By Big Wags Chicago
5
22 ratings
The podcast currently has 63 episodes available.
This time around, I’m talking about one of the hard parts of fostering – letting go when it's time for your foster to leave you. It's gonna be a bit emotional ... again.
DON'T FORGET: I want to answer YOUR training and behavior questions on the pod. And I want to play your voices asking those questions. You've got two options:
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, Threads, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
Well, y'all, it happened again! My family and I became foster parents! We're fostering a husky named Damien for Anti-Cruelty here in Chicago.
The cool thing about fostering is that you always learn something new and unexpected. And that's what I'm going to be talking about this time around. In just a short time, Damien's shown me so much about myself, himself and Bodhi. And it's been quite lovely to see.
DON'T FORGET: I want to answer YOUR training and behavior questions on the pod. And I want to play your voices asking those questions. You've got two options:
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, Threads, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
Strap in, folx. We're getting political this time around.
One of my biggest pet peeves is the fact that pet guardianship is getting more and more expensive. Money shouldn't be an impediment to it. Unfortunately, I'm also part of the problem.
So what can we do about it? Well, I put forward at least one idea in this episode, but mostly I talk about how our capitalist way of life is making it so that having a pet is increasingly difficult except for the well-moneyed among us.
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
Ok, it's just me again. And it's a short but poignant episode. This time around, I talk about the importance of just being with your dog. What does that mean? You'll have to listen to find out, but it involves spending quality time with your pup.
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
It's just me this time around and I'm talking muzzles with y'all! There are so many great reasons for your pup to wear a muzzle. And in fact, I tend to think that most dogs should be taught to comfortably wear a muzzle just as a matter of course. It's that useful of a skill.
No matter why you decide to muzzle your pup, proper fit and properly conditioning them to wearing it are super important. And that's what this episode's about.
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
Welcome to Season 5 of the pod! Brace yourselves. It's gonna get emotional. Trigger warning: This episode talks about pet death.
I brought back one of my favorite guests - Alex Fliess - to talk about anticipatory grief. Alex is a licensed clinical social worker in Chicago. After starting work in a group therapy practice in 2016, Alex went on to open their own practice – Three Tales Therapy – in 2018 and also co-owns Chicago Center for Sex and Wellbeing.
Anticipatory grief tends to hit pet guardians because unless your pet is one of those turtles or birds that live 100 years, the odds are you’re going to outlive your pet. And that’s weird because it means that you spend this time you have with them knowing that the time is limited.
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
It's the finale of Season 4! After this episode, the pod’s going to go on a break for a bit. But I’ve already got some fun stuff lined up for season 5. And you never know. I might pop in with an unofficial episode from time to time, but the new season will officially drop sometime after the 4th of July.
We’re going to start by talking about leashes and why
After my leash rant, I’m going to answer a listener question. My very dear friend Rachelle asked if I could talk about best practices for bringing a dog into your home when you already have a dog. And it's one of my favorite things to talk about.
DON'T FORGET: I want to answer YOUR training and behavior questions on the pod. And I want to play your voices asking those questions. You've got two options:
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
Nobody takes their pet to the emergency vet when things are great. No matter why you’ve taken your pet there, it’s always stressful. It’s always scary. And all those factors make it hard to focus on anything, much less digest complicated medical information and make potential life or death decisions for your pet.
My guests this time are Laurie Maxwell and Claire Johnson. Laurie is the director of social work for MedVet, a chain of emergency and specialty veterinary hospitals with over 40 locations around the country. Claire is the veterinary social worker at MedVet’s Chicago location. Laurie and Claire will give us an inside look at just what veterinary social workers do and how that work can help make a really scary time for you and your pet a bit easier. A quick trigger warning, by the way: This episode does discuss pets in various states of medical distress, emotional trauma and euthanasia.
DON'T FORGET: I want to answer YOUR training and behavior questions on the pod. And I want to play your voices asking those questions. You've got two options:
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
Resource guarding is exactly what it sounds like – it’s when a dog guards something that it considers a resource. And it can be scary because dogs will go to great lengths to protect their resources, including snapping, nipping or biting at people or other dogs who they feel are trying to take their resource.
But what people often forget is that resource guarding
DON'T FORGET: I want to answer YOUR training and behavior questions on the pod. And I want to play your voices asking those questions. You've got two options:
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
We're talking crates this time, y'all!
I make no secret of the fact that I love crate training. But crating is also controversial. It’s not a magic bullet and if a dog isn’t taught how to be comfortable in a crate, it can have serious negative effects on their mental health and in fact can have negative effects on their physical health if they decide to try to get out of the crate and hurt themselves. So what’s the right answer?
That’s a good question! And it's why I'm doing this episode!
DON'T FORGET: I want to answer YOUR training and behavior questions on the pod. And I want to play your voices asking those questions. You've got two options:
Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Facebook, BlueSky, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].
The podcast currently has 63 episodes available.