Straight Up Dog Talk: Support for Reactivity, Dog Food & Burnout — Training, Nutrition & Enrichment

Loving an Aging Dog: Grief, Neuroscience, and the Power of Choosing Presence Over Panic


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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.


You'll Learn

  • 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:

Get a free copy of Feeding without Fear for mealtime manners

⁠https://straightupdogtalk.com/programs-%26-freebies/ols/products/feeding-without-fear⁠


Book FREE 15-minute call with Em

https://tinyurl.com/tdwafmbooknow


Email [email protected] to get in touch with Em


This podcast explores real-life dog behavior and training, diving into reactivity, barking, dog anxiety, aggression, picky eating, gut health, and dog food—while unpacking enrichment, mental stimulation, supplements, calming aids, and holistic pet wellness. Whether you’re raising a rescue dog, supporting a senior dog, managing a velcro dog, or just navigating life with a dog who’s asking for more, you’ll find practical tools to build trust, strengthen communication, and create a safe, thriving life together.

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Straight Up Dog Talk: Support for Reactivity, Dog Food & Burnout — Training, Nutrition & EnrichmentBy Emily Breslin | Dog Training, Behavior, and Nutrition Coach

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