Complimentary for all exhibitors at Connect. Join us for a casual evening where you can join your peers for beverages/hors d'œuvres and relax. Meet with your fellow industry players to discuss current events and what's trending in the pet world.
(Must have exhibitor badge for entry)
Wednesday, March 4 (9AM - 5PM) Connect Show Hours
Canadian Pet Care Professionals is hosting
a Live Speaker Series at CONNECT
Join us at Connect March 4&5, 2026, Canada’s premier platform for collaboration and innovation in the pet industry. This event brings together leaders from across the sector, including manufacturers, retailers, distributors and other pet professionals. To build strong relationships, spark fresh ideas, and create opportunities for growth. With expert speakers, Connect Tool Box vendors, and focused networking sessions, you’ll gain valuable insights and strategies to help your business thrive in a changing market.
More than just a trade show, Connect is a community built by pet professionals, for pet professionals. We’re committed to empowering retailers with the knowledge, skills, and connections they need to succeed while ensuring access to brands that truly support them.
Let’s Grow, Innovate and Connect!
Amy Toman
Optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) for success
Expert in SEO and Google Business Profiles Specialist. She founded Pet Sitter SEO in 2017 to help the pet care community better represent themselves online, and attract more business in the process.
Overview: This session will provide an in-depth look at best methods of creation, management, and protection of Google Business Profiles. Topics will include planning, email management, and optimization, Because Google listings are essential to marketing pet care businesses, they should be created with care and planning. This presentation will guide business owners on how to optimize their listing and prevent it from suspension.
Bluestem Pet Care
The Untapped Revenue Stream in Your Salon: Retailing Pet Oral Care
Pet oral care is one of the most overlooked retail opportunities in the grooming industry. This session will show you how groomers can naturally introduce oral care products to pet parents using their existing expertise and client relationships. You’ll learn why groomers are uniquely positioned to sell these products, how to recommend them confidently at checkout, and how adding oral care to your retail mix can boost profits while supporting better pet health.
Jessica Daltrey
A Strip and Clip Demo on the Airedale
Jessica graduated from grooming school in 2015 and quickly set goals to attend workshops, seminars and compete in contests. The love for contest grooms, hand stripping and showing dogs set it and she had been hooked ever since. In 2017 she started her contest grooming career and in 2019 she opened a salon in her home town. Within those years she became a certified master groomer through CPPS and also began to dive deep into the terrier world, specializing in hand stripping. Just after Covid Jessica started competing in Open Division and dabbled into the international grooming contests, winning international groomers awards, best all around groomer, international best in show awards, and multiple class placements. Most recently Jessica travelled to the 2024 World Grooming Championships in Belgium with Groom team Canada where she won best in Show with her Kerry Blue Terrier in the individual championships, and as a team she helped Canada bring home a silver medal. It is her passion to continue her education every way she can and pass that knowledge onto every groomer who is willing to learn.
Laura Tolhoek
Building the Dream Team
For over 15 years, Laura has used sound HR practices with a pragmatic approach to improve business performance. Laura hosts the CPCP Monthly HR Power Hour.
Scaling a business is not an easy task. Being the marketing, finance, customer service and HR expert for your growing business is tough. We hear you and we’re here to help. Essential HR’s team of experts give you tools, strategies, and tangible documents to save your sanity and time when scaling your team in your start-up business.
Presented by Laura Tolhoek, CHRL
Emily Wiebenga
Salon Creative
Emily Wiebenga has been professionally grooming since 2007 and has always been drawn to competitive grooming. Her interests include poodle trims, long-legged terrier styles, and creative Asian fusion grooming. In 2016, she opened Legendary Tails Groomed by Emily, a one-on-one grooming salon focused on creating a calm, relaxed experience for pets and their people.
In 2023, Emily entered the ODGA Novice Invitational with her toy poodle Penny, earning an Honourable Mention. She went on to win 1st place in Abstract Runway at OOGS 2023 with a Tinkerbell design on Penny. In 2025, she received Best Groom by an ODGA Novice Member.
Emily continues to compete, attend seminars, and refine her skills, with a goal of teaching and inspiring other groomers.
Jenn Dahinten
Why your business feels harder than it should - How Operational KPIs Become SOPs and Profitable Pricing
Jenn Dahinten grew Royal Pets Hotel and Enrichment from a small backyard business into an award-winning, $1.5M-per-year operation—now running smoothly and allowing her to mentor others and support industry growth.
Most pet care professionals think of KPIs as only sales numbers, revenue, bookings, or how many pets they cared for last month. But the KPIs that most influence burnout, consistency, safety, and profit are almost never financial…they’re operational. “If you’ve ever said ‘I don’t know where the time went,’ ‘I should be making more than this,’ or ‘I can’t raise my rates because clients won’t understand’—you already have KPIs. You’re just not measuring them yet.”
This session is designed for solo operators, mobile pet sitters and walkers, and growing facilities alike, and it demystifies what “operational KPIs” actually look like in real pet care businesses. From time spent per visit/pet, documentation habits, and incident frequency, to transitions between pets, communication touchpoints, and decision making under pressure, these are the metrics that quietly determine whether your business feels sustainable or chaotic.
Jenn uses the Professional Animal Care Certification Council (PACCC) Body of Knowledge as a guiding framework, and will show attendees how to identify a starting point of a small, manageable set of operational KPIs that make sense for their business model.
Presented by Jenn Dahinten, BSc, CPACO
Heather Boyd
From Basic to Bougie
This seminar dives into the power of add-on services, photo packages, and smart upselling to increase revenue without increasing burnout. Learn how to identify high-value upgrades clients want, present them naturally (not awkwardly), and build irresistible packages that boost each ticket while enhancing the client experience. We’ll cover pricing psychology, menu design, visual marketing inside your salon, and simple systems that help your team consistently offer extras with confidence. Perfect for salon owners and groomers who want to raise their bottom line, maximize each appointment, and turn everyday grooms into premium, memorable experiences.
Karen Baxter
In Good Hands: Promoting Welfare Across Pet Care Roles or Every Tail Tells a Story:
Putting Welfare at the Heart of Pet Services
Behaviour Consultant, Dog Trainer and Co-Owner of Unified K9 Behaviour Centre. Karen’s specialties include Behaviour work focusing on reactivity, anxiety and fear, Rally Obedience, Agility & Hoopers, and anything Puppy!
As our understanding of animal welfare deepens, it’s clear that the way pets live and interact with humans has profound effects on their physical and emotional well-being. Today, pet care professionals are not just service providers — they are stewards of trust and guardians of welfare. This presentation explores how everyday practices in grooming, pet sitting, dog walking, and training can either support or compromise the animals in our care. With a focus on ethical responsibility and practical strategies, we’ll examine how to align business operations with the evolving standards of animal welfare ensuring that every tail truly tells a story of compassion, safety, and respect.
Presented by Karen Baxter, L-CCC , CPDT-KA , ABCDT , FDM , CBDC
Andrea Dinan
From Overwhelmed to Understood: Recognizing and Responding to Stress Signals in Dogs
Serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers (CAPDT) Founder of City Dogs Training & Behaviour in Toronto and the creator and host of the annual Dogs and the City Conference.
Everyday interactions can either build a dog’s confidence or add to their stress — and pet professionals are on the front lines. In this session, I take a deeper look at canine body language to identify subtle signs of stress before they escalate into bigger challenges. You’ll learn how to recognize early warning signals and, more importantly, how to respond in ways that help dogs feel safe, supported, and understood. I will share role-specific strategies tailored to different professions: pause-and-reset techniques for groomers, route and pacing choices for walkers, group management adjustments for daycare staff, and safe space setups for sitters. Through real-life clients and scenarios, I’ll highlight how early recognition and thoughtful intervention can prevent stress, improve cooperation, and strengthen the human-dog relationship. Whether you’re clipping nails, leading a walk, supervising playgroups, or caring for a dog at home, you’ll leave with practical tools to keep dogs calmer and interactions smoother.
Presented by Andrea Dinan , CPDT-KA, LFDM, FFCT, KAD-PA
Leadership Panel Canadian Pet Care Professionals
Morag Willcox
Co-founder of Canadian Pet Care Professionals and Founder/Owner of York Professional Pet Sitting & Dog Walking since 2000. From a one-woman show to today, she now leads a team of 22+ dog walkers and pet sitters.
Katie Fuller
Owner of The Fox and Hound Canine Retreat. Over the past 11 years, she has grown her “small facility” into a thriving canine retreat with 30 employees, caring for over 200 dogs per day.
Sheri Canjar
PACCC-CPACO and Owner of Furry Friends Pet Resort. Sherri is a national award winning writer, public speaker, mentor and subject matter expert in Canine Nutrition, Canine Reproduction and Whelping.
Jessica Abernathy
Past President of National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS) Founder of Chicagoland Cat Sitters and Founder of PetBizPeople.
Erika Godwin
Co-Founder of Canadian Pet Care Professionals, Co-Founder of ProPet Software (Software for pet boarding, daycare, training and grooming facilities), and Owner of Barketing Solutions (Website design and maintenance services for pet businesses).
Join us for a powerful leadership panel featuring some of the most successful and respected pet business owners in the industry. These are founders and operators who have built sustainable, scalable businesses, through real-world challenges, rapid growth, team expansion, and industry change. This candid conversation will go beyond surface-level success stories to explore what it actually takes to lead in today’s pet care landscape from decision-making and culture-building to navigating burnout, growth plateaus, and evolving client expectations. Expect practical insights, honest lessons learned, and actionable takeaways you can apply immediately whether you’re a solo operator, growing a team, or leading a multi-service pet business.
This is leadership, unfiltered—by people who are in it every day.
Complimentary for all exhibitors at Connect Live. Join us for a casual evening where you can join your peers for beverages/hors d'œuvres and relax. Meet with your fellow industry players to discuss current events and what's trending in the pet world. (Must have exhibitor or attendee badge for entry)
Thursday, March 5 (9AM - 4PM) Connect Show Hours
RBC Fireside Chat Panel - Information and Advice Session
Gregg Crealock
Group Advantage Consultant
Paula Rigolo
Senior Relationship Manager, Commercial Financial Services, RBC Commercial Banking
Sandro Giannini
Director, Franchise and Retail Markets, Central Canada Markets
Everyday banking advice to meet your immediate and future financial needs
Options for financing your business from start-up to growth
Thinking of Franchising Your Business or Purchasing a Franchise?
Retain and Attract employees and top talent by offering savings programs to create wealth
Emily Wiebenga
Salon Pet Trim
Emily Wiebenga has been professionally grooming since 2007 and has always been drawn to competitive grooming. Her interests include poodle trims, long-legged terrier styles, and creative Asian fusion grooming. In 2016, she opened Legendary Tails Groomed by Emily, a one-on-one grooming salon focused on creating a calm, relaxed experience for pets and their people.
In 2023, Emily entered the ODGA Novice Invitational with her toy poodle Penny, earning an Honourable Mention. She went on to win 1st place in Abstract Runway at OOGS 2023 with a Tinkerbell design on Penny. In 2025, she received Best Groom by an ODGA Novice Member.
Emily continues to compete, attend seminars, and refine her skills, with a goal of teaching and inspiring other groomers.
Jennifer Murray
Protect Oceans, Support Communities, Nourish Pets
Join Jennifer Murray of the United Seal Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador for an inspiring seminar on how Canadians can come together to protect our oceans, strengthen coastal communities, and shape a more sustainable future for the pet industry. This informative presentation explores how thoughtful seal population stewardship can improve the health of the seals, protect the ocean ecosystem, safeguard Canadian livelihoods, and build a more resilient future for coastal regions.
Bluestem Pet Care
The Untapped Revenue Stream in Your Salon: Retailing Pet Oral Care
Pet oral care is one of the most overlooked retail opportunities in the grooming industry. This session will show you how groomers can naturally introduce oral care products to pet parents using their existing expertise and client relationships. You’ll learn why groomers are uniquely positioned to sell these products, how to recommend them confidently at checkout, and how adding oral care to your retail mix can boost profits while supporting better pet health.
CONNECT Lunch on us! For those that want to keep charged to get through the show floor and see all of their favourite brands or meet new brands. CONNECT along with exhibitors are hosting a lunch on site at the Peller Estates Ballroom. Please visit your exhibiting supplier-partner onsite for your lunch invitation.
Eleanor Pineau
Unleash Vitality: Premium All-Natural Mushroom-Based Supplements
Is your pet constantly itching, licking their paws, dealing with ear infections, or battling recurring yeast flare-ups? You’re not alone — and there’s a reason it keeps happening.
Join Eleanor Pineau, MSc, Founder of Myco Pet, for an eye-opening seminar on the real drivers behind allergies and yeast infections in dogs and cats. Drawing on science-based research and practical experience in gut microbiome health, Eleanor will break down how immune imbalance, diet, antibiotics, and dysbiosis contribute to chronic skin and yeast issues.
You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of:
Why symptoms keep returning
The connection between gut health and skin health
How yeast overgrowth develops
Practical, proactive steps to support long-term balance
If you’re ready to move beyond temporary fixes and understand what’s happening beneath the surface, this seminar is for you.
Heather Boyd
Doodles Galore
Is a practical, real-world seminar designed for professional groomers navigating the ever-growing world of doodle clients. This session focuses on understanding coat types, setting realistic maintenance expectations, communicating effectively with doodle owners, and preventing matting through education and scheduling. Groomers will learn how to confidently handle common challenges, price appropriately for time and labor, and position themselves as trusted coat-care experts rather than just haircut providers. The goal is to reduce groomer burnout, improve client relationships, and ensure better welfare and comfort for the dogs we see every day.
Thursday, March 5, 4PM Connect Show Floor Closed
-Thank You For Attending & See You in 2027-
Connecting to Learn From and Teach Each Other
