Val Talks Pets

Hi everyone, and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  It’s time to get back to our feline friends so in this episode I’m going to try and make sense of…are you ready…cat litter! You would think that cat litter would be a simple product that you just fill up the litter box with and away you go.  Well you would be surprised how many people have cat litter questions.  We get questions often a...

Hi everyone, welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  In this episode, let’s talk collars! Getting the right collar for your dog can sometimes be a bit of a challenge.   So, let me go through the various types of collars and their use and see if I can’t make things a bit easier when you go collar shopping. Thanks for listening! Please remember to follow or subscribe to ensure that you never mi...

 Hi everyone, and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  So, this is an episode that I knew was coming but I just didn’t know when.  In early 2020, the world was plunged into a Pandemic and we were all faced with lockdowns, remote learning for schools, closures of businesses, restaurants, and job loss as well as a new working from home schedule.  The working from home, created a huge exponen...

Hi everyone and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  On this episode I am going to explore how some breeds of dogs have been altered in physical appearance or temperament over time.  What some breeds originally looked like and what they look like now from breeding modification, is quite significant.  Why do they fool around with a dog’s genes?  Are these aesthetic changes really necessary...

 Hi everyone, and welcome as always to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  So, one of the issues I have seen a bit on the rise is an interesting one, considering in topics past I’ve talked a fair bit about getting new puppies and how to avoid the pitfalls when looking for a new puppy and the food and toys etc.  But, we can’t forget that many people have pets already and many of those cats and dogs a...

Hi everyone, and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets. Well we are launching into summer and I hope you accessed my episode on summer safety and tips.  So, to take things a bit further I thought I would go over some of the toys and treats that we can get for our pets, dogs in particular in this episode to make them have a happy and fun summer. Thanks for Listening! Please remember to follow...

Hi everyone and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  Well it is finally getting to some nice weather and where I am, spring has been a slow start.  But, summer is around the corner, so I thought I would go over some summer tips and things to think about.  I do have an episode on summer safety so please access that for full summer safety practices.  As well we know it is flea and tick seaso...

 Hi everyone and welcome to this spotlight episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  So, I have chosen a cat breed for this spotlight episode and I have a reason for choosing this one.  Many years ago, I was involved in some specific events with my local SPCA.  I was at the shelter and I went into the cat room just to look at the cats.  There was this little cat, beautiful white and sort of caramel colour, sup...

In this episode I once again have the pleasure of speaking with Joanne Carr, R.H.N, B.A., of Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals.  Joanne is a bilingual Registered Holistic Nutritionist with 15 years experience in the holistic health field. She lectures extensively at natural health product seminars for retailers and consumers across Canada. Joanne also Contributes to natural health publications such as V...

There are many reasons for why someone gets a pet and reasons why some people will never get a pet. But, there are also reasons for why people get certain types of pets or the timing for getting a pet. Well, I think this is a topic to weigh in on. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of pet ownership and  to make things easier I’ll break it down into dogs, cats, small animals, birds and reptiles...

 Hi everyone and welcome to this very special 50th episode!  That’s right, this is my 50th episode and in the scheme of things that is a drop in the bucket but when I look back, that’s a lot of episodes!  So, for this episode, I’m going to highlight some of my favourite topics and interviews and some best lines, in my opinion of the last 50 episodes.   Thanks for Listening! Please remember to foll...

Hello everyone and welcome to this spotlight episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  In these spotlight episodes I like to highlight a breed of dog or cat and talk about their history, personality etc.  I really enjoy looking at the different breeds of dogs and cats and looking at their special traits.   So, on this episode I am going to talk about a breed that is close to my heart because I had one of these...

In this episode, Belinda Smith, Western Ontario & Maritime Region sales representative for Horizon Pet Nutrition, helps decipher pet food labels and ingredients to help pet parents  make the best choice for their pet. Thanks for Listening! Please remember to follow or subscribe to ensure that you never miss an episode. You can support the podcast by purchasing a coffee, or two at our ko-fi pag...

Hi everyone and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  Well this episode is one that has caused controversy, mayhem with dog’s diets, and basically left many pet owners very confused as to what to feed their dogs.  I am talking about DCM, Dilated Cardiomyopathy.  If you haven’t heard of this yet, well maybe that means the panic and knee jerk reactions have settled down, or it just hasn’t rea...

On this episode I start off the New Year by deep diving into the world of Pet Food.  More specifically I'll be  taking the mystery out of what really constitutes that dreaded term 'Filler' that you see on the list of ingredients.   You may be surprised. Thanks for Listening! Please remember to follow or subscribe to ensure that you never miss an episode. You can support the podcast...

Welcome everyone to this special Christmas Eve episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  As many get ready for the festivities to come and Santa Paws is going to be making his rounds, I thought when we think of Christmas, what breed of dog springs to mind.  I’ve noticed that a lot of yellow labs and golden retrievers seem to be on Christmas cards and advertisements, so I think they seem to be a constant repres...

Hi everyone and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.    Well it is that time of year when holidays are upon us, whether you are celebrating Hanukkah or Christmas, our pets are usually included in all the festivities.  Our pets are part of the family, so just about every pet owner I know has their pet’s Christmas stocking hanging up to be filled by Santa Paws.   Special occasions like Christ...

Hello everyone and welcome to this spotlight episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  For this spotlight episode I thought I would have a look at the gentle giant of the cat world.  Who would this be?  Any guesses?  Ever heard of the Maine Coon? If not, let me introduce you! Thanks for listening! Please remember to follow or subscribe to ensure that you never miss an episode. You can support the podcast by pu...

Welcome to this special episode of Val Talk’s Pets. On this episode I’m very excited to have with me, returning guest, Danielle Forbes, co-founder and Executive Director of National Service Dogs.  Danielle has joined me to walk us through how specially trained service dogs have become vital to the well-being of many who live day to day managing their PTSD.  Together, we'll also take a look at...

Welcome to this spooky Halloween episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  It’s almost Halloween and what goes with Halloween but ghouls, witches and cats!! How on earth did cats, particularly black cats, get associated with Halloween?  Well let’s crawl onto a broomstick and swoosh into the folklore surrounding cats. Thanks for listening! Please remember to follow or subscribe to ensure that you never miss an...

Hi everyone, and welcome to another spotlight episode.  On this spotlight I will be taking a look at a simply gorgeous breed of cat, and one that I often hear people saying they have or are looking for.  Prepare to have your heart melted, as I talk about the Ragdoll Cat.  You can also visit my website for pictures of these cuties! Thanks for listening! Please remember to follow or subscribe to ens...

Hi everyone, and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  Have you ever had a situation with your pet where they appear to be  in pain, or they are eating grass or you know they have just ingested a large amount of something they shouldn’t?  It is such a horrible feeling for a pet parent when something is happening and you just do not know what to do. And I’m focusing here on the scenario wher...

Hi everyone and welcome to this spotlight episode on Val Talk’s Pets.  In this spotlight episode I’ve chosen to highlight one of my favourite breeds of dogs, and no I’ve never actually had one, but I love them and they are the West Highland White Terriers or Westies.  Westies are so cute and rugged wee things. I’m sure all my Scottish friends just loved Wee Jock from the TV series Hamish MacBeth,...

Hi everyone, and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets. As we all know, things are a bit different right now, and our time off and vacation plans are also quite different.  Many people are travelling within their own area or their own country, and this actually opens up a type of travel that many people have not done before and that is travelling with your pet. So in this episode, we'll...

Hi everyone, and welcome to this episode of Val Talk’s Pets.  This is a super exciting episode because my guest today is Dr. Rob Hillerby from Caledon Mountain Veterinary Hospital in Caledon Ontario Canada.  It’s a busy life for most veterinarians and they are relied upon so greatly by pet parents.  In the human world there are specialists for just about every condition but vets have to be able to...