feedback Loop – Discover what Alex learned from the police about decision-making under pressure and how role-play can help your team respond faster and more effectively.
Say This, Not That – How emotion can make even experienced leaders say completely the wrong thing — and why preparing for difficult conversations matters.
Why Communication Is a Business Asset – Dom’s thoughts on podcasts, books and other media that allow you to consistently build familiarity and trust with potential clients.
A huge thank you to Canine Lab Testing for sponsoring this week’s episode. Canine Lab Testing makes faecal testing quick and straightforward, allowing you to collect samples on-site and receive results the next day — helping you protect the dogs in your care, give clients extra peace of mind and potentially create an additional revenue stream for your business.
Find out more at CanineLabsTesting.com
Thanks also to our amazing guest this week Alex Varney, connect with Alex at ConsiderablyBold.com
There are now less than five weeks to go until the Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo in Hershey, and Dom will be delivering THREE presentations this year, including his brand-new Top Dog, Top Dollar session and the Pet Business Mastermind Experience. You’ll also get the chance to see Alex Varney’s new Say This, Not That presentation, plus a packed line-up of speakers, vendors and pet business owners from across the industry.
If you’re serious about making 2027 a bigger, better and more profitable year for your pet business, get yourself to Hershey.
Grab your tickets at petboardingexpo.com
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here now.
Episode Highlights
[02:14] – Dom introduces the newest member of the Hodgson household, Barbara the Brussels Griffon, and previews what’s coming up at Hershey
[05:50] – Why ten years of podcasting has become an authority and business-building asset for Dom.
[09:29] – Dom explains why regular communication creates familiarity, familiarity builds trust, and why pet businesses shouldn’t rely entirely on social media.
[15:58] – Alex reveals what happened after implementing her biggest price increase in ten years — including the customer pushback she was expecting but didn’t get.
[18:04] – Alex shares her experience since joining the Dog Daycare Success Academy and the impact it’s had on both her team and her leadership.
[21:01] – Why promoting people into leadership without giving them the skills to lead creates problems — and how Alex began using role-play to solve it.
[23:00] – A real example from Alex’s Rough Call Leadership Deck: how should a manager deal with an employee who isn’t keeping up with the pace of the business?
[28:45] – Alex introduces the OODA Loop and explains why practising stressful situations helps staff make better decisions when something goes wrong.
[33:30] – How to use scenarios and gamification in meetings, coaching sessions and everyday staff training.
[35:17] – Alex shares the painful leadership mistake behind her new Say This, Not That Hershey presentation — including the three words she immediately regretted saying to a departing employee.
45 min
September 23Ep. 139 – How to Add Recurring Retail Revenue to Your Pet Care Facility with Special Guest Melinda Stanford
Are your clients already buying food, treats, toys and other pet products from somebody else every month?
Have you thought about adding retail to your daycare, boarding or grooming business, but don’t know what to sell, how much stock to carry or where the hell to start?
And what if the easiest way to make retail work isn’t filling your reception with hundreds of products… but finding a handful of carefully chosen items that enhance the services you’re already selling?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom is joined by Melinda Stanford, owner of Bark & Bone, a luxury grooming, mobile grooming and pet retail business in Carmel, Indiana. Melinda shares the lessons she’s learned since buying an existing business in 2022, including why she’d rebrand much faster if she did it again, how creating a clear ‘brand kit’ now guides everything from recruitment and customer communication to the products they stock, and what it’s really like building a business alongside her husband.
Melinda also reveals some of the mistakes she’s made while growing the retail side of Bark & Bone and shares practical advice for daycare and boarding owners who want to introduce retail without turning themselves into a pet shop.
She explains why service businesses should start with products they can bundle into existing packages, how adding just $6 of retail product helped them increase the perceived value of a $35 grooming upgrade, and why low-cost, high-margin impulse products can be a much easier starting point than food.
Dom and Melinda also explore community partnerships, co-marketing and how becoming the trusted place clients turn to for MORE of their pet’s needs can create additional revenue without constantly hunting for new customers.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
The Pros and Cons of Buying an Existing Pet Business – Why inheriting clients, staff and a working facility can reduce risk, but can also leave you dealing with somebody else’s decisions.
Why You Need to Make the Business Yours – Melinda’s biggest regret after buying Bark & Bone and why she’d rebrand immediately if she could do it again.
Why Your Business DNA Comes Before Growth – How defining your values, vision and brand gives you a filter for hiring, marketing, products and future decisions.
How to Add Retail Without Becoming a Pet Shop – Why service-based pet businesses should start small and choose products that naturally complement what they already sell.
How to Bundle Products Into Premium Services – The simple strategy Bark & Bone uses to make service upgrades feel significantly more valuable to clients.
Remember, registration is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!
Huge thanks to our sponsor Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support: focustele.com
Thanks also to our amazing guest this week Melinda Stanford, connect with Melinda on Facebook here
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here now. Episode Highlights
[03:16] – Dom shares a lesson from his first dog-training mentor about why great enrichment doesn’t require expensive equipment.
[05:28] – Why daycare owners don’t need a dedicated enrichment room or fancy equipment to start providing better experiences for dogs.
[11:09] – Dom previews his brand-new four-hour Pet Care Mastermind Experience at the Hershey Expo.
[15:52] – Why Dom has attended masterminds for ten years and the impact they’ve had on his own business and coaching.
[19:40] – Melinda introduces Bark & Bone and explains how she moved from veterinary medicine into grooming, nutrition and retail.
[21:00] – The pros, cons and hidden surprises Melinda discovered after buying an existing pet business.
[24:20] – How Bark & Bone’s brand kit became the filter for products, recruitment, communication and the entire customer experience.
[28:16] – Melinda gets candid about running a business with her husband and why learning to disagree has actually strengthened their relationship.
[31:50] – How to introduce retail into a service business, including Melinda’s strategy for bundling physical products into premium packages.
[40:00] – Why community events, strategic partnerships and co-marketing can help pet businesses reach entirely new groups of clients.
46 min
September 16Ep. 138 – How to Legally Protect Your Pet Business Brand: A Crash Course in Copyright with Shahrina Ankhi Krol
What would happen if another pet business copied the name, logo or slogan you’ve spent years building a reputation around?
What if they trademarked it before you did… and then legally forced YOU to stop using it?
And how much would it cost to rebrand your entire business, rebuild years of goodwill and explain to all your existing clients why you’ve suddenly changed your name?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom is joined by pet industry attorney Shahrina Ankhi Krol to talk about one of the most valuable — and most overlooked — assets in your business: your brand. Shahrina explains why your business name, logo and slogan aren’t simply bits of marketing, but valuable assets that need protecting, and shares the frightening story of a pet business owner with four facilities who assumed nobody would ever care enough about her business name to take it… until a larger company did exactly that and eventually sued her to stop using it.
Dom and Shahrina also break down the difference between trademarks and copyright, the mistakes pet business owners make when using photographs and other people’s content, and the increasingly complicated question of who actually owns something created using AI. Shahrina explains why growing your visibility without protecting your brand can actually increase your risk, what can happen to years of customer goodwill if you’re forced to rebrand, and why trademark protection should be viewed in much the same way as insurance — something you put in place BEFORE something goes wrong.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why Your Brand Is a Business Asset – How your name, logo and slogan become valuable pieces of intellectual property as your business grows.
The Danger of Waiting Until Something Goes Wrong – Why discovering somebody else has registered your name can lead to legal bills, damages and a complete rebrand.
Why Bigger Businesses Could Be Watching You – How successful ideas and brands can attract attention, particularly as you become more visible.
What’s the Difference Between Trademark vs Copyright – Shahrina’s simple explanation of what each one protects and why pet business owners need to understand the difference.
The Hidden Danger of Going Viral – Why promoting an unprotected name, logo or slogan to more people can actually leave your business more exposed.
Remember, registration is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!
Huge thanks to our sponsor Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support: focustele.com
Thanks also to our amazing guest this week Shahrina Ankhi Krol, connect with Shahrina at ankhikrollaw.com
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here now.
Episode Highlights
[03:59] – Dom introduces Shahrina Ankhi Krol and the importance of trademarks, copyright and protecting your pet business brand.
[08:19] – Dog versus Vogue: the trademark battle that provides a perfect introduction to this week’s topic.
[10:22] – Shahrina explains her legal work with small businesses, startups and pet industry clients across the United States.
[11:16] – From archaeology and excavating Viking sites in Denmark to unexpectedly becoming an attorney.
[18:29] – How a very extravagant cat birthday party helped Shahrina discover a huge gap in the pet industry.
[20:11] – Why most business owners don’t think seriously about trademarks until something bad happens.
[21:01] – Why your name, logo and slogan could be three of the most important assets your business owns.
[25:34] – The four-location pet business owner who ignored the risk, only to eventually be sued and told to stop using her own business name.
[31:55] – Trademark versus copyright: Shahrina gives a simple explanation of the difference and what each protects.
[33:35] – Can you copyright something created using AI? Shahrina explains the current grey area around human and AI-generated work.
41 min
September 09Ep. 137 – The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Facility’s Phone Calls. Plus, Special Hershey Expo Preview…
How many potential customers call your pet business every week while your team are too busy looking after dogs to answer the phone?
How much could just ONE of those missed calls be worth if it was a boarding stay, a regular daycare client or a customer who stayed with you for the next ten years?
And how do you make sure every caller gets a brilliant, personal experience without employing somebody to sit beside the phone all day?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom is joined by Barbara Ireland from Focus Telecommunications to explore a problem that affects almost every busy pet business: missed phone calls.
Barbara explains how a specialist answering service can become an extension of your existing team, learning your values, understanding how you want clients to be treated and even accessing your systems to take bookings, complete intake information and deal with enquiries.
Later, Dom catches up with Pet Boarding & Daycare Magazine editor Rebecca Shipman for a preview of this year’s Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo in Hershey. Rebecca reveals why the growing event has added a fourth seminar room, the increased focus on business, marketing and CEO-level topics, and some of the new speakers and experiences attendees can expect.
They also preview Dom’s brand-new four-hour Pet Care Mastermind Experience, Brian Remo’s interactive keynote, the huge trade show and the networking opportunities that make Hershey much more than simply four days of sitting in seminars.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
The True Cost of a Missed Call – Why one unanswered enquiry could represent hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lifetime client value.
Why Great Dog People Aren’t Always Great Phone People – The importance of having caring, capable people handling one of the most important customer touchpoints in your business.
How to Outsource Without Losing the Personal Touch – How an answering service can learn your philosophy, values and processes so callers still feel like they’re speaking directly to your business.
What an Answering Service Can Actually Do – From taking messages to booking boarding stays, completing intake information and working inside your existing software.
How to Get More From the Expo – Why the seminars are only part of the value and how networking, the trade show and Dom’s new mastermind session can turn four days at Hershey into months of business progress.
Huge thanks to our sponsor and this weeks special guest, Barbara Ireland Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support: focustele.com
Remember, registration is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking Episode Highlights
[01:28] – Dom previews the episode, including conversations with Barbara Ireland and Rebecca Shipman
[03:26] – Dom shares the sad news of losing Derek, his Dogue de Bordeaux, just a few weeks before his 11th birthday.
[08:00] – Barbara Ireland explains how Focus Telecommunications works as an extension of a pet business rather than simply taking messages.
[10:15] – Why hiring naturally caring people matters when someone is representing your business on the phone.
[13:43] – How Focus learns a business’s philosophy, customer service standards and personality before answering calls.
[15:16] – The new business pet resorts could be losing when prospective customers reach voicemail instead of a real person.
[19:00] – How outsourced call handling can reduce staffing costs while taking bookings, completing intake forms and managing customer enquiries.
[27:40] – Rebecca Shipman joins Dom for a preview of the 2026 Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo in Hershey.
[30:21] – Why this year’s Expo has more elevated business, marketing and CEO-level content than ever before.
[32:07] – Dom previews his first Pet Care Mastermind Experience at Hershey, plus the keynote, networking events and everything happening across Expo week.
40 min
September 02Ep. 136 – Climbing the Pet Business Premium Pricing Ladder: How To Attract Affluent Clients Who Spend More Money on Their Pets
Are you still setting your prices by looking at what every other daycare and pet resort in town is charging?
Do you worry that increasing your prices will drive clients away, even though your costs, wages and overheads keep going up?
And what if the reason you’re working harder, looking after more dogs and dealing with more stress… but still not making enough money is because you’re sitting in the wrong place on the pricing ladder?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom shares highlights from his popular The Price is Right presentation and explains why copying competitors is one of the worst ways to price your services. Every market has cheap, middle and premium providers, and where you sit on that pricing ladder isn’t predetermined by your location, your competition or how long you’ve been in business. It’s a choice.
Dom explains why pet businesses should be constantly looking for opportunities to move upstream, attract more affluent clients and increase margin rather than relying on cramming more dogs through the door. He also reveals the warning signs that suggest you’re undercharging, why premium pricing can actually help you attract better clients, and why the biggest thing standing between most owners and higher prices isn’t their customers at all… it’s themselves.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why You Need a Pricing Strategy – How your pricing influences the clients you attract, the marketing you do and ultimately the business you build.
The Danger of Copying Your Competitors – Why basing your prices on businesses whose finances you know nothing about is a terrible strategy.
The Pet Business Pricing Ladder – Why every market has cheap, middle and premium providers, and how you can deliberately move towards the top.
Why You Need to Swim Upstream – How premium positioning helps you attract more affluent dog owners instead of competing in the crowded middle.
Margin Beats Volume – Why simply putting more dogs through your facility creates more staff, more costs and more stress.
The Signs You’re Undercharging – From overflowing enquiries to zero client resistance on price, the clues that tell you it’s time to charge more.
Huge thanks to our sponsor, Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support: focustele.com
Remember, registration is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here.
Episode Highlights
[00:51] – September promotional opportunities, from Scooby-Doo Day and Talk Like a Pirate Day to turning clients’ dogs into comic book superheroes.
[04:29] – What luxury pet-friendly hotels can teach daycare and resort owners about premium upsells.
[08:29] – Dom previews his new Pet Business Pricing Power Index and introduces highlights from The Price is Right.
[10:11] – Do you actually have a pricing strategy? Why making pricing deliberate makes the rest of your business easier.
[13:35] – The expensive chicken feeder and the danger of having a “sales prevention department” inside your business.
[16:22] – Why you should never copy your competitors’ prices when you have no idea if they’re actually making money.
[20:00] – The pet business pricing ladder and why there’s no predetermined pecking order in your market.
[23:00] – Why business is a game of margin, not volume, and the importance of continually swimming upstream.
[26:00] – The clients spending $800 and $1,500 on dog enrichment and birthday experiences, plus real examples of major price increases.
[31:02] – The real business bottleneck, the fear that stops owners raising prices and the warning signs that you’re undercharging.
38 min
August 26Ep. 135 – Why It’s Time to Rethink All-Day Group Play in Your Dog Daycare
What if some of the dogs causing the biggest problems in your daycare aren’t actually difficult dogs at all?
What if they’re simply in the wrong programme?
And what if changing the way you deliver daycare could reduce staff burnout, lower labour pressure, improve the experience for the dogs AND create entirely new revenue streams for your business?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom is joined by Kristen Perrus from the award-winning Scouts Honour Pet Retreat to talk about how their approach to daycare has evolved, why they moved away from relying entirely on all-day group play, and how their hybrid model has helped reduce staff burnout, manage labour costs and provide a better experience for dogs who simply don’t thrive in traditional daycare.
Kristen also takes Dom behind the scenes of Scouts Honour’s rapidly growing training department and explains how their Play & Train programme has developed from Kristen training dogs by herself into a team of six trainers and a department that now accounts for around 20% of the business.
By focusing on puppies and family dogs, solving the everyday problems owners actually care about and combining practical training with play and enrichment, they’ve achieved an incredible 85% continued training rate and created an entirely new profit centre alongside daycare and boarding.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why Every Dog Isn’t a Daycare Dog – How trying to say yes to everyone can increase labour costs, create staff burnout and lead to a worse experience for the dogs.
The Hybrid Daycare Model – How Scouts Honour combines group play with one-to-one enrichment to better serve dogs that don’t thrive in all-day play.
How to Sell Change to Your Clients – Why education helped owners understand that different doesn’t mean worse, and how showing them the benefits created buy-in.
The Play & Train Opportunity – How combining training, play and enrichment developed into one of Scouts Honour’s most successful services.
Why Niching Made Training More Profitable – How focusing on puppies and family dogs rather than severe behavioural cases helped Scouts Honour create a more sustainable training department.
The Secret Behind 85% Client Retention – Why selling a better life and relationship with their dog keeps training clients coming back for more.
Huge thanks to our sponsor, Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support: focustele.com
Remember, registration is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!
Huge thanks to Kristen Perrus and Allison Jacobs from Scouts Honor Bloomington, Indianna. Find out more about Scouts Honor by clicking here now
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here.
Episode Highlights
[00:51] – Dom introduces Kristen Paris and the story behind Scouts Honour’s move from all-day group play towards a hybrid daycare model.
[04:52] – Kristen shares how her own reactive dog inspired her to become a trainer and eventually create a different kind of training programme.
[07:19] – The lesson Scouts Honour learned the hard way: not every dog is a good candidate for daycare, and that’s okay.
[11:14] – Why Scouts Honour created Hybrid Camp to combine socialisation, group play and individual enrichment.
[12:11] – How educating clients about dog behaviour helped Scouts Honour successfully introduce a completely different daycare experience.
[16:17] – Kristen explains how the Play & Train programme grew from one trainer into a rapidly expanding departmen[19:33] – Allison Jacobs joins the conversation and explains why identifying their ideal training client helped the programme finally take off.
[22:23] – Why Scouts Honour focuses on creating the “perfect family dog” instead of teaching impressive but impractical obedience skills.
[29:36] – The incredible 85% continued training rate and why repeat clients have allowed Scouts Honour to grow the department so quickly.
[34:04] – Six trainers, multiple services and approximately 20% of the entire business: how big the training department has become.
42 min
August 19Ep. 134 – The Easiest Way to Add a Profitable Grooming Department to Your Pet Resort
What if there was another revenue stream sitting inside your pet resort that could generate thousands of dollars every month?
What if you already have the space, the customers and even the potential staff members to make it happen?
And what if the answer to the groomer shortage isn’t finding the perfect experienced groomer… but creating your own?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom is joined by Brandy Reese from Paragon School of Pet Grooming to explore the huge opportunity grooming represents for dog daycare and pet resort owners, and how businesses can overcome one of the biggest obstacles standing in their way: finding reliable, qualified groomers.
Brandy has more than 30 years of experience in the grooming industry as a Certified Master Groomer, salon owner and educator. She explains why the current shortage of skilled groomers is causing many pet businesses to leave serious money on the table, with each grooming table potentially worth $12,000–$15,000 a month in revenue.
Rather than endlessly advertising for experienced groomers, Brandy shares a different approach: hire for culture and fit, then develop the technical skills. She explains how daycare and resort owners can identify reliable employees already inside their business, upskill them through structured grooming education and create their own pipeline of talent instead of becoming dependent on one difficult-to-replace employee.
Dom and Brandy also explore why grooming is such a powerful addition to an existing daycare or boarding operation. Not only can it increase average customer spend and create regular recurring revenue, but grooming clients can become daycare and boarding clients too, creating a service ecosystem where every department feeds the others.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
The Hidden Grooming Opportunity – Why every unused grooming table could represent thousands of dollars in lost monthly revenue.
Why Finding Groomers Is So Difficult – The staffing and management problems that cause many otherwise successful pet resorts to give up on grooming altogether.
Hire for Culture, Train for Skill – Why your next great groomer could already be working in your daycare, kennels or bathing department.
How to Build Your Own Grooming Pipeline – Why continually developing talent protects your business from becoming dependent on one key employee.
The Power of Recurring Grooming Revenue – How grooming creates customers who return every four, five or six weeks for years.
How Grooming Grows the Rest of Your Business – Why grooming clients become boarding and daycare clients, and vice versa.
Huge thanks to our sponsor, Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support: focustele.com
Remember, registration is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!
Want to plug the Enrichment University program into your facility? Click here to enroll now
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here.
Episode Highlights
[00:52] – Dom introduces Brandy Reese and explains why the shortage of qualified groomers represents a major lost-profit opportunity for pet resorts.
[02:04] – Dom shares some of the huge wins from his latest DDSA Immersion, including one member who has built an entire grooming department across six facilities.
[08:08] – Brandy introduces Paragon Pet School and its evolution from a traditional brick-and-mortar grooming school into online education.
[11:07] – Why there’s a shortage of good groomers and the huge amount of demand many pet businesses are unable to serve.
[15:02] – The unique challenge of managing groomers and why some business owners end up feeling held hostage by their grooming department.
[16:46] – Brandy explains why businesses should hire for culture and fit, then train the grooming skills afterwards.
[19:43] – Why grooming creates incredibly valuable repeat customers who can stay with the same groomer for 15 years or more.
[23:03] – Brandy breaks down Paragon’s different training levels and how someone can progress from basic bathing skills to full-service grooming.
[30:32] – How businesses can calculate the return on investment from training their own groomers.
[32:23] – Why grooming doesn’t just generate grooming revenue—it can drive more daycare and boarding business too.
36 min
August 12Ep. 133 – The Enrichment Economy: Why Enrichment Is the Golden Key to a More Profitable Pet Business
What if enrichment wasn’t just something that made dogs happier but the very thing that could transform your pricing, your staff culture and the value of your business?
Why do some daycare owners seem able to charge premium prices while others are still competing on who can offer the cheapest place for a dog to spend the day?
And what if the future of pet care isn’t about supervising more dogs but creating better experiences for every dog?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom shares an edited version of one of his most popular presentations from the Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo: The Enrichment Economy.
Drawing on lessons from the world’s most innovative businesses, leading zoos and his own journey from dog walker to international pet business coach, Dom explains why enrichment isn’t simply another service to bolt onto your daycare. It’s a philosophy that changes the way you think about dogs, staff, marketing and profit.
Along the way, you’ll hear how a chance encounter with legendary trainer John Rogerson completely transformed Dom’s approach to working with dogs, why the world’s leading zoos have moved towards outcome-based enrichment, and how businesses across the globe—from Disney to Apple and Amazon—have stayed successful by constantly innovating rather than clinging to the way things have always been done.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why Innovation Drives Growth – The lesson every pet business can learn from companies like Apple, Amazon and Disney.
The Story That Changed Everything – How Dom’s early struggles as a dog walker led him to discover the true power of engagement and enrichment.
What Zoos Can Teach Daycare Owners – Why outcome-based enrichment is shaping the future of animal welfare.
The Five Pillars of Enrichment – How to create experiences that improve welfare while increasing the perceived value of your services.
Why Enrichment Makes Better Businesses – How it improves staff retention, client satisfaction and profitability at the same time.
How to Charge More for Enrichment – Why personalised experiences deserve premium prices and how to position them successfully.
Thanks also to our sponsor, Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support. focustele.com
Remember, registration is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!
Want to plug the Enrichment University program into your facility? Click here to enroll now
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here.
Episode Highlights
[00:51] – Dom introduces one of his most popular Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo presentations and explains why enrichment is the “golden key” to business growth.
[04:05] – Why innovation drives long-term success and what pet businesses can learn from companies like Apple and Amazon.
[08:24] – Dom shares the story of Barry, his Dogue de Bordeaux, and how his enrichment journey first began.
[11:27] – The John Rogerson lesson that completely changed Dom’s approach to dogs and dog training.
[13:52] – The “Dog Audit” and why building individual relationships changes everything.
[17:11] – The hidden problems with traditional daycare and why enrichment creates happier dogs and happier teams.
[20:37] – Lessons from the world’s leading zoos and the move towards outcome-based enrichment.
[27:44] – Practical ways to restructure your daycare around personalised enrichment experiences.
[31:25] – Real-world examples of enrichment programmes from successful daycare facilities.
[35:06] – Why enrichment improves staff motivation, reduces burnout and creates career progression.
[39:00] – Premium enrichment services, E-ticket experiences and why clients are happy to pay more for better outcomes.
47 min
August 05Ep. 132 – Are You Undercharging in Your Pet Business? Why Low Prices Create Expensive Problems
What if the biggest problem in your pet business isn’t your marketing, or your staffing, or the economy? What if it’s your pricing?
How do some pet businesses command premium prices, attract better clients and continue to grow while everyone else is caught in a race to the bottom?
And why is it that almost every successful business owner eventually admits the same thing… “We were undercharging”?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom tackles one of the most important – and misunderstood – subjects in business: pricing!
Drawing on more than a decade of coaching over 3,000 pet business owners, Dom explains why almost every daycare and pet resort owner is charging less than they should be, the hidden beliefs that keep prices artificially low, and why those beliefs are costing businesses far more than they realise.
Along the way, Dom explores the psychology behind premium pricing, the famous Chivas Regal effect, why affluent clients actively seek higher-priced services, and why competing with the daycare down the road is one of the fastest ways to build a stressful, low-margin business.
The episode concludes with practical advice on how premium businesses justify higher prices through authority, positioning, customer experience and better marketing, along with a preview of Dom’s upcoming Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo presentation on escaping the race to the bottom.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
The Real Reason You’re Undercharging – Why fear, not economics, is driving most pricing decisions.
The Chivas Regal Effect – How simply increasing the price transformed an ordinary whisky into a luxury brand, and what that means for your pet business.
Why Premium Prices Attract Better Clients – The psychology behind affluent buyers and why higher prices often improve customer quality.
The Seven Pricing Mistakes Pet Businesses Make – The beliefs and habits that quietly destroy profitability.
How Premium Businesses Justify Higher Prices – Why authority, positioning and client experience matter far more than being the cheapest.
Escaping the Race to the Bottom – How to build a business that grows through margin rather than volume.
Thanks also to our sponsor, Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support. focustele.com
Remember, is now open for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to grab your ticket now!
Want to plug the Enrichment University program into your facility? Click here to enroll now
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here.
Episode Highlights
[00:51] – Dom introduces one of the most important business topics of the year: pricing, and explains why nearly every pet business owner is undercharging.
[03:50] – Dog News: A Tufts University study reveals how much owners truly value their dogs—and the marketing lesson hidden inside the research.
[09:34] – Why pricing affects almost every decision you make in your business.
[12:38] – The Chivas Regal story and the surprising psychology behind premium pricing.
[15:50] – Reason #1: Why believing everyone buys on price is costing you customers.
[19:15] – Why listening to your cheapest customers is one of the biggest pricing mistakes you can make.
[22:30] – Why benchmarking against competitors keeps businesses trapped in the middle of the market.
[24:12] – The emotional reasons pet business owners struggle to charge what they’re worth.
[30:14] – Why adding “more stuff” isn’t the answer to premium pricing.
[37:10] – The marketing assets every premium pet business needs to justify higher prices.
45 min
July 29Ep. 131 – Client Retention Secrets: How to Keep Your Dog Daycare Full Without Constantly Chasing New Customers
Why do some pet businesses seem to grow effortlessly year after year while others are constantly spending money trying to replace the clients they’ve just lost?
What if the biggest opportunity to increase your profits wasn’t finding more customers but keeping the ones you already have?
And what if the secret to building a more valuable business wasn’t better advertising at all but better systems?
In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom continues his conversation with customer experience expert Vance Morris, this time focusing on one of the most overlooked drivers of long-term business success: customer retention.
Vance explains why most business owners dramatically underestimate the cost of constantly chasing new clients, why customer retention deserves a much bigger slice of your marketing budget, and how businesses like Disney create loyal customers who return again and again. From newsletters and customer appreciation events to memorable experiences that keep your business front of mind, he shares practical ideas any pet business can implement.
After the interview, Dom builds on those lessons by explaining why great marketing alone isn’t enough. He shares how successful daycare owners engineer retention directly into their business model through memberships, structured induction programmes and recurring attendance, creating businesses with more predictable income, stronger client relationships and significantly higher profitability.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why Retention Beats Acquisition – The surprising financial difference between winning a new client and keeping an existing one.
How Disney Creates Lifetime Customers – What every pet business can learn from one of the world’s greatest customer experience brands.
The Six-Touch Retention System – Why newsletters, postcards and email work together to keep your business top of mind.
Why Experiences Create Loyalty – How memorable moments generate referrals, repeat visits and premium pricing.
The Membership Advantage – Why recurring revenue creates a more stable, profitable and predictable business.
How An Induction Program Locks In-Clients – Why onboarding is one of the most powerful retention tools available to pet businesses.
Huge thanks to this week special guest Vance Morris. Find out more about Vance by going to by going to Deliverservicenow.com
Thanks also to our sponsor, Focus Answering Service. Remember, every missed call is a missed revenue opportunity; protect your reputation and scale your business with 24/7 live call support. focustele.com
Remember, registration opens soon for the biggest Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo on the planet, which is happening at the famous Hershey Lodge. Click here to add your name to the waitlist so you are first to here when registration opens!
Want to plug the Enrichment University program into your facility? Click here to enroll now
Want to work with the World Leading Pet Business Coach? Add your name to the waitlist for Dom’s Exclusive coaching program The Dog Daycare Success Academy now by clicking here.
Episode Highlights
[00:51] – Dom shares a lesson from singer CMAT about criticism, personality-led marketing and why standing out inevitably attracts attention.
[08:30] – Dog News: What a rescued Labrador and research into tennis ball addiction teach us about enrichment and balanced dog care.
[14:48] – Vance Morris explains why customer retention is dramatically more profitable than constantly chasing new clients.
[20:20] – The six-touch customer retention system that keeps businesses front of mind all year round.
[26:00] – Customer appreciation events, memorable experiences and why businesses should invest in existing clients first.
[29:35] – Why Disney’s 80% repeat visitor rate should inspire every pet business owner.
[33:26] – Using premium pricing to fund better customer experiences and stronger retention.
[52:18] – Dom explains why memberships transform unpredictable daycare businesses into recurring revenue machines.
[56:30] – How a structured induction programme improves retention, increases client commitment and creates premium positioning.
[59:30] – Why the goal isn’t simply filling tomorrow’s daycare… it’s becoming part of every client’s weekly routine.
1 hr 4 min