DOG TALK® (and Kitties Too!) on 
Thunder, Lightning & Trembling Dogs
#897B: Dr. Amy Pike, of the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic outside Washington, D.C., talks about dogs who become thunderstorm phobic — ways to manage their environment and medications that can help calm the dogs, especially the oral gel Sileo — which works for Tracie’s trembling pooch, Wanda.
A Border Collie with a Career Change
#897A: W. Bruce Cameron talks about “Ripley, Fire Station Five,” the newest title in his “Dogs With a Purpose” series for school age children — seeing the world from their point of view, along with the dog’s eye view, for which Cameron is famous.
Tail-Wagging Doesn’t Always Mean Happiness
#896C: Erin Jones, author of “Constructing Canine Consent: Conceptualising and Adopting a Consent-focused Relationship with Dogs,” explains that a wagging tail doesn't necessarily mean a dog is happy — it’s up to us to distinguish their body language that says “No” or “Maybe no.”
Is Your Dog A Violet, a Dandelion or an Orchid?
#896B: Wendy Lyons Sunshine takes her knowledge about raising adopted children from difficult circumstances and applies it to meeting the challenges of bringing out the best in adopted dogs in her book “Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship with Dogs.”
“A Farewell to Arfs”
#896A: Peter Abrahams is back with another dog-driven mystery novel in his renowned Chet & Bernie mystery series — as fun as ever!
The Ultimate Bond Between Man and Dog
#895A: Director Les Owen discusses his short film “One Mind,” which celebrates the relationship between a veteran with PTSD and his specially trained service dog — one of the semi-finalists being considered for the new Service Dog Salute category of the upcoming 9th Annual NY Dog Film Festival, presented by Purina Dog Chow.
The Tao of Dog & the Principle of Wu Wei
895B: Linda Kohanov, author of “The Tao of Equus,” describes a similar magic of communication we can have with dogs, and how we can transfer her principles of Wu Wei (not doing, not forcing, not striving) from our relationship with horses to that with dogs.
Heartbreak After Losing a Pet
#894B: Anne Marie Farage-Smith’s book “How to Heal from Pet Loss and Different Forms of Grief” offers wisdom and support for coping with the often surprisingly powerful grief that accompanies the death of a pet.
Nobody Cares About Your Broccoli
#89A: Dr. Andy Roark is what Tracie calls a Physician Philosopher, dispensing humorous insights to other veterinarians (and the rest of us!), with a weekly blog Tracie eagerly anticipates for his musings into the joys and burdens of being human — like his recent one “No One Cares About Your Broccoli” that they discuss. (Tracie knows she has a lot of company in Andy’s fan club — his podcast “Cone of Shame” has had over one million listens!)
Neutering Your Dog Can Take a Whopping 1½ Years Off His Life!
#893B: Dr. Carolynne Joone, reproductive veterinarian and professor at James Cook University in Australia, discusses being surprised by the results of her own study of neutered Rottweilers (3,085 intact and 4,100 neutered Rottweilers) which showed that when neutered before one year of age, males died about 18 months younger and females one year younger than those left intact. Tracie adds that early spay/neuter also increases the risk of obesity, cancer and ACL/CCL tears in any dog desexed before fully grown.