Hound Opinions

Fact – senior dogs are awesome. There’s really nothing like a senior dog. They’re often happy to just spend time on the couch with you. They might let you sleep in on weekends. They don’t require super-long walks or play sessions to get their energy out.

What’s not to love, right?

But despite being amazing, senior dogs that wind up in shelters or rescues are often overlooked in favor of younger dogs and puppies. They’re some of the hardest dogs to adopt out. And that needs to change.

On the pod with Bill is Lisa Lunghofer. She's the executive director of The Grey Muzzle Organization. The mission of The Grey Muzzle Organization is to improve the lives of at-risk senior dogs by providing funding and resources to animal shelters, rescue organizations, sanctuaries and other nonprofit groups nationwide.

Find The Grey Muzzle Organization online at GreyMuzzle.org.

Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

So much of dogs’ communication comes in the form of body language. Tails, ears, eyes, mouths … all of them hold clues to what a dog is thinking and feeling at any given time.

But one of the hardest parts about reading a dog’s body language is that it happens fast. So it’s easy to miss subtle signs that can give you an indication of what’s going on in a dog’s head. And that can lead to misunderstandings between people and dogs, which can be dangerous.

On the pod with Bill is Lili Chin. Lili is an artist, author and illustrator and the mind behind the fabulous website doggiedrawings.net and the book Doggie Language: A Dog Lover's Guide To Understanding Your Best Friend. 

Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

Welcome to Season 3, y'all! 

Bill wanted to kick off the third season of Hound Opinions with something a bit different. But don't worry, he still talks about dogs a bit. 

If you’ve been following on social media, then you know that since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the “supreme” court, Big Wags Chicago has been regularly donating a portion of the proceeds of each walk and training session to the Midwest Access Coalition and Chicago Abortion Fund. To open Season 3, Bill wanted to shout out one of those organizations doing some of the work to make sure women and all people with uteruses have access to safe, legal abortion. Let's not forget - Abortion is health care. Full stop.

On the pod this time are Veronica Mucha and Madison Lyleroehr of the Midwest Access Coalition. Veronica is a volunteer with the organization, as well as working in immigration as a paralegal manager. In addition to her dog, Nora, she has two cats – Percival and Gertrude. Madison joined the Midwest Access Coalition in 2016 as a client coordinator and now serves as the treasurer of the board. This is a cool group and they're doing awesome work. Check out the Midwest Access Coalition online at midwestaccesscoalition.org.

Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

It's the final episode of Season 2, folx! Hound Opinions will be taking a break for the month of September, but Bill will be back with Season 3 on October 6. 

We see the term "self-care" tossed around a lot these days, especially on social media. Really, since the covid pandemic began, we've been talking about how important it is to practice. But the term "self-care" isn't particularly descriptive, is it? So it's hard to know what it actually entails. 

That's why Bill wanted to do this episode. It's a dog-adjacent topic that's important because if you're not caring for yourself, it's tough to care for your dogs. And on the flipside, dogs can be a central part of your self-care regimens. 

With Bill on the pod for the Season 2 finale is Sara Polk, LCSW-S. Sara is a very dear friend of Bill's from college (seriously, they each had a Beatles-themed radio show on their school's station) who is now a licensed mental health provider in El Paso, Texas, focused on providing trauma-informed care to survivors of crime and justice-involved youth. Outside of her day job, she's focused on giving her three rescue pups the lives they deserve. She's also an avid and award-winning cosplayer and all-around fantastic human. 

Bill and Sara break down what self-care actually is and why it's important, as well as how dogs factor into it.  

Big Wags Chicago is on the web at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

It's the second-to-last episode of Season 2, y'all! 

If you’ve been in certain veterinary offices or groomers, you might have seen some signage that says the clinic or groomer is “Fear Free Certified”. Ever wondered what that means? Fear Free is a philosophy dedicated to alleviating fear, stress and anxiety in pets by educating the people who care for them – including veterinarians, groomers, rescue and shelter staff and even pet parents – on how to provide their pets physical and emotional care to live happier, healthier and fuller lives.

On the pod with Bill is Mikkel Becker. Mikkel is the lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets and Fear Free Happy Homes as well as the host of the Happy Paws podcast. You can learn more about the Fear Free philosophy at fearfreepets.com and definitely check out Mikkel’s Happy Paws podcast by heading over to fearfreehappyhomes.com/podcast.

Big Wags Chicago is on the web at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

This is the second in the Rescue Spotlight series. This time, we talk to Patty Sampson, who's on the board of It's a Pittie Rescue. 

It’s a Pittie is entirely volunteer-run and is dedicated to rescuing, rehabbing and rehoming pitbull-type dogs. Find It’s a Pittie Rescue online at rescueapittie.org and by searching It’s a Pittie on social. 

Big Wags Chicago is on the web at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

The animal rescue world is in a bit of a crisis right now. If you Google “overcrowded shelters”, you’ll get recent news stories from all over the country about how shelters are packed to the gills with dogs and cats.

Shelters are already tough places for animals. They tend to be noisy. It’s hard for them to get the attention and enrichment that they need. The animals are under a lot of stress. They’re often in small enclosures for long stretches of the day. It’s not easy. And when this sort of overcrowding happens, it becomes even worse.

That’s why on this episode, we’re talking about fostering. Fostering animals is one of the best things you can do, especially in situations like we’re currently in. Bill's guest this time around is Ashley Gordon. She's been fostering dogs for Chicago's One Tail At a Time for about a year and a half. To date, she's taken in 12 dogs. 

Big Wags Chicago is on the web at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

This is the first in what we hope will be a recurring feature on Hound Opinions - Rescue Spotlight. It's always fun to shout out animal rescue organizations and the awesome work they do, and that's what Bill's doing this time.

On the pod this week is Erin Thompson. She's the marketing manager for Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation - the rescue founded in 1991 by White Sox manager Tony La Russa and his wife, Elaine. Since 1991, the Foundation has found families for more than 46,500 dogs and cats, performed more than 52,000 spay and neuter surgeries to combat overpopulation and 48 of their rescue dogs have become service dogs for military veterans.

Big Wags Chicago is on the web at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

It's that horrible, horrible time of year. That's right, folks. We're talking about fireworks season. At best, fireworks are annoying and for your dogs, they can be downright terrifying. 

On this episode, Bill talks about how to prep your house, your dog and yourself for fireworks and help make this terrible time of year a bit easier to handle. 

Big Wags Chicago is on the web at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].

There are an estimated 500,000 stray dogs roaming the streets and beaches of Puerto Rico. The island's shelter system is overwhelmed and with no access to food, fresh water, or veterinary care, many of these dogs are living daily lives of severe suffering.

Enter The Sato Project. The Sato Project is an organization dedicated to getting the stray dogs of Puerto Rico into happy, comfortable loving homes. On this episode, Bill talks to Tracy Warren, vice president of The Sato Project. Tracy talks about the work the organization does and gives some insight into the not-so-great circumstances a lot of the dogs come from (including a firsthand account of Dead Dog Beach - a Puerto Rican beach that for years has been THE spot for people to dump unwanted dogs). A quick content warning: While she doesn't go into graphic detail, this episode does contain talk of dogs that have been mistreated and abused. So be ready for it. 

You can find The Sato Project online at thesatoproject.org and on Facebook at facebook.com/TheDeadDogBeachProject.

Big Wags Chicago is on the web at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Twitter and Instagram at @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].