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 life with dogs and life with pets, focusing on the dog–human bond and what it truly takes to bond with your dog through dog enrichment, behavior guidance, dog reactivity support, reactivity awareness, reactive dogs, reactive dog training, calming reactive dogs, dog training, dog training tips, training rescue dogs, pet training, dog obedience, dog behavior, dog behaviour, dog socialization, dog barking, dog habits, dog health, dog life, dog myths, and positive reinforcement for all dogs — rescue dogs, velcro dogs, anxious dogs, reactive dogs, high-energy dogs, big-feeling dogs, and family pets. Hosted by a canine nutritionist, nutrition coach, dog coach, dog coaching specialist, and retired vet tech, each episode covers dog food, canine enrichment, dog training, dog nutrition, canine nutrition, dog gut health, dog grief, dog products, and science-backed routines that help dogs feel safer, healthier, calmer, and more understood. You’ll discover practical steps, enrichment ideas, behavior strategies, and daily habits to support any dog and create a more confident, connected life with dogs.