Paws and Reflect
Haley, Sean, and Scout of Paws and Reflect
Recent Episodes
'Tis the season for holiday family time! We talk about how it can be (counterintuitively) harder to advocate for our dogs around loved ones than strangers, that it's okay to focus on humans-only activities sometimes, what our visits have looked like lately, and my very best advice for anyone who gets overwhelmed at social gatherings 🚐😉
Related links:
- How We Handle Traveling to See Family With Our Dog — older blog post about our logistics before we lived in a van
- Why I’m Risk Averse With Family Dog-Dog Interactions — recent reflections on separating Scout from my parents' pets
- Why I Love to “Leave The Dog Behind” — sometimes it's best for everyone!
- Leaving Our Dog Alone in Our Van: Safety & Temperature Control — how we keep Scout safe if we do stuff without her
Sean and I sit down to talk about the ways I've struggled with ego, self-righteousness, and external opinions in life with Scout, including where I think the pressure came from initially. I feel more confident about our life together today than ever before — but wow, has it been a journey to get here.
Some blog posts that address similar topics:
- What Level of Obedience is "Good Enough" For My Dog?
- Is My Dog My Mirror? Yes and No
- Worst Moments in My Dog Ownership
- Working Through My Biggest Dog Ownership Flaw
- Why Does Your Dog Need To Do… Well, Anything?
Our "What's Right for YOU" Instagram guide compiles related posts, too.
Probably one of our least organized episodes to date (yes, that says something haha...) BUT Sean and I finally recorded another podcast!
We reflect on our recent visit to New York City with Scout. Urban dogs & their people face so many challenges every day — it made me think about how adaptable our companions can be, how much work goes into taking good care of a canine in a city, how our environments affect our training goals & choices, and how different our life with Scout might have looked if we lived in a place like that full time.
Related links:
- I summed some of these high level thoughts up in a blog post called "An Ode to Big City Dogs"
- This article shares overall reflections on navigating NYC with our van
- My friend Karoline (Dog Mom Mentality) did a podcast series not too long ago interviewing dog owners who live in a range of different environments — she & her guests provide some much more organized insights!