Naked Diner Podcast

A few weeks ago, Andy Hall of the Naked Diner Podcast asked me to participate in a discussion.

Now, this is not exactly my typical audience. Generally, I tend to talk with dog people, schools, or present to pet-related podcasts. This particular podcast is a comedy podcast but they have had amazing guests, such as Trae Crowder and W. Kamau Bell.

So, when in Rome...

The questions we addressed in this particular discussion went from "So, are puppy mills bad?" and "can dogs take pot?" to, "What's a Blue tick? Is that a dog or is someone on the Internet Rick Rolling me?"

Oh, and we all swear like Pirates, so if that's not your jam, you might want to sit this one out. But if you are into the NSFW interviews and also want to hear a dog trainer talk about dogs to a not-dog-training audience, then here you go!

We start the conversation at 9:00 with perhaps my favorite quote from Andy. 

"I posted on my personal Facebook page about talking about dogs. You know? We've had a lot of people, famous people on this podcast and no one ever has questions...You mention dogs, and everyone comes out of the woodwork."

This was perhaps the most fun I've ever had talking publically about dogs, how to become a dog trainer, how I got started as well as what dominance theory is (and more importantly, why it's bunk!) and all the soapboxes you have known and loved on this blog for the last 11 years. They are addressed in full, with both seriousness and humor. It was a joy!

So,  Andy and Jack? Thanks so much! See you guys again soon!
 -M3

Can Dogs Smell Cancer?

Everyone knows that dogs have a great sniffer - so great, they've been working in police departments and airports to catch everything from contraband, to drugs, to missing persons and cadavers. Dogs are used in many fire departments to track accelerants in cases of suspected arson. Now, dogs are moving into a new field of work to aid humans- the field of medicine.

There was a great Science Friday episode recently in which the topic was on dogs that can smell colo-rectal cancer with 98% accuracy. Click here for the transcript and the podcast version of this story


Paging Dr. Fido, paging Dr. Fido....

The Christmas Puppy

There was a podcast last year that I wanted to post for Christmas, and forgot. Now, that time of year has come around again, and I wanted to make sure I got it posted this year.

As a dog trainer, my puppy classes generally slow down in December. Sure, there are the shelter dog puppies that come through the ranks, but this is the quiet time of year for puppies. Good breeders will set their pups to go in the spring or summer, so the young dogs are housebroken in time for winter (house training a dog in New England in JANUARY really sucks). But what about that Christmas Puppy for your sweetheart, kids, or single family member looking for a friendly companion? 9 times out of 10, I would suggest no - and here's why, courtesy of Jolanta Benal of Quick and Dirty Tips.

Do Puppies Make Good Christmas Gifts?

Quick And Dirty Tips

I've posted before about "The Dog Trainers Quick And Dirty Tips" podcast on iTunes. Today's podcast was especially interesting - I learned a lot from it regarding digging dogs.

Listen/Read the episode here

I love Earth Dog - I think it's a fantastic way to help your small terrier type dog do what it was bred to do in a humane, safe, and fun way. I have suggested this to several clients - and luckily, in the Boston Area, there is Go Play in Arlington, which often has Earth Dog classes.

But for your big dogs trying to escape heat, or the brachycephalic dogs (any dog with a pushed in face, such as Pug, Boston Terrier, French Bulldog, etc) digging is a way to stay cool. Keep your dog indoors during the heat of the day, provide lots of shade, water, and ice cubes to help keep your pup cool.

There were a lot of other interesting points, ranging from roaming males, pseudo pregnancy cases where digging was a nesting behavior, gate chargers looking for a way to get on the other side of the fence - and how to cope with these digging behaviors.

Like all behaviors, it's easiest to make a plan based on the WHY a dog is reacting in a certain way before just doing a blanket treatment without addressing the cause of the behavior.

So give the podcast a listen to - I really like the things she addresses. You may even find that your questions are answered in her short podcasts!

Boston Dogs in the News!

Boston Going To The Dogs!

Preview for the audio segment discussing the human relationship with dogs, and examining ways for the city of Boston to be bit more friendly to the K9 persuasion.