Pod to the Rescue

In this second-to-last episode of the season, Libby and Em talk with Zak George. Zak is a celebrity dog trainer and YouTube star who has trained thousands of dogs throughout his career. Their conversation and Zak’s approach revolves around creating a relationship with the dog first, before diving headfirst into training. Tune in for a fascinating conversation about this warm and friendly approach to training, and see how a relation...

Canine Adolescence is the transition from puppyhood to adulthood. This fascinating conversation with Sarah Stremming, who is a dog behavior coach and the host of the Cog Dog Podcast, addresses this pivotal age of young dogs. Sarah, Emily, and Libby discuss adolescent canine behavior and how to most effectively observe and address behaviors to nurture confident, healthy dogs. This is the second part of their conversation, so make su...

Canine Adolescence is the transition from puppyhood to adulthood. This fascinating conversation with Sarah Stremming, who is a dog behavior coach and the host of the Cog Dog Podcast, addresses this pivotal age of young dogs. Sarah, Emily, and Libby discuss adolescent canine behavior and how to most effectively observe and address behaviors to nurture confident, healthy dogs. They also discuss:

• How dogs’ responses to environme...

This is a replay of our 2021 interview with aggression expert Michael Shikashio.

We are thrilled to present today’s guest, Michael Shikashio. Michael is a world-renowned expert on dog aggression and has an incredible dearth of information he generously shares, which is helpful for owners, rescuers, and trainers alike.

In this conversation, Michael, Emily and Libby define aggression, discuss the ways aggression can present in differ...

It is no secret that shelters can prove to be extremely stressful environments for dogs - even the friendlist, most easy-going dog can experience severe stress or fear in a shelter environment. In this incredible conversation, Emily, Libby and Tom Candy discuss how we can best support shelter dogs in and out of the shelter environment to build confidence, trust, and a sense of play. In this episode, they cover:

• How to wo...

“What supplies do I need for fostering a dog?” “Should you use training tools on rescue dogs?” “What kind of harness should I get for my dog?” You have questions about fostering or adopting a dog, and we have answers! These are the tools and supplies we recommend for rescue dog fosters and adopters. 

Emily and Libby are professionals who have been working in foster-based rescue for a long time, so they have accumulated a lot of “st...

If you try one training method with your new rescue dog, try this one! This week, Emily and Libby speak with Kathy Sdao, world-renowned dog trainer, speaker, writer, and educator. Sdao’s accessible training technique, SMARTx50, is a powerful tool that distills behavior science into the lay person's terms, making it accessible for our human learners: dog rescuers, fosters and adopters. They discuss how to use SMARTx50 to help o...

Puppy socialization is critical for a dog’s healthy development, but what happens if there is a highly contagious respiratory illness being passed around the dog community? Emily and Libby address this current situation by re-airing this episode so you can make a good decision by weighing the costs and benefits of puppy socialization, and how to have healthy play with other puppies amidst illness. Some topics discussed are:

When SDR rescued a dog with hearing impairment, they turned to Tiffany Baker for her expertise on the most effective ways to work with deaf dogs. We hear about Blue throughout the episode as SDR’s case study, and in this episode Emily, Libby and Tiffany also cover topics like:

• How she uses control unleashed for deaf dogs

• Pattern games and why the framework of predictability is important for all dogs - especially deaf dogs

...

Libby and Emily sit down with Annie Phenix, an award winning author and trainer who is known for her methods that train for behavioral concerns without using fear, force, pain, or intimidation.  This conversation is underlined by the importance of trust, joy, and love in our relationships with our animal friends. They also talk about:

• Building trust with our dogs

• How we can use somatic therapy on our dogs

• Ways to work wit...

Have you ever dealt with a dog who experienced separation anxiety? Separation anxiety can present in dogs in myriad behaviors, and this can have a major impact not only on the dog but on the humans caring for those dogs.

In this episode, Libby and Emily dig into this issue with Jenni Pfafman. Jenni is a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer with years of experience working in-person and virtually with dogs who deal with separat...

In this episode, Emily and Libby talk about their own rescue experiences, including “foster failures” and finding lifelong companions. At Summit Dog Rescue, we do things a bit differently; one of those things is how they advocate for modern ethical training methods backed by science. They talk about training faux pas that they used to use - methods that can even be harmful for the dog - because “it’s what people were doing.”

They t...

Michelle Stern cares about supporting parents, supporting kids, and helping dogs feel safe emotionally and physically; these three passions position her perfectly to work with families who are integrating their dogs into homes with children. This episode will support any listener who is, or plans to, integrate their dogs and children together in a way that is healthy and balanced.

In this conversation they also cover:

• The beh...

 We’re kicking off Season 4 with SDR’s education coordinator, Deb Matlock. Deb explains humane education’s focus as one that promotes empathy and compassion; whether it’s about dog training or environmental issues, this way of education indicates a focus on how we connect in a way that develops empathy and compassion.

Deb, Libby and Emily cover:

• How Humane Education can create a higher quality of life for dogs

• The Five Fr...

In advance of releasing our much-anticipated Season 4 of the podcast, we're replaying some of our best conversations on Pod to the Rescue. Enjoy, and stay tuned - Season 4 drops on October 4, 2023!

Why are dog behavior problems increasing in recent years? How do changes to their social bonds and environment affect rescue dogs? What does it mean to see our dogs as they really are: captive animals? In this thought-provoking epis...

Do you want to pet all the dogs? So do we! But we don’t… and here’s why. Emily and Libby welcome Elisheba Fay back to Pod to the Rescue to talk about petting our own dogs and dogs that are new to us, like foster dogs and newly placed rescue dogs. They talk about consent tests when petting dogs, dog body language, how to know if your dog wants to be petted, what to do about dogs who feel conflicted about human attention, and how to ...

Do you have a dog who is jumping and mouthing a lot? Plays a little too rough? Can’t calm down and uses his mouth as a default behavior? This episode is for you! Emily and Libby interview Ferdie Yau of Behavior Vets about the “Shelter Shorts” video series featuring Chewy, a shelter dog with a big arousal biting problem.

Shelter Shorts from Behavior Vets: 

Part 1 - Arousal Biting Pt 1: https://youtu.be/z0xAFKoOKIo

Part 2...

What are we talking about when we talk about dog training? Why should we train our dogs, anyway? Is puppy class enough training for my dog? And what kinds of skills should we prioritize when training our rescue dogs? Emily and Libby discuss these questions and more with Certified Dog Behavior Consultant Eileen Koval, owner of Confident Canines in Las Vegas, Nevada. They talk about top skills for dogs to learn, including leave it, w...