Dear Dog It's Us, Ali & Betsy

When you love your dog, you want them to feel good. In addition to diet, exercise and affection, adding supplements to your dog's routine will make all the difference. And yet not all supplements are created the same; many aren't even clinically tested! So this week Dear Dog went straight the best, welcoming Patra de Silva, President of NHV Natural Pet Products to the show to tell us about pet supplements and what we can all do to give our dogs(and cats and rabbits!)the best lives possible.

What do you get when a New York City fashion designer with impeccable style and knowledge of art history turns her love of animals into a pet portraiture business? Well, you get artist Carly Beck and her incredible works that range from whimsical, and colorful hand-painted portraits of all sizes to wallpaper festooned with playful images of our favorite four-legged friends! Dear Dog talks to her about her process, her love of animals and of course we check in on how we were all a little crazy about our pets this week. Tune in!

Dear Dog welcomes Animal Behaviorist/Dog Trainer/super cool chick Maddie Messina to help us understand our four-legged friends a little better. Maddie is a dog trainer and a graduate student at Hunter College, CUNY, where she is also part of their Thinking Dog Center. This magical place that looks at how dogs think about the world around them and they study dog behavior, cognition, and canine interactions with humans. Maddie has some fascinating and helpful insights into the most effective ways to train our dogs. And guess what...more training doesn't necessarily mean better results when it comes to our dogs! Tune in to find out more!

While veterinarians are key, animals hospitals would grind to a halt without vet techs like this week’s Dear Dog guest Tami Rae. Tami is not only on (queen) Clementine’s veterinary team—helping to keep our sweet girl happy, healthy and strong at 13 years young—but she is also a veteran vet tech who has been in the business for over 30 years! Her specialty is dermatology and boy does she have some important things to share with you…like did you know that your itchy/smelly ears can be the first sign of a skin issue in dogs? Tune in to find out more! 

Dear Dog takes to the skies with pilot Derek Heikes! He is one of the magical members of Pilots N Paws (PNP); an organization that connects volunteer pilots and plane owners willing to assist with animal transportation with rescuers needing to move dogs to safety. Derek breaks down how the PNP system works--giving Ali a minute to geek out on her love of aviation--and he shares some truly inspiring stories from the 'Freedom Flights' he and his wife Kim have taken over the past four years. Together they have saved more than 200 animals! Tune in and take off!

What happens when a dog is in danger in one area of the country, but a safe haven can be found clear across the country? Well, you call on Eryn Avis and her incredible group, Just A Girl Moving Dogs (JAGMD). Using Facebook as her hub, Eryn and her crew assemble teams of drivers who each commit to drive a 70-100 mile 'leg' of the journey. A disabled US Marine Corps Veteran, Eryn started JAGMD just two years ago and they have already transported more than 600 dogs, not to mention some tortoises, 2 hedgehogs and many kitties! Eryn is truly an inspiration. You don't want to miss hearing about her Team approach and how you too can get involved!

Dog Nutrition maven Kristen Zang joins Ali and Betsy to talk about her holistic dog food company Emma Lou’s Kitchen. Kristen shares about her pet-entrepreneur journey which started when her beloved pup Emma Lou developed distemper- an almost certain death sentence. Against all odds, Kristen saved Emma Lou’s life through nutrition. It’s an amazing story and Kristen shares some essential tips on how we can all improve our dogs’ health with what we put in their bowl. Tune in and visit https://www.emmalouskitchen.com/ and use code Dear Dog for a 15% discount!

Betsy has an ultimate fan-girl moment as she and Ali welcome veterinarian Dr. Annette Louvier and Sr. Communications Manager Leslie Albert from Wisdom Panel to the show! These wise women give us the 411 on all things Doggie DNA test related. They help us understand what DNA testing your dog means, what it doesn't mean, how these tests work and how they can be helpful in creating the best life possible for you and your dog. And note...that's whether you have a purebred or a mixed breed. You don't want to miss this show. It's the ultimate explainer on companion animal DNA tests! There's even a special discount code just for Dear Dog listeners to buy a DNA test for your pet: DEARDOG.