As we’ve done five times prior, today’s show involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the extended feature, “Ask The Trainer,” in which listeners are invited to call or email questions about their dogs or cats, particularly involving behavioral issues or training concerns.
The Trainer these listeners have an opportunity to consult is Glen Hatchell, the Behavior and Enrichment Manager at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, who’s also an accomplished dog trainer and behavior expert, having held the Certified Professional Dog Trainer certification for many years.
Glen is also a former WMNF programmer. In today’s edition, before taking a listener question, Glen addresses the concerning number of stray dogs wandering free, not only that turn up at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, but generally.
He stressed the importance of microchipping your pets, noting this is a central way to determine if a “stray” actually has a home and an owner—and can quickly be returned to both. In a scenario where an animal has no chip, things are far more complicated, occasionally including the awful outcome where a chip-less animal, who does have a home, gets adopted out to a new home.
Among the listener questions Glen fielded were ones from a dog sitter with a canine client who refuses to go upstairs, even though that’s where the sitter’s office and bedroom are located. In addition to Glen’s response, two listeners offered input on this situation…
Another listener inquired about his 16-year-old Jack Russell’s “horrible breath,” noting his concern about having his senior dog undergo anesthesia for a teeth cleaning…
In a case that might be labeled “The Cockapoo Family,” a woman called in, explaining she had been given a cockapoo by her daughter, who herself already had a cockapoo. However, when these two cockapoos got together, the younger/newer one clearly adores the older, original—but this manifested in grabbing and barking and so on (including reacting to a squirrel outside). How to mitigate this?.,,
A guy called in about his five-year-old, so-called “scaredy dog”—not so much seeking assistance to make the pooch less frightened, but to help make the people less problematic in encountering this anxious animal…
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