Let's Talk Dog Business

Hating every single part of your business right now? Don’t panic—you aren't alone, and those rough moments usually hide the best golden nuggets. This mashup episode brings together the absolute best bits from our upcoming CBA Live 2026 speakers to completely reshape how you look at growth, money, and boundaries. We are tackling the addictive danger of riding only the highs, why "Bob" (your defensi...

Most force-free trainers feel like accidental business owners and reluctant marketers - brilliant with dogs, but suddenly expected to be marketers, salespeople, and content creators. Add AI into the mix and it can feel impossible to stand out without selling your soul.   Today, we are joined by Ricky Sullivan, The Canine Copywriter. She helps dog trainers get crystal clear on what they o...

Most dog trainers are still using a 90s-style model: six-week courses, one-off sessions, and long gaps between classes. A model that rarely works in today´s crazy busy world that is full of highly distracted and already over-stretched clients. They can´t take in and apply what you teach and training their dog tends to slip down their to-do list. Leaving you and them very frustrated. In this episod...

If your normalcy, is juggling dogs, clients, kids, partners, piles of washing, dozens of undone chores, and a brain with 47 tabs open, this episode is for you. It is all about the reality of running a dog business while looking after family and dealing with a long list of other responsibilities outside of work. We talk openly about those rock‑bottom moments where you wonder if it would be easier t...

Treat visibility as relationship-building, not just posting. Local vets, rescues and pet businesses, plus simple authority videos that reframe common problems, often move the needle faster than another generic reel. Put basic systems in place so every enquiry gets a fast reply, undecided leads are followed up automatically, and review requests go out without you having to remember a single sticky...

Most dog trainers didn’t become self‑employed because they craved spreadsheets, tax returns, and late‑night admin. They started because they loved dogs, loved learning, and wanted to do something that wasn´t soul sucking.   Fast forward a few years and many are burnt out, under‑earning, and stuck in limbo – half in, half out – between a “proper job” that is pure drudgery and a dog business they do...

Most dog trainers are losing hours of headspace to what we call “comparatinitis” – the constant urge to measure your business against everyone else’s. A new trainer appears in your area, someone launches real-life puppy classes, or their social media looks slicker than yours, and your brain goes straight to: “They’re going to take all my clients,” “I should be doing that,” or “I’m not good enough....

Most force‑free dog trainers are finding it increasingly hard to attract clients. They are passionate, educated and deeply committed to canine welfare - yet their businesses struggle. Not because they’re not good enough, but because their judgyness of dog owners is quietly telling great prospective clients to f**k off. Without meaning to do so, many trainers are saying “you and I are not a good fi...

Many dog trainers accidentally build businesses that burn them out: 60-hour weeks, low prices, blurry boundaries, and no real way to step back. It doesn’t have to be like that. Treating your training business as a real company – with vision, pricing, and systems – is what changes everything. Today, we sit down with Amber Quann from Summit Dog Training, a 20-year industry veteran who scaled from so...

At some point, most dog trainers feel incredibly frustrated and unsure of themselves. Their clients are rarely anything like ideal students, and the end results are often disappointing. Today’s episode is about what really happens when textbook dog training techniques collide with messy human lives. When training “doesn’t work” it is rarely because the methods are wrong – real owners are busy and...

From “rock bottom” to national crime-scene cleaners turning over six-figures plus. Donna and Dennis share how they built a premium, values-driven cleaning business and coaching brand. Weirdly, there’s a lot of crossovers into dog training - and they prove it. Their lessons on pricing, mindset, recruitment, and client relationships map uncannily well onto the realities of running a dog training bus...

As a dog trainer or behaviourist – who are you actually marketing to? And who should you be marketing to? It sounds like a stupid question, but in this episode, you’ll see it’s the key to why so much of your content lands beautifully with other trainers… and completely misses the dog owners you are actually trying to attract. Jo and Vicky explain why dog trainers need to stop worrying about what t...

Dog trainers are told online income is “easy.” Create a course. Stick it on Kajabi or Thinkific. Say “buy my thing.” Wake up to money in your sleep. If that is true, why are so many online memberships, £7 offers and “video vaults” quietly gathering dust? This episode is all about why “easy online income” is a myth and what you actually need in place before online courses, memberships and low-cost...

Many dog trainers burn out  because they work long hours for very little money – It doesn´t have to be like that.  Fixing your business finances automatically solves that problem.   Today, we sit down with Bobbie Logan a financial empowerment coach and multi‑award‑winning bookkeeper to discuss why burnout is so strongly related to how you hand your business finances. We bust the money-related myth...

Dog trainers often ask, “What else do I need to offer to make enough sales?” This episode shows you it’s not about adding more. It´s about changing your focus, which can even mean you end up doing less. You’ll hear why so many trainers are trapped offering low‑priced classes and working endless evenings, how to challenge the “truths” you’ve absorbed about what clients will pay, and how one purpose...

Most dog trainers are having plenty of conversations and getting the clicks — yet very few people are actually buying. In this episode, we look at why so many people stop you in the park or Google “dog training [your area],” land on your site… and then quietly disappear. We unpack how business cards, vague websites and too many options kill momentum, even when people are genuinely interested. For...

Pressing pause on a business is rarely as clean as shutting the doors. Sometimes it simply goes quiet. No big announcement. No official closure. Just life shifting focus elsewhere. After 18 months of near silence, the dog training side of the business is being reconsidered, not because CBA is going anywhere, but because the demand never fully stopped. Enquiries have continued. The audience is stil...

Most dog trainers started their business because they’re passionate about helping dogs and their people. But it’s easy to slide into simply “paying the bills” and building a life that feels more like a grind than a choice. Are fear, “sensible” decisions, and other people’s noise quietly stopping you from running your business in a way that actually supports the life you want? In this episode, Jo &...

Dog trainers spend a lot of time worrying about big issues that could damage their business - bad launches, slow enquiries or picking the wrong niche.  Yet some of the most damaging things you do businesswise actually start quietly in your own head. In this episode, we talk about how our decision to only work with force free trainers was 100% right on paper, but still knocked our confidence, visib...

For any dog business, trust is the most important currency - and every client interaction either tops up or drains your clients’ “trust account.” Yet, building trust is becoming more difficult. Consumers are increasingly suspicious of what they see. So, dog pros need to ask: “How do I show up as genuine in a world where the first thing people ask is - is this real or AI? In this episode, Jo & Vick...

Many dog trainers obsess over methods, protocols and doing things “the right way” -  which 99% of the time means their way! They tend to forget clients learn in a variety of ways - if you don’t adapt, they stall and disappear from your classes. In this episode, Jo & Vicky share a simple personality framework (D.I.S.C) that explains why some dog owners want quick, direct instructions while others n...

Dog trainers love the idea of offers that sell themselves from a post, a page, or a button. No calls. No awkward conversations. Just checkout links. That works well for low ticket items – but when you want to sell higher-ticket services, that faceless model quietly caps your income. Your fear of picking up the phone keeps the most profitable clients at arm’s length. If you want to break free of th...

DESCRIPTION Most dog trainers struggle with selling high-ticket services - and that’s completely normal.  But the real issue usually isn’t your offer or your clients. It’s your relationship with money.  In this episode, we dig into where that reluctance really comes from: childhood conditioning like “money doesn’t grow on trees,” family and friends projecting their fears onto you, and why you feel...

DESCRIPTION Owning your expertise can feel a bit… egotistical, right? We all tend to feel we are “showing off” if we dare to call ourselves an expert.  But being seen as the expert by clients is important. It isn’t about bragging rights or badges  - it’s about clearly showing people you’ve got the knowledge and skills to help them and their dogs.  In this episode, we reveal how to be seen as the l...

DESCRIPTION Dog trainers are struggling – for many it is because they have drifted into running a business that hasn´t kept pace with how the market has changed. In this episode, Jo & Vicky talk directly to force-free trainers who are struggling to fill classes and feel pressured to drop their prices while quietly sensing “something has shifted” in the industry but are not quite sure how. They rev...