Looking BackIf you worked with me through BlissBound Hound, you may have wondered what happened next.I’ve wondered how to tell that story too.BlissBound Hound was never just a dog care company. At its best, it was an animal behavior driven company built around one core idea:The best behavior outcomes happen when environment, relationships, and experience are working together.The BlissMatch system was at the heart of that work. It shaped how we thought about play style, temperament, arousal, and social fit, but also how we approached everyday experiences like grooming, handling, and movement through the environment.For us, compatibility wasn’t just about who got along. It was how we influenced behavior through group dynamics and environment.That work shaped everything I’ve done since.What I learnedAfter BlissBound Hound, I stepped into leadership roles in large-scale dog care and animal welfare.I managed canine enrichment programs, trained teams, built systems, and most recently led behavior and training programs at Humane Society Silicon Valley.That work gave me a much broader view of dog behavior at scale. I learned a lot about how programs are built, how teams are supported, how behavior decisions are made, and how difficult it can be to provide truly individualized care inside large systems.It has been an incredibly valuable chapter.It also made something very clear.I missed the direct work with dogs and people.Why I'm training againPrivate training and behavior consultation offer something that large programs often struggle to provide:time, context, and individualized support.The chance to sit with a dog and their person, understand what is really happening, and build a plan that fits that household.That has always been the work I care about most.So I’m opening a limited number of private training and behavior consultation spots again.Interested in training?
Contact PaulWhat I'm building nowAlongside that, I’ve been building puppazoo, a dog compatibility app built on real behavior, not guesswork.In many ways, puppazoo is the next evolution of the work that started with BlissMatch.I’m taking more than 10 years of building and refining dog compatibility systems and turning that knowledge into an app people can use for free.The goal is simple:Help people make better dog-to-dog decisions in the real world.Better matches.
Better introductions.
Better meet planning.
Better outcomes for dogs and their people.puppazoo is still early, and I’m starting small with dogs and people I know and trust.Curious about puppazoo?
Learn more The teamOne of the best parts of BlissBound Hound was the team.As I faced the difficult decision to close BlissBound Hound, I looked into options such as selling the business. In the end, I decided the best option was to hand off the client list to the workers as we shut down operations. With that jump start to their next chapter, BlissBound Hound's former team members have all gone on to do amazing things. Most have started their own businesses, some have moved into other work where the experiences they had at BlissBound Hound helped launch the next step in their careers.I’m proud of that.BlissBound Hound gave a lot of talented people a place to grow, and I’m grateful for what this amazing and talented group of humans brought to the dogs and families we served.Jerika, Emily, Laura, and Kasper all started their own grooming businesses, Kina has moved on to a mix of working on a private basis for select clients and for another shop. Daniel took over BlissBound Hound's dog walking and dog sitting clientele.Jerika continued to stay in touch with one of BlissBound Hound's prospective buyers, Nicolas Drummond of Drummond's grooming in Alameda. Nicolas and Jerika are now in negotiations to lease a commercial space in Jack London Square where they plan to jointly open a grooming business.
Emily continues her expertise in Japanese fusion style grooming in a private practice. Laura also has a private grooming practice, and let me know as I put this writing together that she's currently overbooked and unable to accept new clients. Kina is grooming privately and at Pet Choice in Oakland. Kasper is operating a grooming business in San Francisco, in partnership with a pet store there. And Daniel is doing an amazing job operating his dog walking and dog sitting business.All of the former team members operate their businesses with clientele primarily comprised of former BlissBound Hound clients.Want to connect with a former BlissBound Hound team member regarding dog care services?
Click HereClosingIf you were part of the Bliss Bound Hound community, thank you.Whether you trusted us with your dog, supported the business, worked on the team, or stayed connected from afar, it meant a lot.I’m excited to be working directly with dogs and people again.And I’m even more excited to keep building the next version of this work through puppazoo.Warmly,
Paul