PetAbility Podcast

Hop along with Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Vice President and Education Chair for The House Rabbit Connection, as she discuss the commitment it takes to have a pet rabbit. This includes bunny-proofing your home, appropriate housing, proper diet, handling & bonding, and toys & enrichment. These endearing fluff balls may be too cute to resist, but it may surprise you to learn that these seemi...

Austin Roo is just like any other dog; he plays, he hikes, he swims, he only has hind legs, he stars in a national commercial... Wait, what? Yes, this rescue mutt's super power is his ability to inspire. He is fast becoming an Instagram sensation and you might have already seen him in his front-wheeled cart on the Bissell commercial. But according to his people, at the end of the day, he is j...

Ahhhh.... the laying on of the hands, therapeutic touch, massage - it's more powerful than you might think. Listen to Cathy and Chris describe preparing for a massage session with your pet, getting your pet's consent, the myriad of massage benefits, specific massage techniques, and generally how to get the most out of  the time spent massaging your pet. Packed with information, your meth...

My dog is really fit because I take him for a walk EVERY day. False! According to founder, Rich Allen, true fitness requires attention to strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility. But what does this mean when it comes to your pet and how do you implement it? His creation, Pet. Fitness , a premier pet fitness website,  does all the "heavy lifting" for you! Their programs don't r...

Wink, is a beautiful pit bull aptly named due to her "perma-wink." She lost her eye at 5 weeks old and doesn't see far away or in low light very well with the remaining eye. She is also completely deaf, likely linked to her pure white coloring and unethical breeding practices. It is a miracle that Wink escaped euthanasia as a young pup. But according to Wink and her owner Anneliese,...

Fear Free® is an educational company whose mission is to alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress in pets. Sounds simple enough, but it turns out that despite our good intentions, we've actually been doing things wrong, as veterinarians, pet professionals, and owners. By learning to listen to pets through their body language and putting ourselves in their place so as to see the world through their...

Meet Dr. Schoenberg, a vet whose unique practice is solely dedicated to hospice and palliative care. To paraphrase her website, hospice is a philosophy that shifts the focus of care away from finding a cure and towards providing comfort, peace, quality of life, and freedom from pain when the pets we love are facing terminal illness or advanced aging. As our pets are living longer and surviving dis...

Chris and Cathy talk often about enrichment in their podcast.  But what exactly is enrichment for our pets? Listen to animal enrichment expert, Amanda Shyne, help us understand why enrichment is not simply a nice to have but a need to have . Enrichment is the action of improving the quality of something - in our case, an animal's life. Enrichment brings joy and makes our pets feel alive, a ne...

Vital Vet is a comprehensive, online platform on a mission to eradicate the words, "if I had only known" from our vocabulary. The platform offers over 500 products, as well as physical rehabilitation consults, blogs, videos, online education, and so much more. Aimed at pet parents, physical rehabilitationists, and all veterinary professionals, this vast hub of information  provides one-s...

Did you know that there is good inflammation and bad inflammation? The good inflammation is your friend, necessary for healing from injury or recovering from illness. The bad inflammation is your enemy, it lingers too long, causing persistent pain, unhealthy compensations, and fatigue amongst other things. Listen to Chris and Cathy's lively banter about inflammation to learn how to control in...

Prepare to be inspired as you learn about pets living with three limbs. The thought of your beloved pet losing a limb is devastating and scary.  Bringing them home after amputation is often overwhelming and a bit shocking. Turning to a community of pet owners for support and resources who have traveled this path before you can make all the difference. You will find this and more at Tripawds.com -...

Most dogs that drown do so from exhaustion. This episode introduces an innovative collar, called HedzUpPets watercollar, that can save your dog from drowning, even if they lose consciousness. A typical doggie life vest cannot. Exhaustion can develop when dogs are unable to extricate themselves from a pool or they start swimming across the lake after those ducks. Sometimes the intention may not be...

If you’re listening to PetAbility, then you’ve likely had a fantasy at some point in your life about having a rescue, likely for dogs, cats, or even farm animals. But I bet you never dreamed of having a fish rescue!! Dive in as fish rescuer extraordinaire, Gwendolyn Church of Friends of Philip Fish Sanctuary, tells us what it takes to properly care for fish while dispelling myths and bringing tons...

Buddy’s downward dog stretch you see in the early morning is integral to his overall wellness. Stretching maintains or increases the flexibility of soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments, joint capsules, etc.) and helps to prevent injury by prepping the body for activity. Proper flexibility makes any movement easier. Pets tend to lose flexibility as they age or as a result of an injury – both s...

What do you get when you take people and dogs of all shapes and sizes and ask them to race through an obstacle course? AGILITY! Of course, there's lots more to it than that, but agility is fundamentally about enhancing the relationship with your dog. Essentially, you learn to talk to one another!  You learn how to read their signals, motivate them, and communicate your desired outcome through...

So your dog has an injury? Lesson one: the nervous system is adaptable. Lesson two: don't be afraid to touch your pet! It does more than you might ever imagine. Whether it’s a neurologic or orthopedic injury, providing sensory input can help the body to heal faster and more fully. Sensory input is smell (a huge part of the dog's brain in devoted to this so give them something savory to s...

What do you mean you've never had a pet tortoise? Well, neither have we! Listen to pet parent, Kasey Kuchinski, talk all about what its like having a tortoise for a pet. There's lots to ensuring that a tortoise like Ethel thrives. For Kasey and her husband, Dan, having Ethel is a match made in heaven. Every aspect of Ethel's care is addressed from diet to habitat to enrichment activ...

Chiropractic for pets? Yup, it’s a thing. A really good thing! If you notice that your pet is not moving quite right or is holding themselves oddly, chiro may be the answer. And its not what you may think in terms of snap, crackle, pop. It’s a very gentle manual technique that our furry family members are surprisingly amenable to. Why? Because it makes them feels better! Listen to Linda Rogers, DV...

Dogs navigate their environment through their amazing sense of smell. So why not utilize this natural gift through practicing nose and scent work with your canine companion?  It doesn't have to be formal or fancy, although there are classes and competitions aplenty. This relatively new sport (~2007) uses the canine olfactory system to solve problems and instill confidence. Moreover, EVERY dog...

Of course, none of us wants to think that we are actually punishing our pets! But in truth, punishment is simply anything that results in a decrease of a behavior either by adding something (positive punishment, perhaps a verbal reprimand) or removing something (negative punishment, maybe taking away a coveted toy). So we are all likely to be inadvertently punishing our pets without realizing it....

Is Rover looking a little heavier than usual? Have you found yourself dipping into the treat jar more often – especially during COVID? Turns out that keeping your pet trim is directly correlated with quality and length of life.  The equation for consistent weight is simple and familiar: calories in = calories out. But there are a host of items that can upset this balance. Listen to Cathy and Chris...

There is a lot of "buzz" going around about the use of CBD to help our pets. Listen to Josh Sosnow, DVM, share his vast knowledge about CBD. We address what is known and unknown, but its potential use is immense and evolving. The use of CBD to help your pet’s osteoarthritis, anxiety, cancer, allergies, or seizure disorder is certainly worth exploring with your vet; however, the primary c...

To go from normal vision to completely blind within days is what happens to dogs with Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome or SARDS. This disease is extremely scary and confusing, for both dog and owner. Unfortunately, SARDS is a syndrome with more questions than answers, but Dr. Freya Mowat, BVSc. Ph. D DECVO DAVCO, dedicates her work to learning more about this disease and other eye iss...

If you've ever had a sick or injured pet, you don't want to be scrambling around to find the items needed to provide immediate necessary care. Plan ahead by making or buying a first aid kit that includes everything that you might need in one place. Easy-peasy! Cathy and Chris share their ideas about what your kit should include and why. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth...

We all know what proper etiquette is, but have you ever thought about proper petiquette with your dog? Let's be real, it is an absolute privilege to partner with our pet in the community. Let's not blow it - manners really do matter!! Listen as Amy Campbell, certified professional dog trainer, shares her tried and tested tips and useful insights as it pertains to appropriate greetings wi...