Annual Conference Information for 2025

We are excited to announce that the aPaws sponsored 2025 Pooper Scooper Convention will be held in Dallas, Texas from Friday, October 10 to Sunday October 12, 2025 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Grapevine SFW Airport North.

Book your room by September 20, 2025 to get the group rate. We would recommend booking your rooms early while supplies last. https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/apaws-convention-oct2025/

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

FRIDAY EVENING: Meet and Greet with hors d'oeuvres and cash bar sponsored by aPaws. (aPaws supplies the hors d'oeuvres, you supply the cash for the bar.)

SATURDAY: Convention, including complimentary breakfast, and lunch provided by aPaws, and guest speakers. Our keynote speaker will be the world renown International Speaker, Author, Emcee and Chief Morale Officer, Kirk Weisler. Read his bio below. Additional speakers and will be announced in the coming weeks as they are secured. We plan on having an expert on back-office operations like bookkeeping; Information regarding Google Business Profiles; An update to the Sweep and Go Pooper Scooper app and all the new additions being released; An open discussion panel for pooper scooper Q&A with several industry experts and novices alike; Breakout sessions. And, let's not forget, the Turd Herding Contest.

SUNDAY: aPaws open board meeting, and possibly another breakout session TBD.
Event Registration forms: Download it here - Fill it out, sign, then send it to treasurer@apaws.org or snail mail it to the address on the form. NOTE: If you are an aPaws member, your team may also register under your company at the member's rate. Just use the same form.

Our Key Note Speaker

Kirk Weisler

With over eighteen years of executive coaching, speaking, research, and professional experience, Kirk’s perspective is simple and unpretentious and his suggestions are applicable and undiluted. Kirk understands that your work life is more than a commute and a paycheck.

Kirk is known for his ability to share personal life stories, converse with his audience, and offer coaching that builds trust and inspires action. He has spoken to a multitude of national and international companies like General Mill, Coca-Cola, American Express, Bank of America, Johns Hopkins, and Emory University just to name a few.

Kirk’s book “The Dog Poop Initiative” has sold over 80,000 copies. It has been translated into German, Spanish, and Hebrew. While this book is written for all ages and can be found in many public school libraries, the #1 buyer of the book is Boeing Aircraft who use it for their Six Sigma Lean program.
Read his complete bio here.

Scan QR Code for registration

Sponsors 2025
For sponsorship opportunities, contact us at info@apaws.org

Our Great Dane Sponsor for 2025

Labrador Sponsor -

Beagle Sponsors -

Chihuahua Sponsors -

Event Registration forms: https://form.jotform.com/251237080225044 Fill it out, sign, pay and submit. NOTE: If you are an aPaws member, your team may also register under your company at the member's rate. Just use the same form or multiple forms if needed. The rates for this convention are as follows: aPaws members $125, Non-members $175.00. REGISTER before June 15, 2025 and receive a 15% Discount!

Additional Speaker Lineup TBD

Ogy Nikolic - OGO Sense

Ogy will be giving us Sweep & Go users a quick update on the newest features coming up for the only app made specifically for the pooper scooper industry:

New WordPress Plugin Version
Franchise / Multi-Location Portal
Client Migration Feature (If/when you acquire another Sweep&Go user, option to quickly copy data)
Pet Waste Station Management Feature

Numerous enhancements to existing features -1x payments, option to reoptimize route after adding job, etc.

Saturday Evening

The Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists (aPaws), a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade organization, has hosted this special event every 2 years since its formation in 2002. The purpose is to provide continuing education specifically for professional animal waste specialists from around the country. However, all pet professional are invited! In the past, guest speakers have discussed topics such as social media and interactive marketing, how to effectively use google ads, how to start or expand your business, a virtual office for pet professionals, pet first aide basics and much more. Round table discussions are also held to allow pet professional to share information with one another on a variety of topics. #pooperscooperconvention

In addition, aPaws has made it their ongoing mission to raise money to donate pet air masks to fire departments and EMS Personnel. These cone-shaped plastic masks come in three sizes and fit snugly onto snouts so pets of all sizes can be resuscitated when suffering from smoke inhalation. For more information on pet recovery masks and how you can support our efforts to provide these masks, please visit http://apaws.org/about/support/donate

The members of aPaws like to mix a little fun into the convention. The “Turd Herding” Contest and “Name That Turd” are activities that every professional pooper scooper looks forward to. The “Turd-Herding” Contest is for professional pooper scoopers to determine who is the fastest pooper scooper in the nation. For this unique contest, fake dog waste is placed around the grounds of the hotel and participating pooper scoopers see who can pick up the most piles in two minutes. The top three winners each receive a trophy and bragging rights... at least until next time!

Turd Herding

Turd Herding Contest, which has become a staple of the aPaws annual convention, will take place on Saturday and is open only to aPaws members. If you got what it takes, you can prove to the world that you are the fastest pooper scooper and take home the first place trophy and have the bragging rights for the rest of the year. #turdherding