Have you ever wondered if you’re making the “right” decisions for your dog during an injury or illness?

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Have you ever wondered if you’re making the “right” decisions for your dog during an injury or illness?

All Michelle Slater ever wanted was to have a dog of her own with whom she felt a special connection and bond.  And her German Shepherd, Brady, was that dog. 

In fact, Michelle even started learning animal communication to enhance her connection with Brady – something that she kept to herself, concerned her fellow professors in academia wouldn’t understand or would ridicule.

However, after a rollercoaster of adventures, Brady was struck with a life-threatening illness at only 5 years old.  He spent months living at a vet hospital – where Michelle often slept on the floor next to him at night.

Michelle again turns to animal communication to guide her – with Brady’s input – to make the best decisions for his health during this scary time.  And Brady’s profound messages are lessons for all of us.

Exploring topics of grief, loss – both human and animal – and the human-animal bond, Michelle’s book Soulmate Dog is part memoir and part essay.  If you’ve ever been curious about how people have viewed animal telepathy over the years, it’s fascinating!

TW: Themes of grief and loss, both human and animal, throughout.

Find links & show notes at:

If you're anything like me, you enjoy shopping for other people but have a more difficult time telling people what they should get you.  

This episode will give you plenty of ideas for your Holiday Wish List (and your dog), no matter where you are in your Pet Parent journey.

From 1st time Pet Parent to the Dog-Obsessed and everything in between, click here for the list:

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Holiday Giving Campaign:  Let’s help Cara Achterberg (Episode 75)  provide her newest book Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories & Solutions for FREE to America’s shelters and rescues!

What If you could solve your dog’s biggest behavior challenge TODAY? Dog trainer Juliana DeWillems says that while immediate results usually aren’t possible in dog training – they can be when we use management techniques. 

In her new book Manage It! Hacks for Improving Your Dog’s Behavior, Juliana shares how us Pet Parents can easily solve many of our dog’s behavior challenges by changing our environment.  

Juliana explains different approaches to managing our dog’s behavior when greeting holiday visitors at your home as well as dealing with reactive dogs.  Her book even includes charts, worksheets, photos and videos (via QR code) to help you find the best hacks for your unique home, life and challenges.

We’ll discuss the difference between training and management – and when to use each one (or both!).  Juliana & I also share some of our favorite management tools and techniques that we use with our own dogs.

Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at:

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In this solo episode, Erin is celebrating one year since their family adopted Nessie – which hasn’t always gone according to plan.

Erin shares the story of how Nessie joined their family and what she wishes they had done differently in the meet & greet process.

Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist.

Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM.

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Has your dog ever helped you through a hard time in life?  Your answer  is most likely a resounding YES, right?

Author Christopher Dale credits Vector, his rescued “sato” dog from Puerto Rico, with helping him start a new chapter in life after going through hard times.  Like really hard times.  Like life-changing medical diagnosis turned depression turned addiction turned nearly blowing up his marriage-type hard times.

Chris became curious if other people were having a life-changingly special relationship with their rescue dog too.  In his book “We Saved Each Other: How Rescue Dogs Help Us Through Hardship,” Chris mixes in his own memoir reflections with profiles of other rescue dog adopters to explore experiences such as trauma, grief, addiction and mental health challenges and examine the role of their dogs in their journey. (Trigger warning for ongoing discussion of these themes throughout the episode.)

"Courageous Vulnerability" is the phrase I kept thinking while reading "We Saved Each Other".  I admire Chris and all those who share their stories for the vulnerability it takes to share some of the messier parts of life.  And I thank Chris for holding space for me to share a part of my life that I don’t usually talk about, as well.

Chris also shares with us what he’s learned about the condition of sato dogs in Puerto Rico, the work of The Sato Project nonprofit organization and what he knows about Vector’s early life.

My hope is for this episode to be a reminder that despite our differences, we’re all going through the same types of challenges in this human experience.

Find photos, links & show notes at:

Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist.

Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM.

Support this podcast, subscribe on your favorite app and leave a rating or review.

Have you ever thought about your pet parenting philosophy? Maybe you have an idea in your head of what you want your relationship with your dog(s) to look like, but how would you describe it?

A few months ago, on an Amazon recommendation & a whim, I bought Debby McMullen’s book How Many Dogs?! Using Positive Reinforcement training to Manage a Multiple Dog Household.  And I loved the book so much, that I had to find Debby and bring her on the podcast.

Debby is known for sharing her life with multiple dogs. Working as a dog trainer since the late 1990s, Debby developed a niche in the dog training world helping families introduce & integrate new dogs into multi-dog households.

Debby shares – what I will call – her “ pet parenting philosophy” and it’s the closest explanation I’ve seen to how I feel about my relationship with my dogs.  We discuss what this looks like through setting boundaries and the importance of routines & predictability for establishing trust with a new dog in your home.

So are you ready to introduce a new dog to your family?  Whether you are or aren't, Debby identifies important body language and training cues that are helpful for any & every pet parent.  We also discuss how to teach your dog good behavior without needing a clicker!

Debby & I also dive into the dynamics of multi-dog households – from navigating meal times to giving individual time & attention to refereeing playtime to dealing with any problems that arise.

So how many dogs is too many dogs?  While that answer changes from family to family, Debby reveals factors for you & your family to consider when making this decision.

Find photos, links & show notes at:

Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist.

Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM.

Support this podcast, subscribe on your favorite app and leave a rating or review.

Has your dog ever shown fear, anxiety or reactivity?  If your dog hasn’t, I’d be willing to bet that you know someone whose dog is dealing with one of these issues.

Returning guest Dr. Zazie Todd is a psychologist who digs into the science of dog behavior to help us make the best decisions for our dogs. https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode105

Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist.

Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM.

Support this podcast, subscribe on your favorite app and leave a rating or review.

Do we really have to understand science to teach our dogs?

But science doesn’t have to be difficult, and Annie helps simplify the concepts for us. As Annie’s book says: if we don’t actually understand how dogs learn, then we’re just “muddl[ing] along with a mix of intuition, good intentions and emotional reactions.”  I know I’ve definitely been guilty of this!

Annie introduces us to the Training Triad, her 3-pronged approach to changing our dogs’ behavior. We also discuss what the LIMA approach (Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive) means.

Annie also shares with us the many ways in which learning about learning benefits our lives – from making us smarter consumers to raising the next generation.

Find photos, links & show notes at:

Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM.

Join the Facebook Group: Believe in Dog Pet Parent Support Group

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Have you ever heard someone say that you should be your dog’s “alpha”?   I’ve heard all types of odd advice over the years, like don’t let your dog walk through the doorway before you or never feed your dog before you eat. 

And I’ve always had lots of questions.   Do dogs have alphas?  or is that a wolf thing? You often hear the term “alpha male,” but in nature aren’t alpha females just as common?  What is the role of the alpha in a pack?  Are dogs even looking for humans to be their alpha?

 Fortunately we have renowned ethologist Dr. Marc Bekoff to answer all these questions and more for us. Though a self-proclaimed “terrible student,” Dr. Bekoff is a prolific writer, and his remarkable career often has him collaborating with the likes of Jane Goodall.

As a pet parent companion animal guardian, Dr. Bekoff makes me think about the type of relationship I want to have with my dogs and the type of human I want to be.  (And also about some of the past blunders I’ve inadvertently made.)

From sniffing & playtime to navigating dog parks, Dr. Bekoff gives us practical ways to truly honor our dogs’ “dogness.”

Find links & show notes at:

Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM.

Join the Facebook Group: Believe in Dog Pet Parent Support Group

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We know that people can have different types of intelligence, but what about our dogs?  I think every pet parent I know has been astonished by how smart their dog is – and usually in a good way.

Author Jennifer Holland explores the many different ways that dogs show their intelligence in her new book Dog Smart: Life Changing Lessons in Canine Intelligence.

Jennifer interviewed everyone from scientists to dog trainers to pet parents to learn how dogs demonstrate their smarts.  I was fascinated to learn about all the different types of working dogs – some of which I’d never heard of before!

But what does this mean for pet parents?  Jennifer shares with us what she now does differently with her own dogs after everything she learned while writing Dog Smart. We also discuss the types of intelligence we’ve seen in our own dogs.

Jennifer may also have the most adventurous career I’ve ever heard of. While working on assignment for National Geographic, she did everything from swim with sharks to camp out amongst the Indigenous people of Papau New Guinea (and the mosquitos!).

While writing Dog Smart, Jennifer’s intrepid spirit shows when she dons a “bite suit” to be “attacked” by a law enforcement K-9 and again when led blindfolded through the streets of Manhattan by a guide dog-in-training.

(This was my dog Nessie’s first time being my in-person interview helper, so please excuse her kong-chewing and water bowl slurping in the background.)

Find links & show notes at:

Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM.

Join my Facebook Group: Believe in Dog Pet Parent Support Group

Leave a rating & review on Apple Podcasts or your podcast player.

Screenshot your review.

Email the screenshot to me at [email protected] and I’ll be sending you a free gift.