Welcome, listeners! In today's episode we're going to be taking a look at our topic from a different angle than we usually do, and talk about some of the scientific research being done about working dogs. I had the chance to talk with Dr. Jessica Hekman, a veterinarian, computational biologist,  and Team Leader of the Working Dog Project, which is a collaboration between Darwin's Ark, the Theriogenology Foundation, and other organizations to, according to their website, push "a new era of ultra-large-scale dog genetic research that will dramatically expand our understanding of the complex genetics of both behavior and health." Listen in as Jessica talks about canine genetics and other science-y things!

On this podcast, we seek to highlight the work being done by working dogs of all disciplines. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to it, rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing with people you know who are interested in this topic. This show exists  in support of its sister photography project on the same topic and of the same name. You  can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

We are currently trying to determine the future of this podcast and would love your feedback. Please take a moment to fill out this survey, and be sure to leave your email address so we can keep you updated! You can also reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

Welcome, listeners! In today's episode I talk with Jeff Schettler, a living legend in the world of dog tracking. Jeff and I chat about his personal career, which includes having been a K9 handler for police departments in California, being attached to the FBI's Hostage Rescue Teams' K9 Assistance Program, being a trainer for military dog handlers, training law enforcement and search and rescue teams around the globe, and authoring four books to date. He also shares with us many wise nuggets gleaned from many decades in the industry, from basics such as what a tracking dog's job actually is and how they do it, to knowing how to accept failure as a necessity in this line of work, and musing on what dogs have to teach us as humans. If you're a dog handler yourself or just fascinated by the work of tracking K9's, you will not want to miss this insightful conversation with Jeff Schettler.

To learn about Jeff's school, purchase his books, or to contact him, visit his website: https://gak9.com/. 

On this podcast, we seek to highlight the work being done by working  dogs of all disciplines. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to it, rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing with people you know who are interested in this topic. This show exists  in support of its sister photography project on the same topic and of the same name. You  can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

We are currently trying to determine the future of this podcast and would love your feedback. Please take a moment to fill out this survey, and be sure to leave your email address so we can keep you updated! You can also reach out anytime at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

In this episode I invite you to come with me to Rancho Luna Lobos, a dog rescue and rehabilitation center/professional dogsled racing kennel that also offers educational dogsled tours in Park City, Utah. Join me as I meet Fernando and his wife, Dana, who founded and run the organization, and Amanda, one of their mushers who takes me and a few other adventure-seekers on a tour of the ranch behind a team of dogs. You'll meet 70+ dogs who have been given a second chance at life after not finding themselves to be suitable pets, and in danger of being homeless or put down, and chances are good that you'll learn a lot – just like I did – about dogsled racing.

For more information about Rancho Luna Lobos, which offers educational tours to the public as well as day camps for kids, visit www.lunalobos.com.

On this podcast, we seek to highlight the work being done by working  dogs of all disciplines. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to it, rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing with people you know who are interested in this topic. This show exists  in support of its sister photography project on the same topic and of the same name. You  can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

We’d love to hear your feedback, questions, recommendations and ideas concerning this podcast. Please reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

In this episode I share my conversation with Dr. Laurie Marker, founder and Executive Director of Cheetah Conservation Fund. Dr. Marker talks about how her organization employs dogs in Africa and around the world to help preserve the dwindling population of wild cheetahs. They use Anatolian shepherds and Kangal dogs to protect livestock from cheetahs, eliminating the need for farmers to have to kill cheetahs to protect their animals. They use Belgian Malinois and other breeds as detection dogs, to detect the scent of cheetah scat so that researchers can monitor the activities and eating habits of cheetahs. Dr. Marker also pioneered the use of dogs as companions for orphaned cheetahs in captivity, which you can see demonstrated at several zoos in the United States. As always, dogs are helping humans in a myriad of ways to accomplish a worthy goal, and Dr. Marker gives us a lot of fascinating insight that you won't want to miss out on!

For more information on what Cheetah Conservation Fund is doing and how you can get involved, visit www.cheetah.org. 

On this podcast, we seek to highlight the work being done by working  dogs of all disciplines. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to it, rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing with people you know who are interested in this topic. This show exists  in support of its sister photography project on the same topic and of the same name. You  can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

We’d love to hear your feedback, questions, recommendations and ideas concerning this podcast. Please reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

Happy New Year, listeners! On today's episode we have special guests Kentucky and Derby from Amazon Prime's show, The Pack! The Pack is very much like the show, The Amazing Race, only with a twist – instead of featuring teams of two humans on a worldwide race against competitors, the teams on The Pack are human/canine teams! On the show, Kentucky, a human from, you guessed it – the state of Kentucky! – teams up with his goldendoodle, Derby, to compete against eleven other human/canine teams as they travel the globe together tackling challenges. In this podcast episode, Kentucky gives us the inside scoop on what the adventure was like, from the logistics of traveling with twelve dogs to a favorite challenge he and Derby tackled together while in the race. He also gives us an update on what the two of them are up to now!

While Derby is not a working dog by definition, he is on a surf team, and now you could consider him a canine actor as well! We couldn't resist doing this fun episode!

If you want to follow Kentucky and Derby on their adventures or buy a sweet matching set of tie-dyed sweatshirts for you and the furry hero beside you, you can check them out at www.derbycalifornia.com or anywhere on social media @derbycalifornia!

On this podcast, we seek to highlight the work being done by working  dogs of all disciplines. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to it, rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing with people you know who are interested in this topic. This show exists  in support of its sister photography project on the same topic and of the same name. You  can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

We’d love to hear your feedback, questions, recommendations and ideas concerning this podcast. Please reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

Merry Christmas, listeners, I'm so glad you're here! Today's BONUS episode is my Christmas gift to you! 

Today, we’re going to broaden the umbrella of our topic just a bit to discuss dog sports. Competitive dog sports enjoy a huge following today, and even though dogs who compete in these sports do not necessarily qualify as working dogs, they and their handlers still put a lot of work and dedication into their craft, and I thought that they should be given some attention within the scope of this project. In the first episode, we went in depth about ring sports with dog handlers Kirsty and Allison, and I encourage you listen to that one as well. In this episode, you’ll get to hear from Lise Strum, dog trainer and owner of Agape Ranch Dog Sports, located in Southern California. Lise discusses dock diving, flyball, agility, frisbee, carting, and Schutzhund, but this list only scratches the surface of all the dog sports that exist. If you and your dog compete in sports together, or if you are interested in branching out into dog sports, this episode is for you! Lise also talks about ways that she is able to give back to the community through her business and her dogs, to organizations such as The Ddamien Project and Raising Hope Dogs. I hope you enjoy it!

Get in touch with Lise on Facebook or Instagram @agaperanchdogsports.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to it, rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing with people you know who are interested in the topic. This show exists in support of its sister photography project on the same topic and of the same name. You can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

I’d love to hear your feedback, questions, recommendations and ideas concerning this podcast. Please reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

Welcome, listeners, I'm so glad you're here! In today's episode you'll hear from Amy, an all-star mother of three, a flight test engineer, and a retired military spouse. Two of Amy's children have autism, and her son also has an autism assistance dog. Amy gives us insight into the world of autism and shares how life-changing her son's service dog has been. She shares her family's story with compassion, candor and humor, and if you want to, you'll learn a lot.

Amy's family is currently raising money for Raising Hope Dogs, the organization that provided their service dog. If you'd like to contribute to their campaign, you can do so here.

On this podcast, we seek to highlight the work being done by working  dogs of all disciplines. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider  subscribing to it,  rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing  with people you know  who are interested in the topic. This show exists  in support of its  sister photography project on the same topic and of  the same name. You  can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

I’d love to hear your feedback, questions, recommendations and ideas concerning this podcast. Please reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

Welcome, listeners! In this episode, I invite you to journey with me into a world where the gold standard of leadership in politics is demonstrated by a golden retriever! Tune in as I visit Mayor Max (the 2nd), who reigns supreme as the no kidding official mayor of the town of Idyllwild, California. According to Phyllis, one of his "chiefs of staff," Max's charter is "to help make the world a better place by conveying unconditional love and doing as many good deeds for others as possible," encouraging others to "use love as the basis for everything you do and say, even when it's difficult." Phyllis asserts that he only does "kind and loving things for others," including school and hospital visits (pre-COVID), animal rescue activism, tourism promotion for his town and fundraising for various charities. He's known around the world, has been featured on various media outlets and even had a documentary made about him! He loves you whether you are Republican or Democrat, because he's a dog, and loving is what he does best. Decked out in a cowboy hat and red necktie and ruling from the bed of a pickup truck, this is one working dog who has a unique job and a special mission: peace on earth. 

If you're ready to get behind a politician that everyone can agree on, you won't want to miss this episode! You can follow Mayor Max on Facebook, Instagram, or at http://www.mayormax.com/; and be sure to visit him next time you're in his neck of the woods!

On this podcast, we seek to highlight the work being done by working  dogs of all disciplines. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider  subscribing to it,  rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing  with people you know  who are interested in the topic. This show exists  in support of its  sister photography project on the same topic and of  the same name. You  can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

I’d love to hear your feedback, questions, recommendations and ideas concerning this podcast. Please reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

Welcome, listeners! In today's episode, I speak with Denise Sanders of the National Search Dog Foundation about disaster search dogs. Denise tells us about how SDF finds "rescued dogs that turn into rescuers" by searching for and finding suitable canine candidates in shelters, training them at their "Disneyland for dogs" training facility and eventually pairing them with first responders, so that as a team they can be deployed by their respective agencies after a natural disaster to find people who are alive and have been trapped underneath rubble or in other hidden places. Denise explains how these dogs are trained, what their "disaster city" facility is like, how they are paired with first responders, what a deployment can be like, and how you can help. You won't want to miss this episode!

You can check out what SDF is up to on their Facebook page here, or find the on Instagram @searchdogfoundation. Their website is: https://searchdogfoundation.org. You can read more about how the organization came to be by reading Hero Dogs, a book co-authored by the founder, Wilma Melville. 

On this podcast, we seek to highlight the work being done by working dogs of all disciplines. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to it,  rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing with people you know  who are interested in the topic. This show exists in support of its  sister photography project on the same topic and of the same name. You  can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

I’d love to hear your feedback, questions, recommendations and ideas concerning this podcast. Please reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.

In this episode, the name of the game is herding! I share with you excerpts from my conversation with Terry Parrish, who has been working with dogs to herd livestock for 35 years! She’s a dog trainer, dog handler, sheep trial judge, breeder, owner of Action K9 Sports in California and cofounder of American Herding Breed Association. She talks about how she got into herding and how the AHBA came to be, the differences between herding for trial and herding on a farm or ranch, how lots of breeds are herding these days, how difficult of a sport trialing is, and many other interesting tidbits. Stay tuned until the end, when I bring you with me to my first sheep herding lesson with my dog, Lucy, to see just how challenging it is!

Check out Terry’s work and get in touch with her at http://actionk9sports.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ActionK9Sports, YouTube, or Twitter.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to it, rating it, leaving a positive review, and sharing with people you know who are interested in the topic. This show exists in support of its sister photography project on the same topic and of the same name. You can learn more about that by visiting www.herobeside.me.

I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, recommendations and ideas concerning this podcast. Please reach out at [email protected] or on Instagram @herobesideme. Thanks for listening! Be sure to give the furry hero beside you some extra love today.