What do you do when your dog is still here—but your heart already aches like they’re not?

In this honest and emotional solo episode, Em opens up about anticipatory grief—the deeply human experience of watching a beloved dog age, shift, or decline. It’s the grief that comes before the goodbye, and it’s something so few dog parents are prepared to navigate. Em shares her journey with Toby’s recent heart murmur diagnosis, and how it reshaped everything she thought she knew about presence, care, and emotional enrichment in a dog’s final chapter.

In this episode:

• Learn how to recognize anticipatory grief and give yourself permission to feel it

• Discover how slowness, softness, and presence become the most meaningful forms of enrichment

• Explore how the neuroscience of love and grief helps explain what you're feeling—and why it matters so much

Press play for a tender, truthful conversation that honors where you are—whether you're walking beside a senior dog, navigating a new diagnosis, or simply holding the weight of loving deeply

Straight Up Dog Talk Extras:

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This podcast explores real-life dog behavior and training through the lens of a canine nutritionist, dog coach, and retired vet tech—diving into reactivity, dog obedience, dog health, dog food, dog habits, dog lifestyle, canine enrichment, pet enrichment, dog myths, and what it actually takes to support reactive dogs safely and calmly. Whether you’re a dog mom navigating reactivity, building the human–dog bond, choosing dog products, or just trying to create a calmer dog life with your canine, you’ll find grounded strategies to build trust, improve dog behavior, and help your dog feel safe, understood, and supported.