OverDog: Dog Daycare & Boarding Business Tips – Details, episodes & analysis

Your staff might be showing up—but are they showing up with energy? In this episode, Fern dives into a powerful but often overlooked force in your pet resort: the energy your team brings into the building every day. It’s not about how many hands you have on deck—it’s about how those hands feel, act, and interact. From emotional labor to burnout red flags, this episode explores why the vibes behind the scenes might be the secret weapon (or hidden saboteur) of your business success.

You’ll get real insight into how to spot low-energy slumps, why timing tasks with staff energy peaks matters, and simple adjustments that can shift the whole tone of your business. Plus, Fern shares tips for creating a culture that fuels your team, boosts morale, and keeps clients coming back—without burning anyone out. If you’re ready to stop managing people like schedules and start leading them like a true Overdog, this one’s for you.

What if your pet resort delivered the kind of service that made people rave about you—and gladly pay more? In this episode, you’ll learn how to take a page from one of the most iconic service brands in the world and apply those same principles to your daycare, boarding, grooming, or training business. It's all about creating intentional, memorable customer experiences that set you apart.

From empowering your staff to go above and beyond, to using small details to build deep client loyalty, Fern breaks down five key strategies you can start using right away. This isn't about fancy buildings or big budgets—it's about mindset, consistency, and making people feel seen and valued. Tune in and discover how to make top-tier service your new secret weapon.

Ever feel like you're the only one who can’t seem to get things right? This episode is your permission slip to stop beating yourself up and start looking at failure as fuel. Fern pulls back the curtain on one of his biggest flops—something he poured months and thousands of dollars into—only to watch it crash and burn. But instead of quitting, he found the hidden gold in the ashes. You’ll hear how that experience ended up reshaping the way he runs his business—and how it can do the same for you.

Whether you're trying a bold new offer, tweaking your marketing, or just dealing with the daily chaos of running a pet business, this episode will challenge the way you think about mistakes. Fern breaks down how to process failure without letting it wreck you, how to learn from it fast, and how to bounce back stronger (and smarter) every time.

How you look at the world around you is so much more important than you realize. Your personal mindset is greatly affecting everything that happens to you and if you're not careful, it can limit and often totally derail your success in all areas of your life. 

Fern shares his personal story on how he was able to transform his life from one of negativity and become the positive, outgoing person he is today. With some simple (but not easy) actions you can improve everything in your life and become the best version of yourself. 

Over the last couple of years the pet industry has been a bit of a roller coaster. We've had ups and downs but through it all, the industry as a whole has grown. But what's to come for the new year?

Some things are going to change in 2024 and this business is going to continue to evolve. If you can keep up with it all, your business should flourish, but those that can't will find themselves left behind. 

In this episode Fern discusses what he believes will be important in the new year and how you can set up your business for success in 2024 and beyond. 

Enrichment is a hot topic in the industry right now and many businesses are figuring out how to incorporate it into their current business model. Some pet businesses are taking it further and making enrichment a main offering. Pet Camp in San Fransisco is one such place that's really elevated the idea of enrichment to an exciting new level. 

In this episode you'll hear from Mark Klaiman, owner of Pet Camp, who tells us all about his cool new enrichment center. 

I'm a firm believer that dog businesses can learn a lot from looking at what other successful people and businesses are doing outside of the pet industry. And nobody - nobody - does it better than Disney. 

Walt Disney is my all time favorite entrepreneur and we can learn so much from his life and the way he and his team have created an unforgettable business. In today's podcast I'll go over some of the big lessons you can learn from Walt and how you can put it to use in your own business. 

Everyone in this industry complains about the constant employee turnover. It seems that most dog daycare businesses can't seem to find good staff have trouble keeping people for any length of time. 

There are a few businesses out there that seemed to have cracked the code and are experiencing great retention rates, as well as high engagement and happiness from their staff. 

Today you'll hear from Rich Schlatter of K9 Resorts in New Jersey, who shares what he feels is the key to his incredibly high staff retention. 

Most people who start a pet business do so with the dream of being their own boss and having the control and freedom of working for themselves. They no longer have to do what someone else tells them and now get to make the big decisions and grow the business they way they want to. 

The unfortunate reality for many is that they get sucked into doing the day to day tasks of running the business, like checking in clients, cleaning, working the play groups and all the other various odd  jobs that you, as the business owner, should not be doing. Soon you realize that you don't have your own business but have actually just given yourself another job. 

Today we'll discuss how you can break this cycle and back into the business owner role so you can make time for the big picture stuff that will bring you more success, freedom and happiness. 

I just got back from the Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo in Hershey Pennsylvania and wanted to share some of the things I learned there. I met so many great people and saw some amazing presentations that have opened my mind to new ideas and fired me up to implement in some things for future growth.

Learn what I discovered there, as well as what you should do with all that knowledge that you've learned.