Dog Chats

Remember when you were 14- years- old and you were a totally balanced, perfect teenager? Of course you don’t...because how could you feel calm and confident when your world was changing and your body was taken over by alien hormones. It is the same for our adolescent dogs and in this episode, Emma and Kirsten share the science behind this challenging development stage while offering tips on how to support your struggling teen. Discovering that you no longer are the center of your pup’s universe? That’s normal and healthy. Find out how to nurture them through this stage while keeping your relationship intact.

With her incredible wit and wisdom, special guest Alexis Davison offers insights into the importance of communication in the role of behavior change, the history of positive reinforcement training and how using the UnChase Protocol can help pets learn to live together and be safe alongside wildlife.  Alexis is a professional mentor to both Emma and Kirsten.  Ready to learn a bit about life and predatory action behavior patterns?  Listen to this fascinating episode that unpacks the ”how” and ”why” of chasing and how positive reinforcement works to help your dog learn new habits. Reach Alexis Davison KPA CTP, CPDT-KA, Cert IV Dog Behavioural Training Behavioural Dog Trainer Email: alexis@unchase.com Website:  www.unchase.com Instagram: UnChase Account Facebook: UnChase Account

Ready for more fun indoor activities with your pups?  Emma and Kirsten offer up some more creative enrichment activities that are easy to set up and super fun for both you and your dog! From Food Flicking Football to Musical Mats, and other seeking and scenting games, this episode will give you lots to do during the chilly days of winter. Visit us @dogchats_podcast on Instagram for videos and more tips from this episode.

Now that the days are shorter and we are spending more time indoors with our dogs, it is time to cozy up for a dog tea party, scenting games and fun DIY enrichment activities. Your hosts Emma and Kirsten describe some of their favorite indoor dog games and offer tips about keeping your dogs busy and happy while growing your relationship together.

Does your dog communicate their fear or frustration through barking, lunging and snapping? Check out this new episode where Kirsten unravels some of the ”why” and ”how” behind these maladaptive behaviors. She offers a few tips for pet parents who are working to support their dogs and reminds us to start from a place of empathy and understanding for both dog and human clients.

Whether you just got a new puppy, or are introducing a new dog to your home and world, you will love Emma’s pearls of wisdom about the significance of socialization, independence and getting support from a professional. Like usual, Emma makes a complex topic easy to understand as she offers a few important tips for pet parents. ecdogtraining.com website ec_training instagram emma13clifford@icloud.com

In episode 14, The Podiversary Episode, Emma and Kirsten interview the professional pet sitter and dog walker, Lynes Downing, Jr. As our hosts share their own concerns about finding the right pet sitter when they travel, Lynes offers reassuring advice and wisdom about how to choose a good sitter, and how to set the sitter up for success. Lynes can be reached at His website www.petsitpro.org Or his email petsittingprofessionals@gmail.com

In this episode, Emma and Kirsten share their thoughts on the current research that defines the social systems of dogs. The amazing matrix of status, communication and relationships that are a part of our dogs’ social environments is beautiful and complex. Let’s unpack some of the misunderstood research about pack theory and dominance so we can examine our own relationships with our dogs in a meaningful way.

Suzanne Gollin, the Foster Care Coordinator at Marin Humane, has been working to connect animals in need with loving foster families for 23 years. Have you ever considered fostering a pet? In this episode, we walk you through the joyful process of fostering and hope to inspire some of you to bring a shelter pet into your home, if even for a very brief period. Emma and Kirsten both have ”forever foster” pets in their homes, and want to share a bit of their stories with you.

Analyzing dog body language brings us so much closer to understanding how our dogs are thinking and feeling. In this episode your hosts share their insights into how dogs communicate with humans and with other dogs. Having this knowledge gives you a chance to empathize and communicate better with your own dog.

Emma and Kirsten had the incredible opportunity to chat with Marion Fitzgibbon, Marin Humane’s Humanitarian of the year recipient in 2008, for Episode 10.  Marion is a champion of animal welfare who created and directs the Limerick Animal Welfare Sanctuary in Kilfinane, Ireland.  She shares her inspirational story from helping stray dogs as an 8-year-old girl, to creating one of the largest and desperately needed animal shelters in Ireland.  So pull up a stool, have a listen, and get ready for a beautiful interview with Marion’s lovely, lilting brogue and poignant message about working towards a better future for animals.  Marion’s story was chronicled in The Dogs of Avalon by Laura Schenone. If you would like to make a donation for the vet clinic at the Limerick Animal Welfare Sanctuary, contact Emma and Kirsten on their Dog Chats Facebook page, or you can donate to the sanctuary directly on their website https://www.limerickanimalwelfare.com/.

We love our dogs so deeply, and they bring us so much joy and happiness. But unfortunately their time here on Earth is not long enough. When they are gone, the grief is raw and the pain is real. In this episode Emma and Kirsten recall stories of their past dogs’ journeys from the joy when they joined their families, until their passing. With heart-felt emotion, support and advice in the areas of grieving and moving on, your hosts share their great love of dogs and acknowledge the pain of their passing.

With their easy-going, authentic conversation and genuine concern for both dogs and their guardians, Emma and Kirsten reveal what they have in store for you in 2023.   In this episode, our hosts reflect on past training practices and the evolution of dog training as it has transitioned from control to choice.   They answer questions about current changes in their profession, what inspires them and where they are heading.

The holidays are almost upon us and Kirsten and Emma have some thoughtful tips about how to keep our dogs healthy and happy during this special season. Also they offer creative ways to include our dogs in our rituals and traditions, while sharing some humorous stories about their own past holiday dog memories.  Baking dog biscuits, preparing for holiday guests and thinking about the holidays from our dogs’ perspective- Episode 7 will leave you with warm, holiday spirit feelings and practical advice.

Thinking about bringing a new dog or cat into your home and wondering how you can set your resident pets up for a successful transition? In this episode Emma and Kirsten share a few management tips, procedure advice and thoughtful insights about how to expand your pet family in a way that is positive for all the animals and humans involved.

Fall is in the air and kids are back in school, so we thought, why not find out what students want to know about dogs? Kids have such creative minds and fresh perspectives, and It seems to us that having more knowledge about dogs should be a priority. No Dog Left Behind. So we asked some local teachers to poll their students and gather up some questions, and the result is a podcast episode meant for adults and children alike. Sometimes funny and always interesting, answering these twenty questions made Emma and Kirsten think a bit and laugh a lot.

Our dogs are so intelligent and perceptive. It is our task as their guardians to offer them sensory enrichment and engaging mental and physical stimulation. In Episode 4, Emma and Kirsten share practical tips and creative games designed to encourage your dogs to express their inherent canine behaviors through activities, puzzles and exercises you can do together to enrich both of your lives.

Camping with your dog can be so fulfilling if you are prepared and set up for a positive experience. Episode 3 discusses the incredible enrichment camping offers both dogs and their guardians, along with some practical advice of what to pack and what to consider when you pick a destination. And don’t worry, Kirsten shares her strong feelings about Snowy Plovers and their ”nesting rights,” but she is really a bird lover at heart.

Wondering about which summer outings are fun from your dog’s perspective and looking for ways to successfully include them on your adventures? This episode unpacks various dog-friendly treks and offers tips to help you be prepared and thoughtful about summer-time fun with your pup.

Emma and Kirsten give you a bit of their background into why they were inspired to work as dog behavior professionals and they share some fun stories about their own dogs. They point out that dog training philosophy and the socio-cultural perspective of our pet dogs today is so different from their childhood memories of 70’s dogs. A few wise tips and some witty repertoire in this episode will get you hooked on their podcast.