After The Last Dog

A full grooming schedule can look successful from the outside. The dogs are there, clients are calling, and the calendar is packed.But what happens when the schedule is full and the business still feels tighter than it should?In this episode, we look at the difference between being busy and actually getting ahead. We’ll talk about why a full calendar can still leave owners questioning where the time, money, and energy are going — and what may be happening underneath the surface.Because booked does not always mean the business is working the way you think it is.

In this short introduction, meet Jennifer Oppel, co-host of After the Last Dog and founder of Growing Groomers.Jennifer has spent 35 years in the grooming industry, including 25 years as a salon owner. Her work focuses on helping grooming and pet care businesses make training clearer, expectations easier to communicate, and daily salon operations more practical for real working businesses.Jennifer is the sponsor of Missouri’s first state-registered pet grooming apprenticeship, a Master Canine Stylist, and a Certified Feline Master Groomer.In After the Last Dog, Jennifer brings the training, team, and salon operations perspective, looking at the parts of the business that affect employees, standards, workflow, and the owner’s day-to-day decision making.Links / Resourceshttps://www.growinggroomers.comhttps://petgroomingapprenticeship.comemail: [email protected]

You have the checklist. You have explained the process. You may have even shown the team more than once.So why are they still coming back to you with the same questions?In this episode of After the Last Dog, Dara talks about one of the most common owner frustrations in grooming and pet care businesses: repeat staff questions that should already have an answer.Using a simple cleaning checklist example, Dara breaks down why this may not be a “they don’t care” problem. It may be that the team has learned to use the owner as the final answer instead of checking the standard first.You’ll learn how to use the Before You Ask Me to help your team know what to check, what they can decide, and when they really do need to come to you.Because the goal is not to stop your team from asking questions.The goal is to stop solving the same question over and over again.When Everyone Is Responsible, No One Is Responsible Companion Blog and PDF

I'm Dara Forleo, and before we talk about standards, pricing, hiring, training, and business growth, I want to share why this podcast exists. In this special introduction, I share my journey in the grooming and pet care industry, the lessons I've learned as a business owner, and why I believe owners deserve practical support that respects what they've already built.

A full schedule can look like success from the outside. Dogs are booked. Clients are waiting. The phone keeps ringing. But inside the salon, it may still feel like the whole day depends on the owner keeping every person, pet, and decision moving.In this episode of After the Last Dog, we look at why being booked out does not always mean the business is actually getting ahead. Sometimes the problem is not a lack of clients. It is unclear roles, uneven skill levels, developing staff being scheduled too far ahead of their ability, and work that keeps getting stuck before it reaches the finish line.Jennifer breaks down why “bather” and “groomer” are often too broad to be useful, how to think about the middle ground between learning and fully independent, and why adding another person does not automatically fix a salon where nobody is clear on who owns what.This episode is for salon owners who are busy, needed, and trusted — but still feel like every slowdown, question, and unfinished piece lands back on them.You will walk away with a simple way to look at your team, identify where the day is getting stuck, and decide what each person is actually ready to own right now.