Believe in Dog

Holiday Giving Campaign:  Let’s help Cara Achterberg (Episode 75)  provide her newest book Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories & Solutions for FREE to America’s shelters and rescues!   What If you could solve your dog’s biggest behavior challenge TODAY? Dog trainer Juliana DeWillems says that while immediate results usually aren’t possible in dog training – they can be when we use management techniques.  In her new book Manage It! Hacks for Improving Your Dog’s Behavior, Juliana shares how us Pet Parents can easily solve many of our dog’s behavior challenges by changing our environment.   Juliana explains different approaches to managing our dog’s behavior when greeting holiday visitors at your home as well as dealing with reactive dogs.  Her book even includes charts, worksheets, photos and videos (via QR code) to help you find the best hacks for your unique home, life and challenges. We’ll discuss the difference between training and management – and when to use each one (or both!).  Juliana & I also share some of our favorite management tools and techniques that we use with our own dogs.   Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at:https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode109   Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist. Support this podcast, subscribe on your favorite app and leave a rating or review.

In this solo episode, Erin is celebrating one year since their family adopted Nessie – which hasn’t always gone according to plan.   Erin shares the story of how Nessie joined their family and what she wishes they had done differently in the meet & greet process. Erin also reveals what Nessie has taught her – not just about training dogs but about herself, too.  And this lesson might be something you’ve never heard before.   Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist. Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM. Support this podcast, subscribe on your favorite app and leave a rating or review.

Has your dog ever helped you through a hard time in life?  Your answer  is most likely a resounding YES, right? Author Christopher Dale credits Vector, his rescued “sato” dog from Puerto Rico, with helping him start a new chapter in life after going through hard times.  Like really hard times.  Like life-changing medical diagnosis turned depression turned addiction turned nearly blowing up his marriage-type hard times. Chris became curious if other people were having a life-changingly special relationship with their rescue dog too.  In his book “We Saved Each Other: How Rescue Dogs Help Us Through Hardship,” Chris mixes in his own memoir reflections with profiles of other rescue dog adopters to explore experiences such as trauma, grief, addiction and mental health challenges and examine the role of their dogs in their journey. (Trigger warning for ongoing discussion of these themes throughout the episode.) "Courageous Vulnerability" is the phrase I kept thinking while reading "We Saved Each Other".  I admire Chris and all those who share their stories for the vulnerability it takes to share some of the messier parts of life.  And I thank Chris for holding space for me to share a part of my life that I don’t usually talk about, as well. Chris also shares with us what he’s learned about the condition of sato dogs in Puerto Rico, the work of The Sato Project nonprofit organization and what he knows about Vector’s early life. My hope is for this episode to be a reminder that despite our differences, we’re all going through the same types of challenges in this human experience. Find photos, links & show notes at:https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode107   Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist. Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM. Support this podcast, subscribe on your favorite app and leave a rating or review.

Have you ever thought about your pet parenting philosophy? Maybe you have an idea in your head of what you want your relationship with your dog(s) to look like, but how would you describe it? A few months ago, on an Amazon recommendation & a whim, I bought Debby McMullen’s book How Many Dogs?! Using Positive Reinforcement training to Manage a Multiple Dog Household.  And I loved the book so much, that I had to find Debby and bring her on the podcast. Debby is known for sharing her life with multiple dogs. Working as a dog trainer since the late 1990s, Debby developed a niche in the dog training world helping families introduce & integrate new dogs into multi-dog households. Debby shares – what I will call – her “ pet parenting philosophy” and it’s the closest explanation I’ve seen to how I feel about my relationship with my dogs.  We discuss what this looks like through setting boundaries and the importance of routines & predictability for establishing trust with a new dog in your home. So are you ready to introduce a new dog to your family?  Whether you are or aren't, Debby identifies important body language and training cues that are helpful for any & every pet parent.  We also discuss how to teach your dog good behavior without needing a clicker! Debby & I also dive into the dynamics of multi-dog households – from navigating meal times to giving individual time & attention to refereeing playtime to dealing with any problems that arise. So how many dogs is too many dogs?  While that answer changes from family to family, Debby reveals factors for you & your family to consider when making this decision. Find photos, links & show notes at:https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode106   Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist. Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM. Support this podcast, subscribe on your favorite app and leave a rating or review.

Has your dog ever shown fear, anxiety or reactivity?  If your dog hasn’t, I’d be willing to bet that you know someone whose dog is dealing with one of these issues. Returning guest Dr. Zazie Todd is a psychologist who digs into the science of dog behavior to help us make the best decisions for our dogs. Her new book, Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful or Reactive Dog is going to help so many dogs & their people.  And I’m so thrilled that she’s here to share her insight with us. Have you ever heard that it’s wrong to comfort your dog when you they’re showing signs of fear?  This is just one of the outdated dog training myths that Zazie helps us myth bust.  So what should we do to help our fearful dogs?  Zazie shares how we can create a safe space for our dogs and how to be their safe person. From gaining the trust of a fearful dog to adjusting our own expectations of our dog’s behavior, Zazie & I dive into the best practices to help our dogs who struggle with the world around them. I also share some challenges & lessons learned from my own dogs’ fears, anxiety and reactivity – the things we’ve gotten right and the areas where we need to keep learning.   Find photos, links & show notes at:https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode105   Get your free checklist: Join Erin the Dog Mom's email list to receive the 12 Changes in Your Dog to Never Ignore checklist. Teef: The easiest way to improve your dog’s dental health is with a spoonful of Teef powder in their water.  Save 20% on your Teef orders when you use the code: ADM. Support this podcast, subscribe on your favorite app and leave a rating or review.