In this episode I’m talking with Alexandra Smith who is developing a new tool to provide physical and mental exercise to dogs. Her automated agility course will make these kinds of enrichment activities accessible to people with mobility issues or those who don’t have time to be home with their dog as much as they’d like.

I loved hearing how Alexandra came up with the idea for this Canine Innovation and leap into action getting a patent, doing a pitch competition and partnering with researchers and experts in canine cognition. The automated agility course is currently seeking doggy day cares as beta testers so the backend can gather data from a variety of dogs and doggy care givers.

Could a product like this make agility more accessible? Could it make dogs happier and more fulfilled? Alexandra definitely has an amazing idea here and it’s exciting to hear about it in the early stages.

Plus, have you heard about the Cat and Dog Bill of Rights under consideration in California? We touch on that towards the end of the interview.

On today’s episode I’m talking to Jess Berger, the founder of Bundle x Joy. Jess is launching this new brand with over 15 years of experience in knowing what it takes to sell a product at stores like PetSmart and Whole Foods. She’s using that experience to create a dog brand that fills a gap in the marketplace.

Jess shared with me that pet ownership in the minority community is growing 5X faster than in the mainstream. So Bundle x Joy is all about community and inclusivity - making dog health, nutrition and education accessible at any price point.

We also talk about something that caught my eye when I first reached out to Jess about coming on the podcast. She’s created a 3% give back grant program and other opportunities to help underrepresented and purpose driven petpreneurs get their products in front of Bundle x Joy customers.

On this episode I’m chatting with Liz Nowell of Best Life Leashes. We chat about what sets her products apart and how they’re so much more than a product, she’s really building a community through the 2 stripe symbol for rescue dogs. I loved learning about the symbolism and meaning behind the stripes and how they’re educating people about rescue dogs.

Liz also shares the product development process and how her leashes have evolved over time based on customer feedback. Lastly Liz explains how important customer testimonials are and how they come into play in her marketing strategy.

If you love listening to this conversation, there’s more where this came from! Liz actually interviewed me for her vlogcast series on the Best Life Leashes YouTube channel.

See Liz interview Tori on the Best Life Leashes YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWnK59dqAsaLzDyh6vrlIYQ

This month I’ve been doing a social media experiment on both of my Instagram accounts. A few weeks ago I was struck by how judgemental and negative comments impact me. They disrupt my creative process and get in the way of me doing what I do best - helping pet parents and petpreneurs!

In this episode I’ll explain how I’ve been experimenting with ignoring the comments and insights on Instagram. I’ve been preaching for years that you should never, ever “Post and Ghost”! But that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.

This experiment has opened up so much more space in my mind and my schedule. I’ve been able to have deeper conversations with my audience over DM and email. And what if I told you the accounts engaging with mine are up 75% this month compared to April? Would you try posting and ghosting on your account?

Liz Wilcox $9 Email Membership: https://bit.ly/wwrlizwilcox

Liz’s Open Rate Training on Friday: https://bit.ly/3yYrRc2

Today I have a special double feature episode featuring two interviews with two wonderful petpreneurs. The common theme for both of these interviews is repurposing!

First up… Dog trainer Ruth Hegarty shares her expertise around adoptable dogs and how to set them up for success in your life. In a sense, adopted dogs are kinda repurposed. When you rescue, you have the chance to give a dog a new life. There are a lot of diamonds in the rough out there!

Next, in part 2 of this double feature episode, Skarlet Rockwood talks about how to give new life to your content through repurposing. She explains the pawprint method of turning 1 piece of long form content into 30 things you can share to promote your pet industry business.

On this episode, I’m sharing a conversation with dog trainer Chelsea Nelson. What we talked about is the importance of being able to have conversation in the dog space. A canine conversation that isn’t an argument and isn’t about proving who is right and who is wrong. Instead, we need to focus on how we can help pets in the best way we know how.

Chelsea and I have an assignment for everyone listening today: Think about something you don’t specialize in but that you get asked about all the time. Can you think of something? Now go find someone who does that thing and reach out to them to say hi. That’s it. You don’t need to form an official partnership or even do anything together. Just say hi, introduce yourself and try to get to know them better.

If we can do this in the dog community, maybe this spirit of conversation without judgment can spread to all other areas of our society.

On this episode I’m sharing a conversation with Jocelyn Mizrahi, the founder of Dog Mom Lifestyles subscription box. Jocelyn talked to me about how she was inspired to get into the pet industry after becoming physically ill from the stress of her previous career. Although entrepreneurship isn’t an easy ride, it’s amazing how pursuing something that you’re passionate about can make an impact on the quality of your life. If you’re listening to this, I’m sure you get it! Working with our pets just makes everything better!

Before we hit record Joceyln shared with me that this is really the first time that she’s sharing her health issues that were caused by stress. Since she decided to be transparent about this story she’s felt a huge shift. She told me that being 100% you removes a lot of fear because you’re being honest all the time, there’s nothing to worry about being revealed.

Have you ever wanted to start a dog podcast of your own? Podcasting is one of my favorite elements of my pet industry business! But it’s a lot of work. Today I’m sharing an interview with fellow pet industry podcaster Erin Scott of Believe in Dog Podcast. Erin has been interviewing dog lovers on her show since October 2019. And in March 2022 she launched a second podcast co-hosted with Kim of the dog blog Keep the Tail Wagging.

In this conversation Erin and I talk about what goes into creating each podcast episode for our shows, what we look for in a great guest, how to pitch yourself to a podcast about dogs or another niche and what to consider if you want to start your own podcast.

Towards the end Erin mentions how much reviews mean to us as podcast hosts. It’s true! Please take a few minutes to subscribe, rate and review our shows on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

Last week I shared that the Wear Wag Repeat Podcast hit 100,000 downloads! To celebrate that milestone, this week I’m sharing the most downloaded episode ever. This is an interview with Julie Swan, aka The Honest Breeder.

Julie and I had an interesting conversation about pricing. As a dog breeder, pricing is a very important component of her business. The right pricing structure can attract the kind of quality puppy parents she wants for her dogs. You’ll hear about the psychology behind this and get inspiration for how you can implement this mindset in your own pet business.

Do you want to relive more great interviews from the podcast archives? I created a quiz to help you discover your ideal petpreneur podcast playlist. From an Underdog Champion to a Pros-purr-ous Petpreneur… there are 5 playlists curated just for you! Take the playlist quiz today and fetch your results!

On this episode I’m celebrating a major milestone for the Wear Wag Repeat Podcast. As of this week we hit 100,000 downloads! That’s 100,000 times listeners took action to hear inspiring interviews with women in the pet industry. In this solo episode I’ll take a look back at the past 4 years of podcasting about business and dogs.

I also have an exciting new quiz to help you discover your Ideal Petpreneur Podcast Playlist! There are over 200 episodes in my archives. Instead of making you dig through them, I curated 5 playlists to help you reach your pet business goals. From the Underdog Champion to the Pros-purr-ous Petpreneur… there’s a playlist just for you! Click here to take the quiz and fetch your results!

The rest of the shownotes can be found at wearwagrepeat.com/podcast