Meet The Dog Gurus®
Just like you, we started our pet care businesses out of a pure love for pups. Give us four paws, slobbery kisses, and #AllTheFur any day of the week—and we bet you feel the same way, too. It’s because we’ve been there, done that, and we understand just how complex the pet industry is.
Our mission is to help fellow pet care business owners learn from our experience (and the wrong turns we’ve made along the way) to avoid costly mistakes, increase profits, build the brand you’ve always envisioned, and, ultimately, find the freedom to love your pet care business just as much as you love the pet that inspired you to start in the first place!
Robin Bennett, CPDT-KA
Dog Guru
Robin Bennett is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, author, speaker, and expert on dogs. She founded one of the largest dog training companies in Virginia and has been using her expertise in “reading dogs” to teach families how to train their pets as well as helping others in the pet care industry keep dogs safe for over 20 years. Robin’s first book, All About Dog Daycare is the number one reference on opening a dog daycare. She is also Co-author of Off-Leash Dog Play… A Complete Guide to Safety and Fun, and an extensive staff training program called, Knowing Dogs, which are the leading staff training resources for dog daycare and boarding facilities. Robin is currently co-founder of The Dog Gurus, the nation’s premier resource for dog care professionals. Through The Dog Gurus she is now helping pet care professionals get their lives back by showing them how to create sustainable businesses with teams that truly know dogs.
Susan Briggs, MA, CPACO
Dog Guru
Susan Briggs is a Certified Professional Animal Care Operator, author, speaker, and pet care business expert. As co-founder of The Dog Gurus she brings over 18 years of experience in the pet industry with 12 years as co-owner and operator of a successful dog daycare, lodging, grooming and training business in Houston, Texas. In addition to being a co-author with Robin in publishing Off-Leash Dog Play and Knowing Dogs, Susan used her educational background in accounting and published Counting Noses: Accounting and Financial Management Guidelines for the Pet Services Industry. Susan enjoys making it easy for owners to understand the numbers side of their business so they can focus on care quality. In 2015 Susan co-founded the Professional Animal Care Certification Council whose mission is to provide independent testing and certification for pet care professionals. The program embraces Susan’s passion for providing quality care for animals.
What We Love Most About What We Do
Read Our Story
How The Dog Gurus® Came to Be
It was 1997. Gas was $1.22 a gallon, the iPhone was only in the imagination of Steve Jobs and dogs were kept at home, bored and lonely, while their human friends were off at work. You see, humans believed that dogs should only interact with other dogs of the human’s choosing and certainly not without them being present. What they didn’t realize was that the dogs would be much happier with playmates. That’s when two entrepreneurs, living in separate parts of the country, discovered the need for dogs to socialize even without their humans. They believed if it’s good for kids, it would also be good for dogs. They took a leap of faith and trusted their instincts to pioneer the first dog daycare centers.
A former accountant living in Texas and a former Marine living in Virginia had mirrored lives and passions. Both were entrepreneurs, both were proud owners of insanely popular pet care facilities and both were bucking the industry trend at the time by putting dogs from different families together to play. Yes, dog daycare as we know it today was completely frowned upon 20 years ago, yet that didn’t stop these two pioneers from figuring out how to do it safely and profitably.
In Virginia, Robin was turning her hobby and love of dogs into a full-time business by expanding her dog training business to include dog daycare. Like most entrepreneurs she worked long hours running all aspects of her company initially, but she soon realized that she needed to work smarter, not harder. So after a year, she faced the reality of an ever growing customer base and finally hired her first employee. It didn’t go exactly as planned.
A few days after hiring Jessi, she felt confident enough in her skills that she decided to treat herself to a lunch break. It had been over a year since Robin had had a lunch hour and she was ecstatic to carve out a little time away from the office. She left Jessi in charge of about seven dogs knowing that group size had always been quite manageable for herself. She ducked out for a sandwich at Subway and returned twenty minutes later to find pandemonium. The floor was covered in blood, Jessi was covered in tears and an unfortunate small dog was shivering in her arms. Turned out one of the larger dogs was pestering the small dog and when Jessie picked up the smaller dog to put him safely inside a crate, the larger dog bit him on the tail. Luckily, the damage looked much worse then it actually was and the dog was fine, but the shock of the ordeal got Robin to thinking. Her natural ability to keep dogs safe wasn’t natural for everyone and she needed to figure out how to pass along her knowledge to others.
Meanwhile in Texas, Susan was working to figure out how to train her own staff. Her facility had a really good safety record with very few dog injuries. Her client base was growing and dogs liked coming to daycare, but she still faced an ever-revolving door of staff turnover. She figured there must be a better way to train the staff and keep them with the company for longer.
It was then that fate intervened. Robin and Susan met at a dog daycare and boarding conference. Robin was speaking and shared the importance of reading body language of dogs at play to keep dogs physically safe. That made a lot of sense to Susan, but when Robin asked the audience whether or not the dogs in their care were as well off emotionally when they left as when the arrived in the morning, that question really made Susan stop and think.
After leaving the seminar, Susan knew her staff had to learn canine body language to keep dogs safe, physically and emotionally, so she started searching for tools to teach her staff. Books on the subject were limited, very scientific and not something easy to understand. The videos she found were boring with slow, monotone descriptions of dog calming signals. Determined, she did the only thing that came to mind which was to create her own cut and paste book on body language to train her staff.
Then Susan had a brainstorm. What if two people who loved the industry and shared a common desire to keep the dogs safe worked together to create the tools needed? Both knew that people could be motivated to work in careers with dogs. Both knew that canine body language was observable and could be taught to others. Both knew their own dog daycare facilities would benefit from better tools and resources which were few and far between back when Robin and Susan started!
Nervously, Susan sent an email to Robin asking if she would consider writing a book together, a difficult task considering they were states apart and technology wasn’t exactly fast and friendly. AOL and EarthLink were the big internet providers, Yahoo Mail was just making its debut and the only Dropbox was the mailbox on the corner. Robin agreed and the rest, as they say, is history.
Their book, “Off Leash Dog Play,” went from being a concept to being a reality. Everyone who met Susan and Robin loved their techniques and begged them to create a formal staff training program. They developed a program called “Knowing Dogs” to teach canine body language to anyone who wanted to learn it, with the goal of keeping dogs emotionally happy and not just physically exhausted.
That was the start of their work together which has now led to their joint venture as “The Dog Gurus.” As they began to teach others how to manage off-leash play, they saw the difference in the attitude of the dogs and the enjoyment of the staff members. The improvement in the emotional state of the dogs when people really understood canine body language was amazing. Now they want to give that joy and knowledge to all pet care facility owners.
The motivation for Robin and Susan continues to be the health and emotional well-being of dogs. They know that by working with pet care businesses, they can impact the lives of dogs!
As The Dog Gurus, Robin and Susan help pet care professionals launch, grow and profit by showing them how to create a sustainable business with teams that truly know dogs. They have become the world’s premier pet care business advisors. If you are ready to have more money, and more time to enjoy your own pets, family and friends we invite you to join us for the ride of your life!
Kari Campbell, CPACO
Business Growth and Lead Coaching Guru
Kari Campbell, a Certified Professional Animal Care Operator, is the founder of Dog Tired K9 Activity Center in Anchorage, Alaska. She has over twenty years of experience in the pet care industry with direct pet care, animal rescue and advocacy. Her passion is to provide the highest level of care quality for clients through education, compassion, and communication. Her coaching strengths are in dog behavior, client communications, finances, policies and procedures and team building. She holds the honor of leading the Dog Gurus coaching team.
She is a founding member of The Normandy Project, a pet food bank, and over the past three decades has shared her expertise on several nonprofit boards. Kari was born in Santiago, Chile. Her unique upbringing is matched by her unique professional experience as an accomplished opera singer, with an educational background in vocal performance. Having toured through Japan, Europe, and the United States, she has performed with several opera companies and orchestras. She shares her life with Mr. Coffee a.k.a Bean, a French Bulldog.
Courtney Emken
Profit Network Coaching Guru
Courtney Emken and her husband Bart opened DogBoy’s Dog Ranch in 1995. Pioneers in the pet industry, DogBoy’s was the first dog daycare to offer group play in Texas, the first pet care facility to commit to science-based positive reinforcement training, and the first to require dogs be spayed or neutered for lodging or daycare. The child of entrepreneurs and artists, Courtney used her business degree, creativity, and drive to carry DogBoy’s from a tiny mom & pop biz to an internationally known and award-winning pet care facility, grossing over $1.5M a year. Courtney’s passion for small business and growing entrepreneurs carried down to her employees, who were taught open book management, so they understood how businesses work, and many have gone on to chart their own paths in the dog world. After 26 years, Courtney & Bart sold their property and retired early. Courtney loves knitting, traveling, spoiling her dog, and sharing her business acumen serving on nonprofit boards and committees.
Dawn Hoverson
Profit Network Coaching Guru
Dawn’s passion for dogs started at a young age leading her to many years of animal rescue work. Knowing she wanted to eventually own a pet resort, when the opportunity presented to buy her dog Shila’s daycare in 2013, she and her husband, Will, jumped in. The Posh Paw Resort was born and steadily grew over the next nine years including a building purchase and multiple expansions. Dawn and Will were legacy members of The Dog Gurus, joining at the inception of their pet resort, and saw the value in leadership and business training offered. With Dawn’s experience working with dogs and a strong business and sales background, she prioritized training her staff in dog behavior as well as providing a family-oriented operation. Successfully, The Posh Paw Resort’s yearly revenue grew four times its performance at purchase in just over five years. In 2022 Dawn and Will decided to sell their robust resort. Dawn quickly realized she wanted to help others grow their pet business and share both her successes and hurdles. Now as a Profit Network Coach, Dawn specializes in creating team cultures as well as retention of both staff and customers. Her experience in buying, expansion and relocation, as well as selling a pet resort, promotes her helping owners at any stage of their business. Dawn experienced firsthand the value of the Dog Gurus community and is excited to coach and see such growth and success in others.
Ed Kaczmarek, CPACP
Profit Network Coaching Guru
With over 30 years of strategic corporate marketing, digital & innovation experience coupled with 12 years of pet entrepreneurship, Ed brings a unique perspective to coaching. Ed co-created two multi-million dollar dog retail/daycare/training/services businesses in Chicago with his husband – Urban Pooch Canine Life Center and Urban Pooch Training &Fitness Center – that are achieving success and bringing joy to many. Ed has a passion to create, grow and evolve businesses to achieve success, and believes it’s critical to keep a watchful eye on your financial metrics. He would be honored to connect and collaborate with you to achieve success and solve any challenge(s). Ed adores his Welsh Terrier puppy – Aidan!
Shawnte Marquez
Business Development and Profit Network Coaching Guru
Shawnte Marquez founded Joyful Paws Pet Hotel & Daycare in Long Beach, California. Shawnte started the company in 2012 and learned a lot about herself through the journey. Starting the business independently, she stumbled and overcame obstacles, like many of you are going through. Shawnte learned about the Dog Gurus through the Knowing Dogs staff training system. After she saw much success from Knowing Dogs, she explored what else the Dog Gurus could offer and became a Profit Network Member and now Coach. She sold her business in 2022, and since selling her business, she has gained a strong understanding of the preparation necessary to be a viable business for buyers. Her coaching strengths reside in helping owners switch to working on their business rather than in it by developing their management team, building a successful sales process, understanding their financials, and increasing profit margins. She strongly believes in the Dog Gurus community and would love to share her knowledge and help you grow your business.
Anna Radle
Profit Network Coaching Guru
Anna is originally from central Pennsylvania and has been an animal lover since she was young. While living in Maryland, she began boarding her dogs at Fieldstone Kennels. In 2004, the Radles purchased Fieldstone, which offered basic boarding and grooming services and grossed $150,000.00 in 2003. They changed the name to Fieldstone Animal Inn and began to “modernize” the business. Over the next 18 years, the Radles transformed what was once a small kennel into one of the largest full-service professional pet care facilities in the area. With a current staff of 25, Fieldstone offers a multitude of services from dog, cat and small mammal lodging, daycare, dog training, and grooming. Anna is dedicated to learning everything about the Pet Care Industry. She is a founding board member of Professional Animal Care Certification Council, the only independent certification program for pet care professionals. She was the council chair and led the education committee during the creation of the certification exams. Anna is a leader in the pet care industry and enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. She was awarded the Small Businessperson of the Year in 2012, and in 2022, the Radle family was nominated by the local Chamber of Commerce for the Maryland Family-Owned Small Business of the Year.
Samantha Palya
Profit Network Coaching Guru
Samantha Palya is the proud owner of Absolutely Pawfect Pet Styling where she created enrichment grooming. She introduced enrichment grooming to the pet care industry as a speaker and educator and opened a consulting business, The Enrichment Stylist Pet Business Consulting and Education. As a small business owner Samantha understands the critical components of managing your finances, staff and clients and enjoys sharing those skills with others in the pet care industry. She loves to apprentice and give opportunities to future pet care professionals. She holds certificates as a Pet Tech Instructor, Skin and Hair, Salon Sanitation, Canine Body Language, Pet Guru College, Pricing for profits, Communications Skills Leader, Heroes for Healthy Pets, and many more. Samantha is the creator of Enrichment Grooming in which she introduced to the pet care industry as a speaker and educator.
Monique Cunningham
Infusionsoft Guru
Amy Rutter-Hanzel
Member Support Guru
Karyn Croteau
Executive Assistant Guru
Meet Our Dogs
Ranger
JJ
Archie
Bailey
Deeko
Ruby
Bailey
Opal
Aiden
Frea
Benjen
Noodle
Rocket
Lucy
Spike
Mr. Coffee aka “Bean”
Ruby
Piper
Tony
Wait…this is a cat!
Lizzy
This is not a dog!
Ruby
Hmmm..also not a dog!
Griffin
The Dog Gurus Mascot
Got a question or suggestion? We’d love to hear it.