Rescue Tails

In this episode, I chat with Maxine Easey about how our animals learn and how different training approaches impact their emotional states and experiences. 

Max is the founder of Horse Charming and she has been training horses and their owners since 2007. 

You’re probably wondering why I’m interviewing a horse trainer on a podcast about rescue dogs! Well, it’s because Max is a leading authority on force free training and how animals learn and she's studied and worked with some of the world's leading trainers.

In this episode, we talk about how our dogs perceive the world around them, the importance of understanding your dog’s hierarchy of needs and why it’s so important to understand our own emotions and how they impact how we treat our dogs. 

To find out more about Max and her work, visit her website Horse Charming. 

For more content like this and to be part of the Rescue Tails community, come join the Rescue Tails group on Facebook.

In this episode I chat with Andrew Hale, about the emotional experience of our rescue dogs and how we, as dog parents, can better support our furry friends to work through some of their emotional challenges.

Andrew explains why it is so important that we understand the underlying causes of our dogs’ behaviour rather than just trying to ‘fix’ the behaviours.

We also talk about how you can help your rescue dog to settle in the first few weeks of bringing it home and Andrew shares some of the dos and don'ts!

Andrew is a Certified Animal Behaviourist with more than 10 years’ experience working in animal behaviour. He follows a Dog Centred Care approach, working with empathy and compassion to try and understand why a dog is exhibiting the behaviours the dog owner might concerned about. 

You can find our more about Andrew via his website and his Facebook group Dog Centred Care.

As always I hope you enjoy this episode! If you have a rescue tail you’d like to share on the podcast, reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram on rescuetails.co  

In this episode I chat with Nadine Hagar, about her rescue dog Zoey. 

Nadine fostered Zoey when she was 6 months old. Like many of us who start off as a fosterer, she fell in love with Zoey and decided to adopt her and be her forever home. 

Now seven years on, Nadine shares the ups and downs of her journey with Zoe and the lessons she’s learnt as a first time adopter. 

As always I hope you enjoy this episode! If you have a rescue tail you’d like to share on the podcast, reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram or email me on  [email protected].   

In this episode, I'll be sharing a short story about how my rescue dog, Rosa, had me completely fooled with the behaviour she recently learned. You know that saying "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me"? Well, keep that in mind. As you listen to this one! 

In this episode I chat with Sally Adly about how we can communicate more effectively with our rescue dogs. When you bring your dog home, it will probably feel overwhelmed and quite scared. But it takes time for a dog to settle in its new home and it’s so important to learn how to listen to and respond to your dogs needs beyond the basics of food and shelter. 

Sally also talks about the importance of taking a force free or punishment free approach to training. She shares some interesting research that shows the negative impact of using aversive or forceful approaches to training. This is such an important topic for all dog owners. 
And I would urge anyone who is working with trainers who suggest they use things like shock collars, choke chains, hitting the dog or any force/punishment to look at what the evidence shows. You really are putting yourself and your dog at risk with these approaches. 

Here are the research papers Sally referenced in our conversation: 

Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors

Efficacy of Dog Training With and Without Remote Electronic Collars vs. a Focus on Positive Reinforcement

Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare

 
Sally is the founder of Kelabi, a free educational platform that helps dog owners understand more about canine communication. She is also the founder of Egypt’s top rated dog hotel where she hosted and worked with hundreds of dogs over the years.

You can find them on Facebook or Instagram. 

As always, I hope you enjoy this episode! If there is a topic you'd like us to cover in future episodes, reach out to me on [email protected].

Welcome to the Rescue Tails podcast, the show dedicated to helping you settle your adopted rescue dog.

In this episode I chat with Amina El Shazly about the changing perception of stray dogs in Egypt and why more people are opting to adopt rather than shop.

Amina is the co-founder of Leaf Animals, an organisation that helps alleviate the pressure on rescue centres and individuals by helping them find forever homes for the animals in their care.

Amina did her masters thesis on Egypt's Baladi dog (Baladi is the term used to refer to strays in Egypt. It translates to 'my country' but unfortunately the term is now often used to describe things that are tacky or unwanted). 
Through her research she found that these animals were once very highly regarded by ancient Egyptians and often even buried with them. She explains how the stigma of adopting Baladi dogs and cats is starting to die down slowly. 

I'm half Egyptian and I lived in Egypt for 18 years so I've seen first hand how dreadful life can be for Egypt’s stray animals with everything from sanctioned poisoning campaigns to pet abandonment and road accidents.

Awareness and interest in animal welfare in Egypt is on the rise and more people are choosing to adopt rather than shop. However, there is still an informational gap and many people struggle to settle their adopted rescue. I'm sure the work Amina and many others are doing will change this over time.  

As always, I hope you enjoy this episode and if you'd like me to cover specific topics on future episodes of the podcast, drop me an email at [email protected]. 

Welcome to the Rescue Tails podcast, the show dedicated to helping you settle your adopted rescue dog! 

In this episode, I chat with Richard Maxim Walter about how you can choose the right rescue dog for you. All dogs need daily mental and physical exercise as well as emotional support. But depending on the breed or breed mix and the background of the dog, they might need significantly more than what you might be prepared to or able to offer them. 

We talk about the specific questions you need to ask the shelter before adopting to make sure you're aware of any potential emotional, behavioural or health issues. 

Richard is a certified dog trainer at Club Canino Sant Cugat in Spain, and he is a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals. He's also currently working on his certification from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. 

As always, I hope you enjoyed this episode. And if there were any specific topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes of Rescue Tails, drop me an email at [email protected] or reach out to me on our Facebook page or website.

You can find out more about The Flaneurs Barcelona, check out their website and you can follow them on Facebook and Instagram.