The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast

Hosted by Dom Hodgson

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464

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Nov 2026

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About the show

Join the UK's leading and most controversial pet business coach Dom Hodgson, as he goes off the leash and shares the business building secrets that will fix your pet business. If you are a dog trainer, dog walker or a dog groomer then this show will provide the marketing education you need to put your business growth on steroids.

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November 6, 2026Episode 47621 min

Episode 476: The Million-Dollar Lessons From Inside My Dog Daycare Mastermind (Behind the Scenes of the Spy-Themed DDSA Immersion Event in Milton Keynes)

Are you spending a fortune trying to attract new dog daycare clients while overlooking the ones you've already got? What would happen if you started recognising, rewarding and communicating with your best customers more consistently? And could a few simple changes to your customer journey generate more repeat business, more referrals and more profit without needing to squeeze another dog into your facility? In this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes of our recent Dog Daycare Success Academy Immersion Event in Milton Keynes, where we spent two days exploring how to build a smarter, more responsive pet business. You'll hear directly from DDSA members as they share their biggest breakthroughs, the gaps they've discovered in their customer journeys and the changes they're planning to make when they get back to their businesses. And one thing quickly becomes obvious. Most pet businesses are sitting on a goldmine of opportunities with the clients they've already got. There are dozens of simple ways to improve the experience your customers receive. The problem is that most of these things never happen consistently because they're left to chance, memory or an already busy member of staff. In this episode, you'll discover: The Hidden Value of Your Existing Clients – Why recognising and rewarding your best customers can be more valuable than constantly chasing new ones. How to Build Your Future Bank – Why birthday cards, milestone celebrations, customer appreciation and thoughtful follow-up can create more opportunities for future revenue Automate the Predictable, Humanise the Memorable – How to use automation to trigger personal touches, handwritten cards, gifts and videos without relying on someone remembering to do them. The Customer Journey Doesn't End at the Sale – Why your customers' needs, concerns and expectations change over time, and how your business should respond at every stage. The Power of Paper and Ink – Why physical newsletters, birthday cards and personalised communications can help you stand out in an increasingly digital world. Why Good Businesses Still Need a Kick Up the Backside – How even experienced, successful pet business owners discover missed opportunities when they get together, share ideas and challenge each other's thinking. Listen to the cameraderie my members share and ask yourself if you would benefit from being part of a powerful mastermind like this? If the answer is 'YES!' you are in luck because the doors to the Dog Daycare Success Academy are NOW OPEN! If you're a dog daycare or pet resort owner who wants to build a more profitable business, improve your customer experience and stop leaving so much money on the table, I'd love to help you. Inside DDSA, you'll get monthly asset training, weekly Mission Control Q&A sessions and quarterly immersion events alongside ambitious pet business owners from the UK and US. Find out more and join at: petbusinessmarketing.com/successacademy A huge thank you to this week's podcast sponsor, TailPro, the all-in-one management platform helping pet businesses save time, streamline operations and deliver an exceptional customer experience. Find out more at tailpro.uk

October 30, 2026Episode 47519 min

Episode 475 – From Horror Show to Success Story: How to Transform Your Dog Daycare, Change Your Future and Banish Your Pet Business Nightmares.

Why is it so easy to spend thousands on new kennels, software or equipment, but so difficult to invest in becoming a better business owner? Could the real reason you're avoiding coaching or a mastermind be that you're afraid of what happens AFTER you've handed over the money? And what's scarier: investing in yourself today, or getting to this time next year and discovering you're still dealing with exactly the same problems? In this special Halloween episode, I'm talking about something that genuinely frightens the life out of many pet business owners. Investing in themselves. And I think I've figured out why. You see, buying a new booking system, upgrading your kennels or getting a fancy new website feels like progress. You hand over the money, receive something tangible and tick another job off your list. But investing in yourself is different. When you pay for coaching, join a mastermind or put yourself in a room full of successful business owners, handing over the money is only the beginning. Because now you've got to do the work. Make the uncomfortable decisions. Confront the weaknesses in your business. And potentially have someone like me asking why you STILL haven't put your prices up! In this episode, I share some personal stories about the investments that have had the biggest long-term impact on my life and business, from a coffee machine and a ridiculously comfortable mattress to the dog training courses and masterminds that completely changed the direction of my career. And I explain why the most expensive decision you make this year might be the decision to do absolutely nothing. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Investing in Yourself Feels So Scary – The difference between buying something for your business and paying someone to challenge your thinking, expose your weaknesses and hold you accountable. The Investment That Keeps Paying You Back – Why improvements to things you do every day can deliver enormous long-term value, and why the same principle applies to developing yourself as a business owner. Why I Still Pay for Coaching – How dog behaviour courses and business masterminds helped transform my business, and why I continue investing in mentors more than a decade later. The Power of the Mastermind – What Napoleon Hill understood about bringing ambitious people together, and why the right room can help you make breakthroughs you'd struggle to achieve on your own. The Three Pillars of Business Growth – How monthly asset training, weekly Mission Control calls and in-person immersion events combine inside the Dog Daycare Success Academy to help owners build more profitable, valuable businesses. The doors to the Dog Daycare Success Academy are NOW OPEN! If you're a dog daycare or pet resort owner who wants to stop putting off the changes you know you need to make, I'd love to help you. Join now and we'll get straight to work identifying the quick wins in your business and creating a roadmap to finish the year strong and start 2027 with a bang. But enrolment is only open for a short time. Find out more and join at: petbusinessmarketing.com/successacademy

October 23, 2026Episode 47412 min

Episode 474: The Brutal Truth About Growing a Profitable Dog Daycare Business with Eve Molzhon

Are you looking for someone to tell you what you want to hear… or what your pet business actually needs? Have you invested in courses, attended events and collected hundreds of ideas, but still struggle to turn them into meaningful progress? And could the biggest thing holding your business back be that you're trying to fix the wrong problems in the wrong order? In this episode, I'm joined by my good friend Eve Molzhon, founder of Dog Handler Academy, for a conversation we recorded at her recent Business Leadership Summit in Chicago. Eve wanted to know what actually happens inside my Dog Daycare Success Academy, who it's designed for, and why so many successful pet business owners keep coming back for more. And we get into something I think is hugely important when it comes to coaching. Sometimes the most valuable advice you can receive is the advice you don't particularly want to hear. Because I've lost count of the number of business owners who come to me wanting to introduce memberships, launch new services or implement some fancy new marketing strategy, when the first thing they actually need to do is fix their pricing, improve their existing offers or sort out their business model. Giving people another exciting idea is easy. Helping them make the right decisions, in the right order, and holding them accountable for actually doing the work is where the real value lies. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Good Coaching Isn't Always Comfortable – Why having someone challenge your thinking and call you out when necessary can be far more valuable than another round of encouragement. The Importance of Doing Things in the Right Order – Why memberships, automation and new revenue streams aren't always the first things your business needs. Why Accountability Accelerates Progress – How regular coaching, clear priorities and someone checking you're actually doing the work can transform the pace of change. Why Cookie-Cutter Advice Doesn't Work – How a brand-new daycare and a 20-year-old multi-location pet resort can both benefit from coaching, but need very different strategies. The Value of Having Someone in Your Corner – Why having an experienced coach, a roadmap and a community of ambitious owners makes the difficult decisions much easier to navigate. We also talk about the incredible community we've built inside DDSA, our upcoming immersion events in San Francisco and Edinburgh, and why I'm such a big believer in bringing together ambitious business owners from both sides of the Atlantic. If you're a dog daycare or pet resort owner who wants to make more money, enjoy more freedom and finally start making the changes you've been putting off, you can add your name to the Dog Daycare Success Academy waitlist at: petbusinessmarketing.com/successacademy The doors will reopen in November, around the Hershey Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo. A huge thank you to this week's podcast sponsor, TailPro, the all-in-one management platform helping pet businesses save time, streamline operations and deliver an exceptional customer experience. Find out more at tailpro.uk.

October 16, 2026Episode 47318 min

Episode 473: The REAL Reason Most Pet Professionals NEVER Make Any Money

Are you brilliant at looking after dogs… but still working seven days a week? Have you collected qualifications, improved your handling skills and become better and better at your craft… without your income increasing or your freedom improving at the same rate? What if the next big breakthrough in your pet business has absolutely NOTHING to do with becoming better with dogs? In this episode, I'm sharing something I've become increasingly passionate about after 15 years in the pet industry: Being brilliant with dogs is only part of what it takes to build a brilliant pet business. I share some of the lessons from my own journey, from launching Pack Leader Dog Adventures as a deliberately premium-priced service in 2011, through to the painful failure of my online pet store and the realisation that passion, expertise and hard work simply weren't enough. That failure sent me down the rabbit hole of direct response marketing, copywriting, pricing, positioning, customer psychology, systems, upsells and all the other stuff nobody teaches you when you decide to start a pet business. And I dive into some of that good stuff here. I also take you behind the scenes of our recent Operation Codebreaker DDSA Immersion Event in Milton Keynes, where members worked on automation, systems and creating businesses that are less dependent on them. And you'll hear from US DDSA members Tara and Skylor, who travelled across the Atlantic to join us, share ideas with the UK members and experience first-hand the cross-pollination that happens inside the academy. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Being Great With Dogs Isn't Enough – The uncomfortable reason passion, qualifications and technical expertise don't automatically create a successful business. The Expensive Failure That Changed My Business – How my disastrous online store taught me more about business than many of my successes. Why You Don't Need Another Gold Star – How constantly chasing qualifications can become a substitute for making the commercial changes your business really needs. Why Premium Pricing Changed Everything – What I learned from charging twice as much as my competitors when I launched Pack Leader Dog Adventures. The Shift From Operator to Business Leader – Why learning about pricing, marketing, leadership, systems and wealth creation gives you MORE opportunity to make an impact, not less. If you're a dog daycare or pet resort owner who knows you're brilliant at what you do but wants to become equally brilliant at building the BUSINESS around it, you can join the Dog Daycare Success Academy waitlist at: petbusinessmarketing.com/successacademy

October 9, 2026Episode 47218 min

Episode 472: How to Give Your Dog Daycare an Enrichment Audit with Tim Jackson, and Build an Enrichment Culture in Your Pet Business:

Are you adding enrichment activities to your services… or actually building a business where your whole team understands enrichment? Could there be dozens of opportunities inside your facility to create calmer, happier and more stimulating experiences for the dogs in your care? And what happens when your staff finally understand the why behind enrichment, rather than simply being told what activities to do? In this episode, we're just THREE DAYS away from the 2026 Pet Care Enrichment Summit, so I'm giving you another sneak peek at some of the incredible training we've got coming your way. First, you'll hear from DDSA member Alex Varney, who'll be speaking at this year's summit about something slightly different: creating enriching experiences for your employees. Alex shares a brilliantly simple way she combines positive reinforcement, team education, core values and a bag full of cheap, silly prizes to make learning more engaging for her staff. Then we go behind the scenes with Enrich U Dean Tim Jackson, who recently spent two days at Royvon Dog Training carrying out an enrichment audit, training the team and helping them identify ways to weave more enrichment into the services they already provide. And this is where enrichment starts to become much bigger than a lick mat, snuffle mat or occasional activity. It becomes part of the culture of the business. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Enrichment Starts With Your Team – How getting staff excited, educated and involved makes it far easier to improve the experience you provide for the dogs. How to Conduct an Enrichment Audit – Why walking through your facility with fresh eyes can uncover hidden opportunities to improve your environment and services. The Importance of Understanding the "Why" – How teaching the principles behind enrichment creates better decision-making than simply handing staff a list of activities. How to Enrich the Employee Experienc e – Alex Varney's simple positive-reinforcement approach to making staff training, core values and education more fun. How to "Disnify" an Existing Service – Why enrichment doesn't always require completely reinventing what you do; sometimes it's about fine-tuning an already great service and making the experience even better. You'll also hear directly from the Royvon team about what they learned from Tim's visit, including the five pillars of enrichment, scent, creating calmer environments and how the training reignited their enthusiasm for putting enrichment into practice. The 2026 Pet Care Enrichment Summit starts in just THREE DAYS, with speakers from dog training, daycare, scent work, pet sitting and the zoo world all sharing their expertise. Click here to grab your ticket now! Thanks to our amazing show sponsor Tailpro, learn more about their amazing booking app here

October 3, 2026Episode 47119 min

Episode 471 – Profitable Puppy Enrichment with Adam Delderfield

Remember those goals you set at the start of the year? Are you on track to hit them… or did they quietly disappear somewhere around March? And with just 90 days of the year remaining, what could you still change if you got some proper momentum behind you? In this episode, I'm talking about one of the most valuable — and underrated — forces in business: momentum. I've just returned from another coaching event in London with a notebook full of ideas, reminders and things I want to implement in my own business over the next 90 days. And yes, despite having been in business for years, coaching pet business owners for more than a decade and having invested a small fortune in my own education, I still pay other smart people to coach, challenge and teach me. Because I believe you should practise what you preach. More importantly, I know how difficult it is to keep moving forward when you're trying to do everything on your own. The right coach, mastermind, event or group doesn't just give you more information. It gives you fresh ideas, accountability, shortcuts, perspective and — crucially — the momentum to keep moving when business inevitably throws something unexpected at you. I also catch up with puppy specialist Adam Delderfield, who gives us a preview of his upcoming Pet Care Enrichment Summit session on completely rethinking the traditional puppy class. Adam explains how he uses enrichment to create a better learning experience for BOTH puppies and their owners — because people might forget exactly what you taught them, but they remember how you made them feel. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Momentum Matters So Much – How progress can quickly accelerate when you're moving forward — and how easily it can disappear when you start sitting back. Why I Still Invest in Coaching – What I continue to get from mentors, masterminds and events despite having spent years building my own successful business. Why You Should Practise What You Preach – If you expect clients to invest in themselves and their dogs, you should be willing to invest in becoming better at what you do too. The Power of the 90-Day Reset – Why the final quarter of the year is a perfect opportunity to reassess your goals, regain focus and build momentum heading into 2027. Why Action Still Matters Most – Coaching can provide the ideas, accountability and shortcuts, but none of it works unless you actually implement what you learn. If you want to join us for the Pet Care Enrichment Summit, grab your ticket at: enrichmentsummit.com And if you're a dog daycare or pet resort owner who wants more momentum, accountability and help moving your business to the next level, you can join the Dog Daycare Success Academy waitlist at: petbusinessmarketing.com/successacademy A huge thank you to this week's podcast sponsor, TailPro, the all-in-one management platform helping pet businesses save time, streamline operations and deliver an exceptional customer experience. Find out more at tailpro.uk

September 25, 2026Episode 47024 min

Episode 470: What Dog Daycares Can Learn From Zookeepers About Enrichment

What can a dog daycare owner learn from someone enriching a polar bear, giraffe or chimpanzee? Are your enrichment activities actually designed to encourage natural behaviours… or are you just giving dogs something different to do? And could looking outside the pet care industry completely change the way you think about enrichment? In this episode, I'm giving you a sneak peek inside the upcoming Pet Care Enrichment Summit, including highlights from one of my favourite sessions from last year's event: our Zookeepers Roundtable. One of the things we've always done differently with the Enrichment Summit is deliberately bring in experts from outside traditional pet care. Because if you want to get better at enrichment, there are few better people to learn from than professionals whose entire job involves creating stimulating environments and experiences for animals in captivity. You'll hear fascinating examples involving servals, polar bears, Arctic foxes, parrots and giraffes, and discover why great enrichment isn't about randomly chucking an activity into an enclosure and hoping the animal enjoys it. It starts with the animal, the behaviours you want to encourage and the experience you're trying to create. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Enrichment Should Be Goal-Based – How zookeepers start with natural behaviours rather than simply dreaming up activities. What Happens When Enrichment Doesn't Work – Why an animal completely ignoring your intended outcome doesn't necessarily mean the activity failed. The Importance of Species-Specific Enrichment – What polar bears, parrots and giraffes teach us about designing experiences around the animal in front of you. Why "Use It or Lose It" Matters – How animals need opportunities to practise natural behaviours and develop important physical and mental skills. How the Environment Becomes Enrichment – Why food, movement, scent, other animals and even unexpected changes can all create valuable experiences. I also preview this year's Pet Care Enrichment Summit seminars, where we have 12 presentations across six days, including dog trainer and daycare owner roundtables, breed-specific enrichment, scent work, behavioural workflows and another brilliant line-up of zoo professionals. Remember, this years enrichment summit brings you more learning opportunities than ever with 12 sessions over 6 years. And you can get a LIVE ticket and lifetime access to the recordings by clicking here now Thanks to our amazing show sponsor TailPro click here to find out more about their amazing booking app Click here to grab an early bird ticket to the this years Pet Care Enrichment Summit now!

September 11, 2026Episode 46918 min

Episode 469: How Enrichment Can Elevate Your Pet Business - A Chat with Dean of Enrich U Tim Jackson...

Is your dog daycare still relying on all-day group play as the main reason clients bring their dogs to you? Are you giving enrichment away for free because you don't know how to package, position or sell it? And as costs continue to rise, could enrichment be one of the keys to building a better experience for the dogs AND a more profitable business? In this episode, I'm joined by Enrich U Dean Tim Jackson for a special preview of the 2026 Pet Care Enrichment Summit, which takes place from October 12th–16th. This is the third year we've run the summit, and we've assembled our biggest line-up yet, bringing together dog daycare owners, trainers, enrichment specialists, scent work experts, zookeepers and animal welfare professionals for an entire week dedicated to doing pet care differently. Because here's the big thing… Enrichment isn't the future anymore. It's the present. The old pile-'em-high, cram-in-more-dogs, low-priced, all-day-play daycare model is becoming increasingly difficult to operate profitably. Costs are rising . Payroll is getting BIGGER . Clients expect more, but simply squeezing another ten dogs into the building ISN'T a sustainable growth strategy. Modern pet care businesses need to create better, more personalised experiences for the animals in their care — AND learn how to communicate, package and sell those experiences to pet parents. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Enrichment Is No Longer Optional – Why the changing economics of dog daycare mean facilities need to rethink the traditional all-day-play model. What Pet Businesses Can Learn From Zoos – How zookeepers approach enrichment, welfare and animal environments — and the lessons you can bring back into your own facility. Why Your Team Needs to Understand the "Why" – How deeper enrichment knowledge helps your staff confidently educate clients and sell your services. How to Turn Enrichment Into Revenue – Why giving enrichment away for free makes the transition harder, and how to start creating experiences clients actually want to buy. Why One Activity Doesn't Fit Every Dog – How breed, age, personality and individual needs should influence the enrichment experiences you provide. We also reveal some of what's coming at this year's Pet Care Enrichment Summit, including dog daycare and trainer round tables, breed-specific enrichment, zoo enrichment, behavioural workflows, scent work and much more. If you want to immerse yourself in modern enrichment, steal ideas from some incredibly smart people and - importantly - learn how to actually make money from implementing them, grab your early bird MEGA discounted ticket now at: enrichmentsummit.com The 2026 Pet Care Enrichment Summit runs October 12th–16th, and I highly recommend grabbing the VIP ticket so you get lifetime access to all the recordings. A huge thank you to this week's podcast sponsor, TailPro, the all-in-one management platform helping pet businesses save time, streamline operations and deliver an exceptional customer experience. Find out more at tailpro.uk.

September 4, 2026Episode 46822 min

Episode 468: The Great Dog Daycare Divide Has Started: Why IMPACT 2027 is the Golden Ticket to A Better Business.

Is your dog daycare still running on a business model that worked five or ten years ago? Are you cramming in more dogs, adding more staff, and working harder… only to watch your margins get tighter? And what happens if the pet industry changes faster than your business does? In this episode, I'm officially announcing IMPACT 2027 and laying out the big idea behind this year's event: The Great Dog Daycare Divide – How to Avoid the 2030 Pet Care Extinction Event. For the last 20 years, the pet care industry has been riding a huge wave of growth. If you loved dogs, worked hard, charged a fair price, and looked after your customers, you could usually build a successful business. But the market has changed. Competition is more sophisticated. Corporate operators and franchises are expanding. Costs are rising. Staffing is harder. Margins are shrinking. And dog owners are becoming more selective about where they spend their money. As a result, I believe the industry is splitting into two very different camps: pet care "muggles" still playing by yesterday's rules, and pet business "wizards" building more premium, experience-led, affluent-attractive businesses designed for the future. In this episode, you'll discover: The Great Dog Daycare Divide – Why the next few years will separate businesses that adapt from those that get left behind. Why the Warehouse Model Is Breaking – How more dogs, more staff, more hours, and more hustle eventually lead to thinner margins and burnout. What the New Model Looks Like – Why personalised care, premium pricing, automation, authority, and better leadership are becoming essential. The Signs You're Stuck in a Muggle Mindset – The phrases, assumptions, and habits that reveal your business needs an upgrade. Why IMPACT 2027 Is Different – How two days in Florida can help you rethink pricing, marketing, systems, customer experience, and the future of your facility. You'll also hear from Paul Paradis and Eve Molzhon, who share why deeper, more specific business education, better customer experience, and being surrounded by ambitious people can completely change the trajectory of your business. If you want to join me at IMPACT 2027 in Florida, head to: petbusinessmarketing.com/impact27 The early bird offer is live now! Thanks to our amazing show sponsor Tailpro, click here to find out more about their amazing booking app.

August 28, 2026Episode 46714 min

Episode 467: Next Level Dog Daycare: The Secret to Making Big Leaps Forward in Your Pet Business

Do you know your pet business could be better… but you keep putting off the uncomfortable decisions? What happens when you stop trying to figure everything out alone and start acting on the things you already know need fixing? And how much could change in just 90 days if somebody actually held you accountable? In this episode, I'm sharing some powerful real-world examples of what happens when dog daycare and pet resort owners stop sitting on ideas and start taking proper action. You'll hear from Alex Varney, one of the newest Dog Daycare Success Academy members, who attended her first immersion event and then went home and immediately got to work. Within a week she had increased prices, improved staff wages, introduced new benefits, made team changes, created new customer service systems, and started planning the next phase of expansion. I also share a conversation with Allison Jacobs and Kristen Perrus from Scouts Honour, who explain how their business has changed since working with me — including a 40% price increase in one year with almost no pushback, rapid growth across training and grooming, and a complete shift in how they think about pricing, positioning, and what's possible. This episode is really about one thing: there is always another level to unlock, but getting there requires action, uncomfortable decisions, accountability, and the willingness to keep asking, "What's next?" In this episode, you'll discover: What Happens When You Act Fast – How one immersion event led to immediate pricing, staffing, leadership, and expansion decisions Why Accountability Changes Everything – How deadlines, coaching, and 90-day goals turn good intentions into actual progress. The Pricing Confidence Shift – How business owners go from being terrified of increases to confidently charging 40% more. Why Your Biggest Roadblock Might Be You – How hesitation and second-guessing quietly slow growth more than almost anything else. The "What's Next?" Mentality – Why successful owners never stop improving, even when things are already going well. The Dog Daycare Success Academy is open now, but the doors close on September 30th, and this is the final enrollment window of the year. If you want to find out more and join, head to: petbusinessmarketing.com/successacademy A huge thank you to this week's podcast sponsor, TailPro, the all-in-one management platform helping pet businesses save time, streamline operations, and deliver a better customer experience. Find out more at tailpro.uk.