Pet Parenting And Lifestyle Episodes
Being a great pet parent isn’t just about vet visits and training sessions—it’s about creating a home and lifestyle where pets and people truly thrive together. These episodes explore the everyday challenges and joys of life with pets, from building routines that work to keeping your home clean, calm, and pet-friendly.
Topics included: balancing life with pets, home organization, cleaning and odor control, travel with pets, family and pet routines, mental enrichment, pet parent mindset, lifestyle tips.
Topics included: balancing life with pets, home organization, cleaning and odor control, travel with pets, family and pet routines, mental enrichment, pet parent mindset, lifestyle tips.
Aug. 30, 2026
Fair Isn’t Equal: What Your Pet Really Needs
Treating your pets fairly doesn’t mean treating them all the same. In this episode, Amy looks at how age, health, mobility, personality, behavior, and even personal preferences can mean very different needs for pets living under the same roof. From secret extra meals for a skinny senior cat to different exercise, rules, accommodations, and attention, the goal isn’t perfect equality. It’s paying attention to the individual animal in front of you. And this isn’t just for people with a houseful ...
Aug. 23, 2026
A New Home With Pets: I Need Your Help!
What happens when the person who usually answers the Pet Parent Hotline needs help from the listeners? Amy is finally in her new house (new to her, but built in 1957), but "moved in" might be a generous description. Most of the furniture and pet gear are still in storage, the floors and painting aren't done, she needs a new roof, and she's currently recording from an echoey bedroom furnished with a semi-deflated air mattress. More importantly, the pets are adjusting too. So this week, Amy is t...
Aug. 16, 2026
Before Fall Gets Busy: Get Your Pet Care in Order
Summer has a way of knocking routines loose and pushing pet care tasks to “later.” Before fall gets busy, this is a good time for dog and cat parents to catch up on the things that have quietly slipped down the list. In this solo episode, Amy covers the pet care tasks worth handling now, from vet appointments and grooming to pet boarding, pet sitting, holiday travel, and changing routines. The goal isn’t to create another giant checklist. It’s to take care of a few things now that could save you...
Aug. 2, 2026
Is Doggy Daycare Helping or Hurting Your Dog?
Doggy daycare can give dogs exercise, enrichment, social time, and a much-needed outlet for their energy. But a dog coming home exhausted does not automatically mean they had a great day, and not every dog enjoys or benefits from a group daycare environment. In this episode, Amy talks with pet care professional Rich Schlatter, CPACP, about how to tell whether your dog truly likes daycare, what a proper evaluation should look like, and how to choose a facility that is equipped to keep your dog sa...
July 26, 2026
Buying a House With Pets: What I Never Thought to Check
I thought buying a house with pets meant finding enough space, a decent yard, and hopefully a fence. Then I started walking through houses with three dogs and three cats in mind. Now I’m looking at how close the road is, whether Gunny can manage the stairs as she gets older, whether my blind cat could fall through an open staircase, and how much it would cost to make a beautiful property truly safe and manageable for all of us. In this episode, I’m sharing what has surprised me during the house...
July 19, 2026
What Really Happened Moving 2,200 Miles With Six Pets
What Really Happened Moving 2,200 Miles With Six Pets Moving six pets from Texas to Massachusetts in an RV sounded manageable on paper. Then came the delayed departure, Houston rush-hour traffic, tire-pressure warnings, a check-engine light, a crying cat, an unexpected campground wedding and a bulldog who created two separate crime scenes. In this follow-up to the lessons-from-the-road episode, Amy sits down with her friend Bev Brooks and daughter Kelsey Castro to share what actually happened...
July 12, 2026
Moving Cross-Country With 6 Pets: Lessons From 2,200 Miles
Moving cross-country with pets is not the same as taking your dog for a quick ride around town. In this episode of The Pet Parent Hotline, Amy shares the practical lessons she learned from a 2,200-mile move with one other adult and six pets. This is not a perfect travel checklist or a generic pet travel episode. It is the real-life stuff that matters when you’re on the road for days, juggling multiple animals, an RV, a car, overnight stops, messes, medication timing, and pets who are complete...
June 14, 2026
What Your Vet Wishes You Understood About Them
Most pet parents see veterinarians during some of the most stressful moments of pet ownership: when a pet is sick, injured, aging, or facing an expensive medical decision. But what many people never see is the pressure veterinarians themselves are carrying into those conversations. In this episode, Amy sits down with equine veterinarian, stand-up comedian, and author Dr. Matt Evans to talk about the human side of veterinary medicine and why communication between pet parents and vets can sometime...
June 3, 2026
Pet Acting Weird? Ask This Before You Blame Them | Pet Parent Power-Up
Is your pet suddenly acting clingy, anxious, restless, messy, or just “off”? Before you decide they’re being difficult, ask one better question: what changed? In this quick Pet Parent Power-Up, Amy walks through the first things to check when your pet’s behavior changes, especially during stressful seasons like moving, schedule changes, renovations, visitors, or household disruption. BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL LEARN: Why investigating behavior changes should start with a medical...
May 31, 2026
When Pet Parenting Feels Like Too Much
Do you love your pet, but secretly feel worn out by the constant responsibility Pet-parent fatigue can sneak up on you when every decision, routine, behavior issue, vet concern, or guilty feelings start to feel like one more thing you have to carry. And the harder you try to be a “good” pet parent, the easier it is to lose sight of your own needs. In this episode, Amy walks through 7 questions to help you recognize when pet care has started taking over your life, why guilt and overthinking ...