The Healthy Dog Pod is brought to you Bondi Behaviourist and So Help Me Dog, creating a conversation around dog behaviour, training and health. We bring guests from across the globe, experts in the fields to provide dog lovers with the most up to date, scientifically-based information. 
Field Day have sponsored this season of The Healthy Dog Pod so we wanted to bring in Georgia from their team to pick our brains and chat about the amazing guests we have had on over the previous seven episodes. Each one brought something special and unique to the table so we unpacked our own thoughts and reflections on all of them and dove into what we believe to be the important take away moments.
Mel specialises in creating safe, happy and positive relationships between babies, kids and dogs. In this episode we dive into the details of introducing a new puppy to the home when there are kids involved. We also talk all things kids and dogs in general, raising awareness around the importance of dog body language and healthy relationships within the household.
Simon, The Mutt Nutt is an accredited trainer based in the UK, working predominantly with aggression cases through rescue organisations among other areas of dog training. In this episode we talk about the stereotypes around aggression and how misunderstood it is. We dive into training methods and how outdated philosophies and practices like dominance theory and correction based methods stand in the way of progress in our industry.
Kim’s trademarked Dog L.E.G.S.® model is a ground-breaking new system for dog lovers to truly understand their dogs’ behaviour- distilling multiple scientific disciplines and established principles into a simple and accessible framework for pet dogs and their people like never before
Andrew Hale of 'Train Positive, Dog Behaviour and Training', the home of The Dog Centred Care approach talks to us about the emotional experience of a dog. We consider what they might be going through when they are doing behaviours as well as their experience when we as trainers, handlers and caregivers try to change this behaviour.
Yvonne Hong, the founder of Pets of The Homeless opens up about the many different ways this organisation helps so many, why it is important and how the many ways we can contribute towards this great cause. This one pulled on our heartstrings more than any other episode this season, it even nearly got Ian to well up.
Tracy has been considered by Ian to have been a mentor and friend for a number of years now, and so it was a great pleasure to have her in to talk on the show. In this episode, we discuss how we to what is causing the unwanted behaviours our dogs are displaying, whether or not the behaviours are something that can be addressed through training alone or whether potentially we are looking at a medical issue.
Nick has contributed a lot to our industry and in this episode he talks about the two areas that he is most passionate about, keeping the dog engaged with you and working with aggressive and reactive dogs.
Ian & Sophie talk about what people can look for in a good puppy school and why as well as what to avoid
In this funny but educating episode Dr Cherlene Lee talks about the importance of maintaining anal gland health and how to do so
Scott from The Little Paws Pack talks to us about things to consider when employing a dog walker, how he puts emphasis on socialising and the dogs having a good experience rather than simply walking, dog park etiquette, safety in the car while travelling and his book “Friends For All Seasons” available here: http://www.thelittlepawspack.com.au/book
How we play with our dogs and allow our dogs to play with others can set the foundations for their communication skills. Dog play is a conversation, not solely just fun, fun, fun. As non verbal communicators they speak and listen to body language acutely. Understanding what they’re saying and knowing how to interact with them healthily can go a long way to building their social skills and relationships.
Dominique Hone owner of The Dog Brigade is one of the best trainers we know. Having worked with dog behaviour for many years now, she has become a valuable source of knowledge and support to both of us. In this episode she shares her insights into working at rescues and dog training & behaviour
Ian and Sophie talk about all the things the festive season brings for our dogs and their families
We are often working with dogs and owners that are under stress and want to avoid causing more as well as help them over come it. We believe that educating the owner has more sustainable results than trying to 'fix' the dog and so we wanted to give you all an insight into what a training session with one of us might look like
Jocelyn shares her wealth of experience in training people how to train dogs, with emphasis in this episode on puppy training and teaching classes
Two sisters Kylie and Denise founded The Doggie Bakery Sydney. They create natural and hand baked dog snacks, made with quality ingredients. They chat to us about what they do, their experience in the industry and the importance of feeding our dogs quality products.
Dr Amanda Cole and Dr Heather Chi from Vet Behaviour Team here in Sydney to bring their experience, knowledge and clarity into understanding dog behaviour
Nikki owner of Sydney Dog Training and shares her story with us on how she got into the dog training industry. She also speaks about her love of dogs, understanding behaviour and how it developed along the way, and her insights into dog training and behaviour in general.
Anna Podolsky founded Lyka pet food, a direct to consumer, human grade dog food company. In this episode she opens up about why she started up Lyka in the first place, and what she has seen in the dog food industry along the way.
Iyona has worked as part of the Bondi Behaviourist team since 2016, she also works with Aussie Mobile Vet. She sits down with us in this episode to talk about her experiences working in the industry.
For a long time Michael has been helping rescue dogs across Australia. He has been working with shelters and even setting up Adopt a Dog. It is a national company that facilitates dogs getting adopted and in this episode he shares his experiences.
Harry’s health has been a concern from an early age and it has affected his behaviour and has required a combined effort of training and management from Sophie and Ian with the help of veterinarians. Rachel speaks openly about the toll it has taken on her and her partners health and the realities of pet ownership when it doesn’t go exactly to plan
We want to create positive experiences and simply normalise the world they live in so that they are less sensitive to their surroundings and yet we see two common extremes when it comes to taking our dogs out in public... creating fear through correction or hyperactivity with no boundaries... both will set the dog up to fail in the long run
Socialising seems to go wrong with our dogs because nobody seems to actually know what it is. This is a look into what we see people often do when socialising and offer up some simple and effective alternatives.
Sydney Dogs & Cats Home work tirelessly in helping animals, working with councils. This raw and honest talk opens up about the realities of working within this environment and the animals that come in and out of their doors.
Peter Sharp from Tame & Wild Studio has come in to talk to us about the new book from Sydney Cats and Dog Home called ‘Lost But Found’
When we are handling and trying to resolve unwanted behaviours in our dogs, the first thing we must figure out is if it is a training problem or a behaviour issue.
A look into how the dog’s brain works and how understanding it affects the way we train our dogs.
Dominance is one of the most widely used but misunderstood terms when it comes to our dogs. This episode discusses where it came from, the impact not understanding it has had and how dogs do actually form social groups.
Founder of Aussie Mobile Vet giving us her insight into the mobile veterinary world and filming for the new series of Bondi Vet Coast to Coast
Dr Matt Muir, a integrative and holistic vet of All Natural Vet Care here in Sydney has joined us in the studio to talk about the microbiome in the gut and the gut - brain axis. The relationship between gut and mental health are so closely linked and the more we look after this the better we can look after our dogs.
A look into how our understanding of how they think has affected our language towards them, how we perceive their intentions and our relationships with our dogs.
Ian from Bondi Behaviourist and Sophie from So Help Me Dog are passionate about dog training, behaviour and health. This episode is an insight into who they are, what they do and why they have created The Healthy Dog Pod