Behind the scenes and why I’m stopping Your Pet Business Your Way podcast
After six years and over 270 episodes, I’ve made the decision to bring the Your Pet Business, Your Way podcast to an end – at least in its current weekly format. If you’ve been a regular listener, thank you so much. It really has meant the world. If you’ve just stumbled across this episode, welcome […]
The Poodle Trainer Shelina Duke on swapping the classroom for dog training
When Shelina Duke started learning to train dogs back in 2020, it was just to help her own three barking poodles during lockdown. She was shielding at home with chronic asthma, and those three dogs needed some serious help with their behaviour. She didn’t expect that teaching herself from a WordPress book while isolating would lead to building a thriving, global, poodle-only, force-free training business with clients around the world. Shelina spent four years juggling full time teaching as an assistant head teacher, 10 dogs, and running a growing online membership before finally leaving school in 2024. She’s won three Dog Trainer of the Year awards, qualified and shown Edith at Crufts, and built a business that fits around real life – school runs, clubs, and caring for 10 dogs – without cramming her diary full of one-to-ones. She’s also navigated a serious head injury, chronic illness, the sudden loss of her sister, and becoming a guardian to her young niece. In this episode, Shelina talks about how she taught herself to build a website and membership from scratch. How she grew from local all-breed classes to a global poodle-only business, why she’s so committed to kind,force-free training, and how she deals with the trolls. Plus her mission to help both poodle guardians and other pet pros build businesses that work around real life, not the other way around. Listen in on the player link below and you can read the key points covered in the Q and A at the end of this post and find all the links to connect with Shelina. How did you go from being a teacher […]
Behind the scenes at Sunnyside Cottage Robin Hood’s Bay
This is a behind-the-scenes look at what I’ve learned from running a dog-friendly holiday property for the last three years. Having a holiday cottage has always been a dream for me and getting the keys for Sunnyside Cottage in Robin Hood’s Bay in April 2023 was so exciting. In this episode and blog post, I […]
Taking My Three Cats from side hustle to franchise and why Wendy Thomson Melling believes Cats Deserve More
When Wendy Thomson Melling started her cat sitting business back in 2017, it was to earn a bit of extra cash caring for creatures she loved. She didn’t expect that in just a few years she’d be able to ditch her old career as an accountant and set up a franchise business caring for cats […]
Behind the scenes of the 2026 Pet Business Content Planner launch
Are you planning to launch a new product or service and want to get an idea of what to expect? This episode is a behind-the-scenes account of launching my Pet Business Content Planner for 2026. This is a product I created in 2025, so this year was the second year and I wanted to put […]
Katrina Bayliss on neurodivergence, burnout and supporting your clients
Would you like to improve your understanding of neurodivergence? It might be in relation to your own experience, or around how you support your clients. Katrina Bayliss is The Neurodivergent Dog Coach and she supports pet professionals and dog people in improving the way they communicate with their dogs and one another. Katrina has the […]
How to have a reset in your pet business
Did you come into the New Year feeling all fired up and filled with energy about your pet business and what was going to happen in 2026? Then, as we were flung into wars, political upheaval, economic uncertainty, did it feel like you skidded to a bit of a halt? If you’re nodding along, that’s […]
Sweary bow ties and not caring what people think with Kerry Whitney from Franky’s Bowtique
When Kerry Whitney split up with her boyfriend, lost her dad and had to move back home to her mum’s, it led to her starting her dream business. It was back in 2015, and she’d just started an Instagram account for her Pug Frank, and started making him fun bow ties as a way of […]
The confidence experiment and how you can feel more brave in your pet business
Confidence is an area that comes up as a challenge with the pet business owners I work with over and over again. When you’re running a business on your own, you’re already doing really brave things and taken the big risks. Yet, so often, things will make us question ourselves. I ran a workshop and […]
Helen Wainwright on the Dog Trainer School, doing things your way and putting your community first
Helen Wainwright is co-founder of the Dog Trainer School, a supportive online community for professional dog trainers that she runs alongside her partner Lee. Before working with dogs, Helen spent nearly a decade as a product tester and journalist at Good Housekeeping magazine, and later worked in community development. Going from glossy mags to working […]