Episodes

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...

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...

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...

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...

Behavioral euthanasia is one of the hardest and most misunderstood decisions a pet parent may ever face. While most people think of euthanasia as something reserved for pets who are elderly, sick, or physically suffering, serious behavior problems can also become quality-of-life and safety issues. In this episode of The Pet Parent Hotline, board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Lore Haug explains what behavioral euthanasia actually means, why it is not only about aggression, and why a pet w...

If you’ve ever said, “We tried training, and it didn’t work,” this episode is for you. This week, Amy talks with Em Breslin, host of the podcast The Dog Who Asked for More, about why dog training sometimes fails and what pet parents may be missing when they feel stuck. Em is a dog trainer, Certified Professional Canine Nutritionist, and retired veterinary technician with more than 20 years of experience in veterinary medicine, behavior support, enrichment, and nutrition. This conversation is ...

What do you do when the life you built around your pets, your purpose, and your plans no longer fits the life you're actually living? In this raw, personal episode, Amy talks about leaving the seven-acre Texas property she bought with her husband less than two years before he died of COVID. What once felt like a dream built around rescue, animals, space, and a future together eventually became more than she could keep carrying on her own. This is not another episode about why Amy stepped back f...

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...

Most people who find tiny kittens think the shelter is the safest place to take them. But when kittens are newborns or bottle babies, the shelter may not have the staff, fosters, supplies, or overnight care needed to keep them alive. In this episode of The Pet Parent Hotline, Amy talks with Deborah Felin-Magaldi of Helen Sanders CatPAWS about what really happens during kitten season when neonatal kittens enter an already overwhelmed shelter system. This conversation picks up after the “wait a...

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...