Episode 466: Poodle Sauce, Pistachios, and the December Issue

Welcome to the virtual salon! In this episode, Suzy and Barbara celebrate the start of their 12th year of The Groom Pod. To kick off the anniversary, the duo dives deep into the December 2025 issue of Groomer to Groomer magazine, sharing their unfiltered takes on everything from business advice to breed tutorials.

In This Episode:

Sponsor Shoutouts: 

• Best Shot, ShowSeason, Precision Sharp, Groomore, and Stazko.
  
  

🎧 The Groom Pod Episode 465: What to do when they pass, and Whiteners and optical brighteners

Welcome to Episode 465 of The GroomPod! Join your host, Susy, a mobile groomer from Seattle, Washington, and her co-star, the curator of ingredients, Barbara Bird.

This week, we are tackling two very serious, yet important, topics for every professional groomer:

🐾 When They Pass Away (00:01:08)Susy opens up about the emotional toll of grooming and the devastating loss of beloved long-time clients. We discuss one of the hardest questions in our industry: What do you do when a client's pet passes away? We cover:

✨Bbird's Classroom: Whiteners and Optical Brighteners (00:32:00) Time to shake off the heavy stuff and dive into the science that makes white coats pop! Barbara takes us to school on how we achieve that "blinded by the light white".

Sponsors: This episode is brought to you by Best Shot, ShowSeason, Precision Sharp, Groomore, and Stazko.

#GroomPod #PetLossGrief #GroomerLife #DogGrooming #MobileGroomer #OpticalBrighteners #WhiteningShampoo #GroomerEducation #PetGroomer #BestShotPet #ShowSeason #Stazko

🐶 GroomPod 464: Stress Buckets, Trigger Stacking, and the Tea Tree Oil Truth

Welcome to episode 464 of The Groom Pod! This week, hosts Suzy and Barbara Berg dive into two critical areas that affect every groomer's daily work: canine behavior management and ingredient safety.

🌊 Part 1: Trigger Stacking & The Stress Bucket

Every dog arrives with a "stress bucket" already partially full. Learn how seemingly small events—from the car ride to the sound of clippers—can stack up, leading to a meltdown on your table. We discuss:

🌿 Part 2: B-Bird's Classroom on Tea Tree Oil

Barbara, the curator of ingredients, breaks down the science behind Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia). Is it a magical cure or just "fairy dust" in your shampoo?

Plus, Suzy shares her thoughts on thoughtful holiday appreciation gifts for clients that aren't a "craft chore"!

🏷️ Episode Hashtags:

This week, Susy kicks things off with a rant about a major change in Google's search algorithm. Due to new AI involvement , the podcast's 462 previous episodes are no longer easily searchable, as the new system requires full transcripts to mine data. Susy explains her new process for posting transcripts and asks listeners who can't find an old episode to private message her directly for a link.

The hosts also field a listener question about the Penelo comb brush. They describe it as a "hybrid brush" with cone-shaped tines and share their favorite ways to use it, such as for detangling and helping to shed double-coated dogs during drying.
Next, Susy and Bbird dive into the November 2025 issue of Groomer to Groomer magazine.

Finally, the episode provides an in-depth breakdown of Results Rinse , a product Barbara helped Show Season develop. Barbara explains it is an acidifier with detangling ability designed for use when traditional conditioning is too heavy.

        Locking in creative color by closing the hair cuticle.

They also share application tips, including using it in a recirculating system or as a pour-through rinse , and Suzy's favorite "magic bullet" combo: mixing it with Best Shot The Max.

🎙️ Episode 462: Grooming Disasters, AKC/NDGAA Fallout, and Chris Christensen's New Formulas

Welcome to Episode 462 of The GroomPod!

This week, hosts Susy and Barbara don't hold anything back as they tackle industry controversies, confess their biggest career mistakes, and dive deep into product ingredients.

Inside This Episode:

Whether you're looking for honest product reviews, industry commentary, or just need to laugh at some truly awful grooming mistakes, this episode is a must-listen!

In this episode we give our first impressions of the Funky Poodle products, a new face in the marketplace.  Then we talks about all kinds of options for handouts for your clients.  

Barbara and Susy interview Dave and Tracy Campanella about the grooming industry and how to age gracefully while continuing to work.                                                       

This episode includes our discussion of the Groomer to Groomer Magazine September 2025  ads and articles.  

We interview Sandy Gyorgyi from Showseason about her start in the industry and what the future has in store for Showseason.  We learn some fun facts about the company, too.

This episode includes a rant about an ingredient that should not be included in any pet shampoo, Triclosan.  Then the ladies discuss pricing options and finally Barbara reviews volumizing ingredients.