The Marty & Laura Show

When You Hear Hoofbeats… Think Zebras: Rare Dog & Cat Diagnoses Marty and Laura dig into veterinary “zebras”—unusual or easily-misdiagnosed conditions in dogs and cats . Using the classic medical rule “when you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras,” they explain what these rare presentations can look like, when they’re urgent, and why a complete history (boarding exposure, wildlife enco...

Helping Anxious Dogs (and Cats) Through Vet Visits & Holiday Chaos Holiday gatherings, noisy celebrations, and busy schedules can spike anxiety in dogs—and even cats. In this episode of The Marty and Laura Show , host Laura Reeves and veterinarian Dr. Marty Greer dig into the real-world challenges of anxiety, fear and stress-related behaviors in pets, especially during high-trigger seasons. Th...

Why Dogs Lick Their Feet (and What It Means) If your dog is constantly licking, chewing, or biting their feet, it’s not “just a habit.” In this episode, Marty and Laura break down what foot licking really signals , why the red-colored staining happens, and how to sort out environmental allergies vs. food sensitivities . You’ll learn why some dogs become “closet lickers,” why elimination diets must...

Kitty Litter Box 101: The Real Reason Cats “Miss” (and How to Fix It) The Marty and Laura Show with Dr. Marty Greer + Laura Reeves If you live with a cat, you already know the truth: litter boxes are not exactly glamorous. But as Marty Greer points out in this episode of The Marty and Laura Show , litter box issues are one of the most common reasons cats lose their homes — and that’s why this “un-...

Too LITTLE or Too MUCH: Addison’s vs. Cushing’s Disease in Dogs In this episode, Marty and Laura dive into two often-confused but fundamentally opposite adrenal diseases in dogs: Addison’s disease (hypoadrenocorticism) and Cushing’s disease (hyperadrenocorticism) . While both involve the adrenal glands, one is caused by too little hormone production and the other by too much . Marty explains the a...

Enjoying a Winter Wonderland with Your Pet Marty and Laura share great ideas for enjoying a winter wonderland with your pet. From snow angels to snow mountains to skijoring, they walk you through all the fun activities with a few safety precautions. Should your dog have outfits and boots for the cold weather? Marty and Laura have some pro tips and a few funny stories about outfit failures on their...

STINKY! Holiday Grooming Prevents an Embarrassing Problem Marty and Laura tackle a stinky problem for pet owners, explaining why holiday grooming can prevent an embarrassing situation. Anal glands are the dog’s version of the scent glands on a skunk. They also express those glands when they are nervous or afraid. The glands can also become impacted or infected. Pet owners can avoid the embarrassme...

Five Tips for Fun, Safe Holidays with Pets Marty and Laura offer up five pro tips for a fun and safe holiday with pets. Sidenote, keep your eyes peeled for Marty during the National Dog Show on NBC at noon Thanksgiving Day. Tip 1… Canned pumpkin, which may well be not entirely pumpkin, is great for dogs and cats! Give them a tablespoon in their food *before* you make the pie. Tip 2 … Making soup s...

Shout Out to Our Heroes: Responsible Pet Owners Marty and Laura are giving thanks and a shout out to the heroes of the week, responsible pet owners. These are folks who make sure their pets are fed and trained and vetted even when times are tough. This week’s giving thanks charity is No Pet Hungry America . “Millions of families across the country face impossible choices every day between paying r...

Giving Thanks: Science Helps Pets Live Longer, Healthier Marty and Laura give thanks for recent science breakthroughs that help our pets live longer, healthier lives. From decoding the canine genome to Artificial Intelligence, our pets are benefitting from scientific research. Organizations such as the AKC Canine Health Foundation support this research which benefits all dogs, purebred and mixed b...

Giving Thanks for Our Veterinarians Marty and Laura share their thanks for veterinarians and staff who sacrifice to care for our pets. “We know you're stressed,” Marty said of veterinarians and staff. “Your pet is sick. You were up all night cleaning up whatever it is that you had to clean up. And it's really hard to be gracious and to be lovely on the phone or in person when you're in that stress...

Giving Thanks for the Pets in Our Lives Marty and Laura kick off a month of giving thanks for the pets in our lives. Our animals brighten our days, bring us together with friends, provide companionship and comfort year round. So we decided to celebrate that special connection throughout November. Since November is the month of giving, we’re also highlighting a different organization dedicated to a...

“Howloween”: Costumes and Doorbells and Chocolates, Oh MY! Marty and Laura are joined by Glinda the Good Witch to talk about Halloween and the fun, as well as potential pitfalls, for our pets. “Everybody wants to address their pet up in a cute little costume,” Marty noted. “And you know, some of them are fine and the pets are comfortable in them and they're not scary and they're really cute. And s...

Fear Free Handling for Vets and Groomers Marty and Laura talk about the concept of fear free handling of pets by veterinarians and groomers. A concept popularized by veterinarian Dr. Sophia Yin , the reality of working with pets to lower their stress in new situations isn’t all that new, Marty noted. “I think fear free and low stress handling are important techniques. But this isn't new. And that'...

Diabetes is Manageable with Early Detection Marty and Laura discuss the challenges of diabetes in pets, how to prevent, diagnose and manage the disease. "Dogs that develop multiple episodes of pancreatitis, which is inflammation of the pancreas, they will oftentimes then become diabetic because there's so much scarring of the pancreas from the pancreatitis," Marty said. "If you have a dog that's d...

Heart Healthy Ideas for Pets Marty and Laura share heart healthy ideas for our pets from weight management to fitness to genetics. “We can't really talk about prevention without talking about genetics,” Marty said, “because from the very inception of a puppy, we can control their genetics to a certain extent. There are DNA tests. And there are phenotype tests that we can do for cardiac disease. “I...

ITCH! Ear Mites Cause Scratching and Permanent Damage Marty and Laura tackle the big itch of ear mites, how to prevent, diagnose and treat them in your cats (and even dogs.) “There are hundreds of mites in these cats ears, so it's no question that they are intensely itchy,” Marty said, while Laura opined the image was the stuff of nightmares. “When we see an ear infection in a cat,” Marty said, “i...

OUCH! Cruciate Ligament Rupture Prevention and Repair Marty and Laura tackle the painful topic of cruciate ligament ruptures in dogs. They talk causes, prevention, treatment and new research that’s giving hope to eradicating the painful condition specifically in Labrador Retrievers. “Statistically, five to 10% of Labradors will end up with a cruciate tear,” Marty said, “although there's a lot of v...

Why is My Dog Peeing So Much? Critical Kidney Care Info Marty and Laura tackle a huge subject with kidney diseases, symptoms and treatments. From diabetes to poison to communicable diseases, kidney health is critical to your pet. “A lot of people take kidneys for granted,” Marty says, “because they heard you can donate a kidney, so you must not really need to have two kidneys. You really do need t...

Myth Busting for Our Pets: “Natural” Does NOT Equal Safe Marty and Laura bust out on myths around “natural” products for our pets, whether they are useful, safe or actually hazardous. “All the eucalyptus and citronella and lavender and whatever it is that you want to spray on your dog is not going to actually successfully prevent external parasites,” Laura asked. “They may help a little bit,” Mart...

ALLLLL the Best Toys for Your Pets + Cat Food Marty and Laura drop their recs for all the best toys for your pets, from cat trees to “indestructible” dog chews. Plus, Marty delivers a round up on cat food and why cats eat what they do. “There's some nuances to cat food that are different than dog food. Cats apparently like things that are pointy and sharp in their mouths. Apparently cats like to e...

Love for Brachycephalic Breeds Marty and Laura share the love for brachycephalic breeds with information about feeding, managing their environment, health testing and more. Managing Feeding and Environment for Brachycephalic Dog Owners: What are brachycephalic dogs? Brachycephalic dogs are dogs with a short, wide skull. These include French Bulldogs, Pugs, English Bulldogs, Olde English Bulldogs,...

Confessions: ALLLLLL the Ways Our Dogs Have Embarrassed Us Marty and Laura share their most embarrassing stories with their dogs. From obedience exercises gone wrong to inappropriate public ejaculation, and many more incredibly awkward humiliations. “Dogs don't process things the same way we do,” Laura said. “If it feels good, it's good and so whatever it is that makes them feel good, which might...

Bloat: Know the Early Warning Signs Marty and Laura give you tips and tools to save your dog’s life in the case of bloat. Minutes count in this life-threatening condition, so knowing the early warning signs is critical. Bloat, also known as gastric dilation and volvulus, is a condition that knows no boundaries. It occurs in large breed dogs primarily, but it can happen in smaller dogs as well. Gas...

Examining the Power of the Human Animal Bond Marty and Laura examine the powerful human animal bond and how we can help our pets be healthier while they help us be healthier. The power of this ancient connection is documented at the Human Animal Bond Research Institute . "The value that pets bring to our lives," Laura said, "is they impact whether we go out and exercise with them because we need t...