Twenty years of experience can quietly be one year of experience, repeated twenty times if nobody ever stopped to ask whether the way your salon actually runs still makes sense. In this episode of After the Last Dog, Jennifer breaks down the difference between a real operational system and inherited motion: the leftover habits, workarounds, and shortcuts that got baked into your business before you were paying close attention. From fast-tracked online certifications to job titles handed out without any real leadership training to inconsistent grooming terminology across your own team, this episode walks through the blind spots that quietly turn a busy salon into a fragile one, and hands you a five-question audit that's part of what coaching clients use to tell the difference between a system you'd build on purpose and one you simply never questioned.

• Schedule a call for more info: https://calendly.com/growing-groomers/better-training-in-salons
• Hiring and Onboarding Masterclass With 25% off Hiring and Onboarding Masterclass
• Onboarding and Training Checklist ($9)
• Business Coaching https://www.growinggroomers.com/offers/BUiqZCEG
• Introduction to the Salon https://www.growinggroomers.com/offers/qPF5DrfV
• Growing GroomersWebsite https://www.growinggroomers.com/
• After The Last Dog Website https://www.afterthelastdog.com/

For too long, parts of the grooming industry have treated exhaustion, physical pain, silence, impossible pace, and “figuring it out” as proof that someone is committed enough to belong. We have praised the people who stay late, take every difficult dog, carry the team, and push through no matter what it costs them. We have called that toughness. We have called it dedication. Sometimes, we have even called it professionalism.

But what if it is not a badge of honor? What if it is evidence that the business has asked someone to carry a burden it should have addressed?

This episode of After the Last Dog asks owners to look at the work we are offering people. Are we giving them a chance to learn, grow, speak up, and build a future? Or are we handing them the same confusion, pressure, physical wear-and-tear, and “figure it out” culture that the last person inherited?

Legacy is not protecting every hardship that came before us. It is not repeating old ways simply because they are familiar, or because they helped someone survive at another time. A legacy takes what was valuable, learns from what was difficult, and leaves the work safer, stronger, more thoughtful, and more sustainable for the next person.

We all need to decide what ends with us.

Deloitte Survey Gen Z and Millennials

Somebody in your shop asks one of your groomers about something they did, maybe a newer person, still new enough to question things. And the groomer looks at them surprised: "that's how I do it." Not defensive, just genuinely caught off guard, like why would you question this? In this episode, Jennifer Oppel (founder of Growing Groomers and creator of the first Missouri pet grooming apprenticeship program and related curriculum) breaks down why salon owners inherit cultures they never questioned, the two owners who can't see what's in front of them (the one who stepped into a business already running, and the dreamer building on excitement), and how to take back the standard without blowing up your team. If you've never stopped to ask whether this is actually how grooming works, this one's for you.

Bather Brusher Course (set the safety standard, stop line & guardrails — the worksheet makes you define them): Bather Brusher Course

Introduction to the Salon https://www.growinggroomers.com/offers/qPF5DrfV

Hiring and Onboarding Masterclass

With 25% off Hiring and Onboarding Masterclass

Whole Pet Grooming Academy https://wholepetnh.com/

Schedule a call: https://calendly.com/growing-groomers/better-training-in-salons

Growing GroomersWebsite https://www.growinggroomers.com/

Apprenticeship Website https://petgroomingapprenticeship.com/

After The Last Dog Website https://www.afterthelastdog.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/growinggroomers/

Why do I keep giving chances when I know better?

Being understanding is part of being a good leader. But what happens when the grace you keep giving one employee quietly becomes extra work for everyone else?

In this episode of After the Last Dog, we’re talking honestly about the employee you care about, worry about, and may be afraid to lose, even though her lateness, personal struggles, or workplace conflict are beginning to shape the entire day.

This is not about becoming cold or expecting people to leave their lives at the door. It is about noticing when your dependable employees are skipping lunch, taking extra dogs, staying late, and carrying problems leadership has been postponing.

If there is a conversation that keeps following you home, this episode is for you.

The question is not whether you should care. It is: Who is paying for the understanding you keep giving?

The Business We Inherited

Legacy or Liability?

Every grooming business has an official operating manual and an unofficial one. The unofficial version is revealed through what gets rewarded, tolerated, questioned, or ignored.

In this episode of After the Last Dog, Dara examines what business owners inherit from former employers, mentors, industry traditions, early survival decisions, and even earlier versions of themselves. From booking and training to equipment and communication, familiar practices can quietly become liabilities as a business grows.

Follow one dog through an ordinary workday and ask: What did this appointment require that the way we currently work did not make room for?

Back on August 5th, we talked about the unicorn hunt. Today we go deeper into why that unicorn keeps slipping through your fingers.

Ever wonder why you can't find just one good person to run your salon while you're gone? It's not just a tight labor market or a run of bad luck. In this episode, Jennifer pulls back the curtain on the hiring blind spot almost no salon owner talks about: the subconscious patterns — low standards, over-responsibility, scarcity panic, and what she calls "crap fitting" — that quietly sabotage good hiring decisions long before a job post ever goes live.

Jennifer gets personal about her own years stuck in freeze mode, the burnout that followed, and the discernment she gained on the other side of it, then breaks down exactly what "qualified" should mean for your specific culture, whether you're hiring for leadership, artistry, longevity, or growth. If you've ever hired someone on confidence, beautiful photos, or a loyal client following only to watch it fall apart in ninety days, this episode names exactly why, and gives you a real system to fix it.

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Hiring and Onboarding Masterclass — 25% off with code HIR25
• Schedule a Call with Jennifer
• Sign Up for Growing Groomers Emails
• Growing Groomers Website
• Missouri Pet Grooming Apprenticeship Program
• Growing Groomers on Facebook
• After the Last Dog Website

Mentions & Affiliate Links

• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker
• Lavela WS 1265 Lavender Supplement — for sleep & stress
• Tim Fletcher — Understanding and Overcoming Complex Trauma

If you feel like you keep hiring the wrong people, this episode will help you step back and look at the bigger picture. The right hire is not just a skilled person, it's someone who fits your standards, your culture, and the level of accountability your salon truly enforces. We talk about how pricing, safety, and visible systems all affect who you attract and whether the business can hold the standard without you in the room.

email - Jenniferoppel@growinggroomers.com

Growing GroomersWebsite https://www.growinggroomers.com/

Apprenticeship Website https://petgroomingapprenticeship.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/growinggroomers/

Hiring and Onboarding Masterclass

With 25% off Hiring and Onboarding Masterclass

Introduction to the Salon https://www.growinggroomers.com/offers/qPF5DrfV

Schedule a call for more info: https://calendly.com/growing-groomers/better-training-in-salons

Every salon owner has said it at some point:

“I just need one solid person.”

But when a table or van is sitting empty, it is easy to hire for fast relief instead of the real support your salon needs.

In this episode, Dara talks about why filling the open spot does not always fix the pressure inside the business. A new groomer may know how to groom, but still not know how your salon handles check-in, notes, bathing flow, client updates, nervous dogs, cleanup, handoffs, or the way the day is supposed to move.

This is not corporate language. It is not buzzwords. It is the work of showing someone how we do things here before expecting them to carry the role. Because sometimes the problem is not that you cannot find one solid person, the problem is that the role has been built around an empty table instead of the help the business actually needs.

Stats Disclaimer for Show Notes

Statistics shared in this episode are for education and context. Your actual hiring costs, turnover, and business impact will depend on your market, pricing, payroll model, team size, schedule, and training process.

Sources used include Gallup workplace research on replacement costs, Pew Research Center data on why workers quit, Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting on pet care productivity, and the DaySmart Pet staffing infographic, “Beyond the Shears: Building and Retaining Your Grooming Talent.”