5 Minute Dog Wellness

The clocks go back this Sunday, but your dog's body clock doesn't. Anna explains why the time change throws dogs off, how to shift meals and walks gradually, how to handle darker evening walks, and the simple anchor that keeps the week steady. Show notes: Why dogs run on light, hunger, and habit, not clocks The 15-minute shift, before or after the change Safer, calmer walks in the dark I...

Halloween can mean fifty doorbell rings in two hours and a step full of people who don't look like people. Anna explains what the night feels like from your dog's side, three simple moves for a calmer, safer evening, and what to start this week. Show notes: Why doorbell stress stacks up faster than it fades How costumes hide the signals dogs use to read people Setting up a quiet room bef...

Your dog's problem isn't the kennel. It's that nobody can tell him you're coming back on Sunday. What actually helps, and what doesn't. Most people book boarding by comparing facilities: space, webcams, heating. Almost none of it is what your dog will notice. His problem isn't the building. It's an open-ended absence with no information in it. Which makes the use...

Drooling and vomiting tell you almost nothing. Four questions that sort travel nausea from travel fear - and why the fix is completely different. He drools. He's sick. You've concluded he gets carsick and there's a good chance you're wrong. Nausea and fear produce nearly identical signs in dogs, because they run through the same physiology. Diagnosing from the drooling alone is...

Your dog had company for ten weeks. Then, in one morning, six hours of silence. Why the first week is the loudest - and how to shape it. Ten weeks of constant company. Kids home, doors opening all day, someone in every room. Then overnight: an empty house from eight until three, and no way for your dog to make sense of it. This isn't separation anxiety, it's whiplash. And it's not j...

The vet trip you both dread doesn't have to be. Meet cooperative care and the at-home steps that turn fear into "just a boring outing." The leash appears, your dog reads the room, and the dread sets in - trembling, planting their feet, hiding in the waiting room. For so many dogs, the vet is the scariest trip of the month. But it doesn't have to be. In this episode, Anna introd...

"A tired dog is a good dog" - except when it isn't. Why endless fetch can backfire, and how teaching rest builds a genuinely calmer dog. You've heard it a hundred times: just wear your dog out. So you run them, hike them, throw the ball forever - and somehow they're still wired at 9pm. What gives? In this episode, Anna takes on the tired-dog myth. It turns out constant hig...

That door-scratching, pacing panic when you leave isn't spite - it's separation anxiety. Here's what it really is and what genuinely helps. You reach for your keys and your dog's whole body changes - the pacing, the whining, the guilt that follows you out the door. If that's your morning, you are far from alone. In this episode, Anna breaks down separation anxiety: why it&...

Barking and lunging on walks isn't aggression - it's usually fear. Here's what it really means, and what trainers say actually helps. Your dog spots another dog down the street and suddenly turns into a barking, lunging whirlwind - and you're left apologizing and wondering, "why is my dog so aggressive?" Here's the good news: in most cases, it isn't aggressi...

The rare calming herb that's been studied in dogs and what the research really says.  Most calming herbs marketed for dogs have never actually been tested on dogs. Lemon balm is the rare exception. In this episode of 5 Minute Dog Wellness , host Anna digs into a 2025 study on lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis ) and what it found: dogs given a daily extract got calmer over a few weeks - without...

Does your dog pace, pant, or hide the moment a storm rolls in - sometimes before you've heard a single rumble?   You're not imagining it. Dogs can hear, and even feel, a thunderstorm coming long before we do. In this episode, Anna breaks down what's really going on when storms send your dog into a spin and the simple, practical things you can do to help them through thunder season....

A quick pre-4th-of-July prep list - because more dogs go missing this week than any other.  More dogs go missing around the Fourth of July than at any other time of year and a few small things, done ahead of time, can keep yours safe. Between the fireworks, the crowds, the grill smells, and the gate that keeps getting left open, Independence Day is genuinely overwhelming for a lot of dogs. And she...

Why heat is harder on dogs than you think. Plus the updated first aid that could save a life.  A heatwave isn't just uncomfortable for your dog, it's genuinely stressful, body and mind. When a dog overheats, their whole system goes into overdrive trying to cool down, and that strain shows up as restlessness, pacing, and the kind of low-grade stress that quietly wears on their health. In...

Your dog is telling you they're stressed; you're probably just missing the signs. Most stress signals look almost exactly like normal dog stuff: a yawn, a lip-lick, that full-body shake-off when they're bone dry. In this episode of 5 Minute Dog Wellness , Anna breaks down the subtle tells to watch for, why you should look for clusters of signals rather than single ones, and a simple...

Over 80% of dogs show signs of fear or anxiety — and most of us are reading it completely wrong. In this first episode of 5 Minute Dog Wellness , host Anna unpacks what's really going on when your dog won't settle, barks at the door, or comes apart when you leave. What's the difference between stress and anxiety? Is your dog being "naughty," or telling you something? And w...