Your Family Dog Podcast

Two of YFD's favorite guests are back! Animal behavior experts Zazie Todd and Marc Bekoff join Tina today to discuss all the things we humans misunderstand about our dogs, their behavior, the best way to work with them. Pull up a chair and tune in for a conversation you won't want to miss!  For show notes and more, please go to Your Family Dog

‪@YFDPodcast‬ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@YFDPodcast Incorporating Toddlers & Dogs - Building the Sweetest Bonds  Guest Biography Aishlyn is a professional dog trainer and a newish mom…. When she is a guest we explore things Aishlyn is incorporating to help Delilah (15 mos) and Noir & Vega be more successful together.  Time Stamps -  0:00 Welcome to Part 2. 4:00 Tolerance vs...

Back in February, dog trainer and new mom Aishlyn Skocyzlas came on the show to talk about her experience living with babies and dogs. Well, little baby Delilah is over a year old now, bringing a whole new set of challenges and delights. In what will hopefully be a recurring feature, Aishlyn came back on the show to update us on what's changed, what she's learned, and how she's navigating life wit...

It's hard to think of a more beloved story than that of a boy and his dog, and that's exactly what we have today. Tina is joined by artist, author, and musician Timothy Renner whose friendship with his childhood dog could have come straight out of a classic Disney film. Tune in as Tim shares memories of his boyhood dog, Barney, reminding us all that sometimes the most important "people" in our liv...

What's this? Julie's back? Well, not quite. Recorded earlier this year and subsequently lost in the shuffle, this previously overlooked, never-before-heard episode has been rescued from the YFD Vault for your listening pleasure. Tune in for a discussion of how dog training is like novel writing and, whether authors or dog trainers, we all have to stumble our way towards the beginning.  For show no...

It's Julie's final episode! Tina is joined in giving her a sendoff by former YFD host Colleen Pelar and favorite YFD guest Zazie Todd. Tune in for a fond look back at "Your Family Dog," including its origin story, memorable episodes, and opossums behaving badly.   For show notes and more, please go to Your Family Dog .

Humans and dogs are a tale as old as time- literally! From almost the very beginning of human evolution, dogs have been with us as our faithful friends and companions. But where did this first of human-animal friendships begin, and how? Today we're diving into the origins of the dog. Come along as we travel back in time and explore the history of our favorite four-legged friends. For show notes an...

We've all been there- we're out and about with our normally well-behaved dog when suddenly we encounter something unfamiliar and Fido promptly loses his marbles. What happened to all that training? You're not alone- it happens to the best of us. Today, Julie and Tina talk about those times when your dog goes a little bit nuts- how to handle it, when to loosen up a little bit, and remembering to tr...

The term "pythiosis" probably doesn't mean much to most people. Yet this particular disease- which can affect humans, dogs, and other mammals- while not common, nevertheless seems to be on the rise, with cases being reported in more and more places. So what is this disease? How is it spread, how is it treated, and how can you protect your pet? In the first of multiple episodes examining pythiosis,...

Living with kids and dogs can be fun, but it can also be incredibly challenging. Balancing different needs and keeping everybody happy is no easy task, but it can be done and the end result can be amazing! Today Julie and Tina are joined by Aishlyn Skoczylas, a dog trainer and new mom, to discuss her experience of bringing home a tiny human to a house full of dogs. Tune in to hear the good, the ba...

Regularly cycling out what your pet eats- otherwise known as "rotational feeding"- at first might seem like just adding an unnecessary complication to your life. After all, if your dog is happy with his food, why rock the boat? But switching up what Fido eats doesn't have to be difficult and can have some surprising benefits. Today, Julie and Tina break down what rotational feeding is, different m...

Bird flu is in the news again. By now, most of us have seen the reports of the H5N1 strain infecting chickens, dairy cows, and even some humans. With the Covid pandemic still fresh in our collective memory, it's reasonable to wonder just how worried we should be about this particular flu strain. What risk does it pose to us? To our pets? What (if anything) can we do to help keep ourselves and our...

Teaching your dog a new behavior can sometimes seem overwhelming. Sure, it would be great if Fido could go beyond the basics and do things like roll over, shake hands, or play dead, but who has time to teach all that? Well, actually- you do! Training new behaviors and tricks doesn't have to be labor intensive or take hours of your time. In fact, sometimes five minutes is all you need. Today, Julie...

Most of us recognize that euthanasia can sometimes be necessary or even kindest course of action when a beloved pet is terminally ill or suffering. The question of putting a dog to sleep because of behavioral concerns, however, is often much trickier. Is euthanasia ever justified in these cases and if so, how do you know when you've reached that point? And are the costs of not euthanizing potentia...

Julie is still on hiatus, but Tina is here this week, accompanied by a special guest. Although he's still only in high school, Will Ryan is the founder of Service Dawg Nation, a non-profit dedicated to helping train and match service dogs for veterans. He and his mother came on the show today to talk about his project, what it means to him, and where he plans to take it from here.   For Show Notes...

One of YFD's favorite guests is back! Dr. Zazie Todd joins the show again to talk about her newest book " Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog ." Tune in for a conversation about fear versus anxiety, common mistakes owners make with fearful dogs, and how to know when it's time to seek professional help. For show notes please go to: Your Family Dog

Nobody gets a dog planning to rehome it. But sometimes circumstances change and what we thought would be forever just isn't a good match. What happens then? Today Julie Fudge Smith and Tina Spring talk about the painful but sometimes necessary process of rehoming- when it's necessary, what it means, and the importance of approaching the situation with understanding and compassion.   For show notes...

A good guard dog can be a great thing- many of us even get dogs in part because of the feeling of protection they can provide. But when those guarding instincts go astray or get directed towards the wrong thing, the results can be stressful and even dangerous. Fortunately, if caught early and handled appropriately, this kind of misguided guarding can usually be managed successfully. Tune in to tod...

 In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Julie Fudge Smith and Tina Spring take the opportunity to talk about emergency preparedness for your dog. Tune in to this week's episode for advice on packing a go bag for your pets, making sure your dog is properly microchipped, and other steps you can take to make sure that you and your animals are prepared in the event of a disaster. For show notes and more ple...

Wouldn't it be great if dogs automatically knew what we wanted them to do in certain situations? Well, with a little training and a few nibbles of cheese, they can! That's the magic of "default behaviors-" those behaviors dogs learn to offer automatically whenever a signal is given or a particular situation arises. Join Julie Fudge Smith and Tina Spring to learn what default behaviors are, how to...

Sometimes, it really is okay to dial it in- at least, it is if you're talking about the Dial Method. What's the Dial Method, you ask? You're about to find out! Today, Julie Fudge Smith and Tina Spring sit down with Dial Method creator Justine Schuurmans to talk about her new program designed to improve how families relate to, live with, and train their dogs. For show notes please go to: Your Famil...

No scheduled topic today! Instead pull up a chair and join Tina Spring  and Julie Fudge Smith for some general, dog-related chitchat. Grab a cup of coffee and listen in as the conversation ranges from socialization to learning your dog's body language to what effect (if any) Covid lockdown had on canine behavior issues. For show notes and more: Your Family Dog

he subject of giving what we think of as "human" medications (such as anti-depressants) to our dogs has come up before on the podcast. But why is it, exactly that some medications- Prozac, for example- work incredibly well across species, while others, such as NSAIDS, don't? Does spaying or neutering your dog at an earlier age have the same effect as sterilization at younger ages in humans? And ho...

The whole idea behind training your dog is to get rid of the behaviors you don't want, while encouraging the ones you do. Sounds simple enough, right? Until, despite your best efforts, you end up accidentally doing the opposite. Today, Julie Fudge Smith and Tina Spring talk about how we can unintentionally reinforce the wrong behaviors in our dogs, and offer solutions for what to do when that happ...

Julie and Tina are back! Not just back to recording but (at least in the case of Julie) back from a month abroad as well. And after spending a month in Ireland, Julie has an important question- are Europeans better at socializing their dogs than we are? And if so, what can we learn from them to help our star-spangled pooches over here?   For more information and show notes: Your Family Dog