Hound Opinions

Sorry this is two weeks late. Life got away from me a couple weeks back. But I'm back to the podcasting grind.

Training is important for your dog. But you know what's more important? NOT training your dog. Why? Well, you'll just have to listen to find out.

Big Wags Chicago is online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bigwagschicago.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also find Big Wags on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

We've all had this thought: My dog needs a friend. But ... does your dog really need a friend? That's what we talk about in this episode.

Spoiler: The answer is a very definite MAYBE.

I also get into how to set yourself and your dog up for success before bringing another dog into your family.

Big Wags Chicago is online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bigwagschicago.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also find Big Wags...

We're back, baby! That's right, it's Season 6 comin' atcha!

This time, I'm talking about some of the cool stuff I've learned from Lenny in her short time with us. Spoiler alert - it's pretty cool! So sit back, relax and enjoy!

Big Wags Chicago is online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bigwagschicago.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also find Big Wags on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠...

It's the Season 5 finale, y'all! The pod's going on a break, but Season 6 will kick off May 8.

It's a short but important finale. If you're not taking care of yourself, the care you're providing for your dog is likely not the best. I know that sounds dire. It's not meant to be.

In this episode, I talk about how it's important that you don't forget to care for yourself even as you care for your dog....

There’s no denying that pet care is expensive.

Pet guardianship should not be only for those with means. The benefits of having pets – both physical and psychological – are well-documented. The problem, though, is that having a pet is expensive and one of the biggest expenses is veterinary care. It’s that particular expense that causes so many people who for whatever reason don’t have extra money to opt to rehome their pets. And tha...

Language matters when it comes to our dogs and their behavior. Why? Because language - and specifically the language around dog training/behavior - can affect how our relationships with our dogs develop.

In this episode, I get into some language that has been used around dogs for a long time and suggest better ways of communicating the ideas.

So join me for a semantic journey, won't you?

Big Wags Chicago is online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

So a while back, I did an episode talking about how fostering is super important and that the rescue world would probably grind to a halt if everyone who fostered simply adopted their foster pets ... which is colloquially known as a "foster fail".

Well, on this episode, I defend the foster fail. Why? Because it happened to me. If you recall, in the last episode, I talked about how my family adopted our last foster.

But ...

Merry everything!

Sometimes dogs need help learning how to dog. What does that mean? Well, basically, it is that sometimes, dogs need to figure out how to simply function in the world. And that’s what I’m talking about in this episode. People don’t realize that it can be hard for dogs to just be dogs in this world and that they have to learn how to exist and if they don’t, it can lead to a lifetime of problems.

By the way, the pod'...

Happy holidays, everyone! We're gettin' festive on Hound Opinions this time around.

This is a gift-giving time of year and for families that are looking to add a pup to their home, it seems like the perfect time to do it. Spoiler alert – It’s not. Spoiler alert part 2 – It’s actually a lot more nuanced than that and I’ll get into it in the episode. Spoiler alert part 3 – I’m not going to tell you outright to not get a pet as a gif...

Trigger warning: Lots of talk of pet death.

Ok, y'all. It's gonna be heavy today. We’re talking about veterinary hospice and euthanasia. Specifically, we’re talking about a branch of veterinary medicine that helps people make the ends of their beloved pets’ lives as smooth and painless as possible.

My guest is Dr. Amy Myers. She’s a hospice veterinarian with Lap of Love, which provides veterinary hospice care and in-home euthanas...

Decompression is incredibly important for your dog's mental and physical health. But what is it exactly? And when does a dog need to decompress? And how do you help a dog decompress?

I get into all of that in this episode, so sit back and enjoy!

Quick note – this episode drops on Thursday, October 31. Happy Halloween, by the way. But more importantly, there’s a very important election in just five days. If you haven’t voted yet, g...

Sorry for the delay. But I think the wait will be worth it.

On the pod with me this time is Dr. Matt Lemmons, DVM and we dive into the world of pet dental health. We talk about why it's so important and why you can't neglect it.

Matt's a veterinary dentist at MedVet in Indianapolis and a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College. He’s been a practicing veterinary dentist since 2007 and was board certified by the American...

This time around, I’m talking about one of the hard parts of fostering – letting go when it's time for your foster to leave you. It's gonna be a bit emotional ... again.

DON'T FORGET: I want to answer YOUR training and behavior questions on the pod. And I want to play your voices asking those questions. You've got two options:

1. Use your audio recording app of choice to record yourself asking a training or ...

Well, y'all, it happened again! My family and I became foster parents! We're fostering a husky named Damien for Anti-Cruelty here in Chicago.

The cool thing about fostering is that you always learn something new and unexpected. And that's what I'm going to be talking about this time around. In just a short time, Damien's shown me so much about myself, himself and Bodhi. And it's been quite lovely to se...

Strap in, folx. We're getting political this time around.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the fact that pet guardianship is getting more and more expensive. Money shouldn't be an impediment to it. Unfortunately, I'm also part of the problem.

So what can we do about it? Well, I put forward at least one idea in this episode, but mostly I talk about how our capitalist way of life is making it so that having a p...

Ok, it's just me again. And it's a short but poignant episode. This time around, I talk about the importance of just being with your dog. What does that mean? You'll have to listen to find out, but it involves spending quality time with your pup.

Big Wags Chicago is online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bigwagschicago.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also find Big Wags on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

It's just me this time around and I'm talking muzzles with y'all! There are so many great reasons for your pup to wear a muzzle. And in fact, I tend to think that most dogs should be taught to comfortably wear a muzzle just as a matter of course. It's that useful of a skill.

No matter why you decide to muzzle your pup, proper fit and properly conditioning them to wearing it are super important. And that's w...

Welcome to Season 5 of the pod! Brace yourselves. It's gonna get emotional. Trigger warning: This episode talks about pet death.

I brought back one of my favorite guests - Alex Fliess - to talk about anticipatory grief. Alex is a licensed clinical social worker in Chicago. After starting work in a group therapy practice in 2016, Alex went on to open their own practice – Three Tales Therapy – in 2018 and also co-owns Chicag...

It's the finale of Season 4! After this episode, the pod’s going to go on a break for a bit. But I’ve already got some fun stuff lined up for season 5. And you never know. I might pop in with an unofficial episode from time to time, but the new season will officially drop sometime after the 4th of July.

We’re going to start by talking about leashes and why it’s so important to have your dog on a leash while you’re out and...