Madcap Radio

A new study was published this week, showing that a specific strain of probiotic found in kimchi is extremely good at binding up and carrying microplastics out of the body.

We, and our dogs, are surrounded by plastic, it’s inescapable, and the accumulation of nanoparticles of plastic in our bodies is also inescapable - and very bad for our and our dogs' health.

So the student question this episode is:

“Should we be giving our dogs ...

This episode’s question comes from the discussion group for my new weaning and early puppy nutrition course, “Weaning For Life: From Gut Biome to Behavior, A Whole Approach to Early Puppy Nourishment”.

“Some of my puppies go home on raw, others to healthy kibble with whole‑food toppers. Historically, I always include at least one kibble meal—often from toys or snuffle mats, sometimes mixed with whole foods. Is there a more refined ...

We got this question about breeders sending their puppies to “camp” before going to their new homes:

“[a friend] has a litter of puppies 8 weeks old and she is placing them out to her friends until they are 10 weeks old. They decided it would be good for socialization and to prevent separation anxiety for the puppies until they go to their permanent homes at 10 weeks. That doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. Anyone have experienc...

This episode’s question is from one of our Killer Free Stack show training students, but my answer is equally applicable to anyone training a dog:

“Hi all, I have a 10-week-old Labrador puppy. I have the Killer Free Stacks video… when I try to get a moment of stillness to mark, she auto-sits. If I hold the food in front of her, she digs at it hard and will sit. Any tips for teaching a stack would be great!”

In this podcast I cover:

This episode is about using mother’s pudding for lactating dams:

“I was just wondering what brand of cool and serve vanilla pudding mix you are all using for mother’s pudding…The last litter I had, the puppies got diarrhea on day 3 (nightmare) and we never got it fully resolved until they got onto food at 3 weeks... We ruled out EVERYTHING we could think of…the only thing we could come up with was the mother’s pudding…[this dam is...

This episode is a follow-up question about one of our most popular episodes, “An Egg Yolk A Day Keeps Mastitis Away”:

“At what point in the pregnancy should I begin giving my dam egg yolk to help prevent mastitis?”

In this episode, I discuss:

• Why egg yolks are a benefit for pregnant and lactating dogs
• Best practices for when to begin feeding egg yolks to your brood bitches
• Cooked vs Raw egg yolks and egg whites

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One of our fans wrote to me recently about a webinar she attended on the veterinary use of probiotics:

"The thing that intrigued me was…a study where one group of pregnant bitches was on a yeast-based probiotic, and the control group on no probiotic. There were benefits to both bitches and puppies, such as more stable GI tract and stool quality during whelping in the mothers on the probiotic, and they were less likely to have puppi...

This episode is a fan request:

"Looking for a podcast - My co-owner needs help. I’ve worked with them on training behaviors, and they’ve done a masterful job at teaching puppy (who’s about 3 months old now…) that barking gets attention. They wait until they just can’t take it anymore but then cave in just as extinction burst really ramps up. Is there a podcast that will guide them through navigating this? To be fair, one of them w...

This episode is about the possible reasons why very young puppies sometimes shiver after big sensory experiences, especially after eating food from a dish for the first few times.

We discuss:

• The neurological organization function of shivering
• Different theories about shivering after new experiences, such as being put in a new room or eating food for the first time
• How shivering may prime the puppies' sensory system for “wond...

This episode's question is about what to do when your “keeper” puppy starts showing significant fear issues: "…I’m really sad about my situation. I don’t want this to reflect poorly on my small breeding program that I’ve poured so much time, thought, stress, money, and emotional energy into.… my keeper puppy is now showing pretty significant fear issues…I was hoping to keep this puppy and eventually use her in my program. My bigge...

The question is about what to do with puppies that have meltdowns at shows or trials or any socialization situation: "My 7 month old puppy just had a meltdown. At our National this past weekend he showed OK on Thursday and Friday. A little unsure. But showed. On Saturday he was amazing and took Winners Dog. Sunday, he had a complete melt down. He has shows again in 5 days my inclination is to pull him. Work with him at home. Thoug...

This episode's question is about whether and by how much we can modify temperament with protocols: "I was chatting to someone recently about nature versus nurture, and they said, you can get a bitch who has a poor temperament and using Puppy Culture, you can have pups who have great temperaments. My view is it's more complex than that.…Would love people's thoughts.​"

Listen in as I discuss:

• The difference between temperament ...

This episode’s question is about giving puppies double fermented fruit kefir: "Hello, We are curious about the benefits of using Mango kefir for puppies. How does it help their gut flora? What is the purpose of using it. Thanks!"

Listen in as I discuss:

• How a second ferment with fruit transforms the nutritional profile and bioavailability of kefir
• Why kefir in general is such a probiotic powerhouse
• Why double fermented fruit ...

This episode answers a question about puppies who just can’t settle down in the evening: "What are your best tips for “witching hour”? We have an 11.5 week Spinone Italiano that we brought home just over two weeks ago. He settles down for naps during the day after some play and training, but after his early evening nap, some play, dinner, potty, he gets over aroused and overtired and we cannot for the life of us redirect his mout...

Today’s question is about resorption of pregnancies and the advisability of using antibiotics to prevent future resorptions: "We had a girl who was pregnant with at least 1 puppy at 28 day ultrasound and 0 puppies on x-ray at 50 days...I'm curious what other people would check with the girl who absorbed before breeding again."

In this episode we discuss:

• Things to check/do when your dam resorbs a pregnancy
• How the vaginal mic...

This episode’s question is about fear periods.

“What are the critical fear stages in puppies from 8 weeks on? Is it best to keep up their socialization during these periods or back off for a few days and then resume?”

In this episode I discuss:

• How to recognize fear periods as opposed to general fearfulness.
• The evolutionary reasons that puppies have fear periods
• ​Navigating fear periods in puppies and dogs

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This episode’s question is about preventing dog-to-dog resource guarding:

“Can’t seem to find it in the video; what is the protocol to work against food aggression within the litter? We have been doing marrow bones and resource guard training with people, but a few puppies are showing aggression to the other puppies at meal times. Any info appreciated, thanks!”

In this episode I discuss:

• Why protocols for dog-to-dog resource g...

This week’s question is about whether doing Puppy Culture or any other early socialization program can guarantee good outcomes for puppies.

“…I was talking to a breeder about Puppy Culture and I told her that if she would just adopt the program, she would eliminate any temperament issues with her puppies.  Am I right about this?  Isn’t Puppy Culture a guarantee that puppies will have good outcomes?”

In this episode I tackle:

• R...

This week’s question is about whether you’re supporting or interfering when you help mom with her neonate puppies:

“…I've noticed that you lay in the box with Velvet and provide significant assistance to her. Among many groups of breeders, there is a faction who strongly advise to essentially let Mom alone in the first days as she has instincts and knows what to do, and that the presence, participation, and assistance of humans may...